Alyssa Raghu

Alyssa Raghu
Contestant
Season	Season 16 Season 17 Season 22
Age	15 (season 16) 16 (season 17) 21 (season 22)
Audition city	Los Angeles (each season)
Contestant #	20028 (season 16) 61087 (season 17)
Placed	Top 24 (season 16) Top 8 (season 17) Hollywood Round (season 22)
Personal
Hometown	Orlando, Florida
Gender	Female

Alyssa Maria Raghunandan (born March 2, 2002), known professionally as Alyssa Raghu, was a contestant in Season 16, Season 17, and Season 22 of American Idol.

Season 16 Audition

Alyssa auditioned in Los Angeles. She sang "Almost Is Never Enough" by Ariana Grande, ft. Nathan Sykes. All three judges voted "yes", sending her to the next round.

Season 16 Hollywood Round

Alyssa was shown singing "Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler in the first televised Group of Ten with Trevor McBane, Layla Spring, and Caleb Lee Hutchinson. She advanced and was later shown in a group called "TACO" along with Catie Turner, Kyah Robinson, and Victoria McQueen singing "La La La" by Sam Smith. She advanced along with Catie and Victoria. Though she was not shown during the Solo Rounds, she advanced to the Top 50. At the Final Judgment, it was revealed that she did enough to make it to the Top 24.

Top 24

Alyssa was shown in Group 2. She sang "Stay" by Rihanna (ft. Mikky Ekko) as her solo; and "Yellow" by Coldplay in a duet with Banners. She was eliminated at this stage of the competition.

Season 17 Audition

Alyssa auditioned in Los Angeles. She sang "Shark in the Water" by V.V. Brown. All three judges voted "yes", sending her to the next round.

Season 17 Hollywood Round

Alyssa was shown in the third part of Hollywood Week, singing "What About Us" by P!nk for her final solo performance. She was placed in the third deliberation room, along with Tyler Mitchell, Wade Cota, Dimitrius Graham, Bumbly, Kason Lester, Eddie Island, Shawn Robinson, and Myra Tran. It was revealed that everyone in the room advanced.

Season 17 Hawaii Round

Alyssa sang "Dear Future Husband" by Meghan Trainor. The judges felt she was good enough to become a semifinalist.

Top 20

Alyssa sang "Ain't It Fun" by Paramore as her solo; and "Issues" by Julia Michaels in a duet with Michaels herself. Afterwards, the judges told her she did enough to become a Top 14 finalist.

Top 14

Alyssa sang "She Used to Be Mine" by Sara Bareilles during the Live Show. Next, she sang "The One That Got Away" by Katy Perry during the Results Show. She did not make the Top 7 in the voting, but was saved by Katy Perry, making her a Top 10 finalist.

Top 10

Alyssa sang "Colors of the Wind" by Vanessa Williams from Pocahontas. She received enough votes to be considered "safe" for another week.

Top 8

Alyssa sang "Somebody to Love" by Queen as her solo; and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" from Guardians of the Galaxy in a duet with Wade Cota. She, along with Walker Burroughs, received the lowest number of votes for that week, and the judges chose not to use their save, eliminating her from the competition.

Performances on American Idol

Round	Song Choice	Original Artist	Theme (if any)	Result
Auditions	"Shark in the Water"	V.V. Brown	None	Safe
Hollywood Week	N/A	Justin Bieber	Hollywood Round 1	Safe
Hollywood Week (untelevised)	N/A	N.A	Hollywood Round 2	Safe
Hollywood Week	"What About Us"	P!nk	Hollywood Round 3	Safe
Final Showcase	"Dear Future Husband"	Meghan Trainor	None	Safe
Top 20	"Ain't It Fun" "Issues" (with Julia Michaels)	Paramore Julia Michaels	None	Safe
Top 14	"She Used to Be Mine" "The One That Got Away"	Sara Bareilles Katy Perry	None	Bottom 7 (saved by Katy)
Top 10	"Colors of the Wind"	Vanessa Williams	Disney Night	Safe

Kane Brown & Alyssa Raghu Sing "Good As You" & "Lost in the Middle of Nowhere" - American Idol 2019

Season 22 Audition

Alyssa auditioned in Los Angeles. She sang "My All" by Mariah Carey. Although Katy voted "no", Lionel and Luke voted "yes", sending her to the next round.

Season 22 Hollywood Round

Alyssa's performance wasn't shown but she did survive the Idol Arena stage, and was seen among the Top 57 at the end, along with Sophia Ava Marie, Victoria Johnson, Cate Gartner, Alto Moon, Ricky Moyer, and Jayna Elise. For her Showstopper performance, she sang "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. At the Final Judgment, she was called up alongside Kaibrienne. The judges could not decide between the two, so a sing-off occurred. Alyssa sang "Shallow" by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper. Afterwards, the judges told her that she did not do enough to become a Top 24 semifinalist.

Trivia

• Alyssa and Kay Kay are the first semifinalist contestants to audition in another year. During the Fox years, they were generally ineligible to return.
  • Alyssa is the first person in American Idol history to become a semifinalist twice in two separate years, as well as the only person to be a semifinalist in one year, finalist in another, and audition again despite becoming a finalist.
• The judges gave her the nicknames, "The Sauce" and "Raghu".
• Alyssa was the friend and roommate of Julia Davo until they split after their audition.
• All three seasons, Alyssa auditioned in Los Angeles.
• Her return in Season 22 caused large social media outrage due to her already being a finalist on a previous season.