Laine Hardy (born September 12, 2000) was a contestant in Season 16 and Season 17 of American Idol.
Season 16 Audition[]
Laine auditioned in New Orleans. He sang "Hurricane" by Band of Heathens. All three judges voted "yes", sending him to the next round.
Season 16 Hollywood Round[]
Laine was shown in a montage of contestants who survived the Groups of Ten. He was later shown in a group called "The Soul 4's" along with Kaitlann Runnels, Mia Desaris and Juliana Madrid singing "Love Yourself" by Justin Bieber. He and Kaitlann advanced. She was later shown in the final Solo Round singing "Fire Away" by Chris Stapleton. Afterwards, he was placed in the same holding room as Ada Vox, Mara Justine, Thaddeus Johnson, Noah Davis, Ron Bultongez, Samothias and Jonny Brenns. Everyone in their room advanced. During the Showcase Round, he sang "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. At the Final Judgment, he was called up with Garrett Jacobs, and the judges told him that he was eliminated and that Garrett had advanced.
Season 17 Audition[]
Laine auditioned in Coeur d'Alene. He sang "The Weight" by The Band. All three judges voted "yes", sending him to the next round.
Season 17 Hollywood Round[]
Laine was shown in same Group of Ten as Ashton Gill. He sang "She Talks to Angels" by The Black Crowes. He advanced and was shown in a group called "Diamond Dixies" along with Laci Kaye Booth, Katie Belle and Colby Swift singing "Grenade" by Bruno Mars. Despite him forgetting the lyrics, he advanced alongside everyone in his group except Colby. After his untelevised final solo performance, he was placed in the first deliberation room, along with Uché, Johanna Jones, Laci Kaye Booth, Alejandro Aranda, Nick Townsend, Walker Burroughs, Margie Mays, Shayy, Drake McCain, Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, Ryan Hammond, Kai the Singer, Evelyn Cormier and Madison Vandenburg. It was revealed that everyone in the room advanced.
Hawaii Round[]
Laine sang "Come Together" by The Beatles. Afterwards, he was called up alongside Tyler Mitchell for the Final Judgment. The judges told him that he advanced and Tyler did not.
Top 20[]
Laine sang "Bring It on Home to Me" by Sam Cooke and "The Weight" by The Band in a duet with Elle King. Afterwards, the judges told him that he did enough to become a Top 14 finalist.
Top 14[]
Laine sang "That's All Right" by Elvis Presley during the Performance Show and "Hurricane" by Band of Heathens during the Results Show. He was placed in the Top 7 in voting for that week, making him a Top 10 finalist.
Top 10[]
Laine sang "Oo-De-Lally" by Roger Miller from Robin Hood. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for another week.
Top 8[]
Laine sang "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen and "Jackson" from Walk the Line in a duet with Laci Kaye Booth. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for another week.
Top 6[]
Laine sang "I Don't Need No Doctor" by Ray Charles and "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for another weeek.
Top 5[]
Laine sang "Can't You See" by The Marshall Tucker Band, "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" by Elton John and "Hey Jude" by The Beatles (dedicated to his older brother). He received enough votes to advance to the American Idol Finale.
Season 17 Finale[]
Laine sang "Home" by Marc Broussard, "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" by Hank Williams and "Bring It On Home to Me" by Sam Cooke. He received more votes than Alejandro Aranda and Madison Vandenburg, making him the American Idol.
His coronation song "Flame" was released after the Finale and was performed after he was crowned American Idol.
Season 18[]
Laine returned to sing "Life Is a Highway" for Season 18's Disney Night. He also appeared in the Finale.
Trivia[]
- Laine initially did not want to audition for Season 17, only accompanying his friend Ashton Gill with her audition. However, after Gill's performance, he volunteered to sing for the judges and accepted their offer to take a Golden Ticket. He became the first American Idol winner to not initially want to audition.
- This situation is similar to Colton Dixon in Season 11, who also did not want to audition only wanting to accompany his sister to her audition, but auditioned under the coercion of the judges.
- Laine is the third American Idol winner to win after auditioning for at least one previous season, after Candice Glover and Caleb Johnson.
- He is additionally the first winner born in the 2000s.
Gallery[]
| Season 17 |
| Finalists |
| Laine Hardy ·Alejandro Aranda ·Madison Vandenburg ·Laci Kaye Booth ·Wade Cota ·Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon ·Walker Burroughs ·Alyssa Raghu ·Dimitrius Graham ·Uché ·Evelyn Cormier ·Ashley Hess ·Eddie Island ·Riley Thompson |
| Semifinalists |
| Ryan Hammond ·Logan Johnson ·Raquel Trinidad ·Kate Barnette ·Bumbly ·Shawn Robinson |