When the American Idol judges talk about people being in “different lanes,” they are referring to similar singers splitting the fan votes.
One example of this is having more than one male country singer in the late rounds of the show.
That happened this season when Dan Marshall, Noah Thompson, and Mike Parker were both competing for a similar audience.
After Hawaii, Dan and Noah moved on thanks to the fans, but the judges had to save Mike.
However, the next week, the fans were back on Mike’s side, and it clearly cost Dan his votes, as he ended up going home and missing out on the top 10.
Fortunately, Dad is taking the elimination well.
Dan Marshall on his American Idol ride
Dan Marshall had a huge ride on American Idol. The former college football star proved he was ready to make his mark in country music and even got the attention of Garth Brooks.
After his elimination, Dan took a selfie in front of the American Idol curtains and left a message for his fans on Instagram.
“Boy what a ride, like my dad always says, ‘sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug,'” Dan wrote.
I want to thank @americanidol and Judges @lukebryan @lionelrichie and @katyperry for taking a chance on me. I have grown exponentially these past months and I can’t wait to take what I’ve learned and apply it to my own performances/artistry.”
“Thank you to all of my supporters back home, and all over America for you undying support,” he finished. “if you love sweet country music, keep following me on my journey cause it’s just heating up.”
Dan Marshall on American Idol
Dan Marshall showed up on American Idol after a successful college football career at Virginia Tech.
He played in 37 games from 2017 to 2019, and while he told the judges that he had lived and loved football since he was a child, he always had a love for singing as well.
For his audition, Dan sang Garth Brooks’s hit The Dance and made it to Hollywood Week.
He made it through Hollywood after performing Hard Workin’ Man by Brooks & Dunn in the Showstopper Round.
After performing Heaven by Bryan Adams in the top 24, he next sang Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks in the Top 20.
After that, Garth sent in a video message saying he was blown away by Dan’s performance of his songs, calling him a star.
He had a chance to sing two more songs – Lionel Richie’s Stuck on You and Kenny Chesney’s She’s Got it All before he finally went home.
American Idol airs on Sunday and Monday Nights at 8/7c on ABC.