On last Sunday’s episode of American Idol, Ryan Seacrest announced that two singers ended up with COVID-19 and couldn’t be there that night.
The first was Fritz Hager, who couldn’t sing due to his illness. He had his rehearsal performance played as part of the night’s episode and moved on thanks to the fan’s votes.
The second was Noah Thompson.
Unlike Fritz, he could perform live, but it was via a simulcast from his hotel room. However, he was sick and has since said he was in pain during the performance.
Noah Thompson was in pain during COVID-19 American Idol performance
Noah Thompson sang two songs live from his hotel room on American Idol on Sunday night. While Fritz Hager couldn’t sing after contracting COVID-19, Noah fought through it and fans voted to move him on in the competition.
However, Noah was almost too sick to sing as well. In an interview with PEOPLE, he said that he was pushing through it but his throat was in intense pain during the performance, which Lionel Richie called his best this season.
Noah sang both Painted Blue by Sunday Best for his TikTok challenge and then he sang Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide. That song was dedicated to a mother figure in his life. His voice was raspier, which is likely what the judges heard that impressed them.
“This morning, I woke up with probably … I’ve never had such a sore throat my entire life. It was killing me,” Noah said. “I was just trying to push through it. I honestly can’t believe I made it through because it was hurting that bad. I was having such problems with it. I’m just glad it worked out.”
Noah and Fritz remain questionable for the Top 5
This weekend on American Idol, the Top 5 drop down to the Top 3 and the finals will be set.
However, neither Fritz Hager nor Noah Thompson are guaranteed. In a discussion with his fans on Instagram, Fritz said that he isn’t sure what will happen when the show heads to Las Vegas this weekend and it will all depend on how quickly they recover and get a negative result.
Those two singers are scheduled to compete against the other three remaining contestants – Platinum Ticket holder HunterGirl, self-professed weird girl Lea Marlene, and Nicolina. The final three will then move on to the finals the next week.
American Idol airs on Sunday nights at 8/7c on ABC.