Menifee teen competes for 'American Idol' top 20 Sunday

Photo courtesy of ABC/Christopher Willard

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Looking for some uplifting news in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis? While you’re stuck at home, tune in to ABC Sunday night.

A talented 16-year-old singer from Menifee will compete for a spot in the top 20 on “American Idol”, writing another chapter in a career that is taking off quickly.

Olivia Ximines impressed judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan with her audition, receiving a golden ticket to Hollywood Week and eventually to the top 40 competition. The first part of that episode, filmed in Hawaii several weeks ago, was broadcast last weekend. Ximines will compete on this Sunday’s second part, also filmed previously, for a spot in the top 20.

Although she couldn’t reveal results of Sunday’s show, Ximines spoke to Menifee 24/7 this week about her adventure on a series that has displayed her talent to such a wide audience.

“I grew up singing in church, and I attended a performing arts school for two years in middle school,” she said. “I got to perform in Scotland with school. I’ve sung at Angels Stadium and other conferences and events. But I’ve never performed so close to people who were judging me.”

Ximines attends Orange Vista High School in the Val Verde Unified School District, where her mother is employed. She competes with the dance team there and took her team members along with her to her audition last fall. It turned out to be a memorable experience.

“I was nervous until they told me my dance team could be in there too,” she said. “It’s a singing competition; I’m surprised they let my dance team perform. But the judges had heard I had my dance team with me and they wanted to see them.

“It was hard because I had to go right back out there and sing after I had just finished dancing, but it helped me from being too nervous.”

Ximines said she had considered auditioning for “American Idol” in the past, but her initial audition was actually the result of the show’s producers reaching out to her. They had learned about Ximines through her Instagram account and from her voice coach.

Performing the song “Language” by Tori Kelly, Ximines wowed the judges and was on her way to Hollywood with a unanimous “yes” vote. You can watch her audition here.

The Hollywood episode required contestants to sing a duet with another competitor. Ximines chose Isa Pena, with whom she sang a memorable rendition of “Try” by Pink.

“Picking a partner was not hard,” Ximines said. “She was at my audition and I remembered her. We were the only people singing that song, so it was easy to stand out. She’s in rock and I’m in pop, and the way our voices blended was amazing.”

In the process of song selection, contestants stood in front of a board on which were placed sign-up sheets for various songs that could be performed. Each song could be sung by up to seven duets, but Ximines and Pena were the only ones to choose “Try”.

“It was super chaotic,” Ximines said about the process. “We got our song, we went over into a corner to practice, then back to the hotel to change clothes. We practiced a couple more times and then we performed.”

You can see and hear that performance here.

Olivia’s mother, Dr. Sandra Stewart-Ximines, said she hopes Menifee residents will tune in to see the results of Sunday’s show.

“Olivia has been singing for as long as I can remember,” she said. “Singing on a stage is not something that is new to her.”

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the status of the live rounds for “American Idol” top 20 competitors is uncertain. Production is on hiatus while executives determine how such competition could be held without an audience and with social distancing among contestants and judges.

For now, however, the buzz around Menifee is Sunday night’s episode, when we learn whether Ximines made it into that elite group. “American Idol” airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC.