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Garrett Jacobs of Bossier City, La., gave a solid
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'American Idol' fans will have to tune in to see if 2 local singers make the show

Alfonso Bresciani/ABC

'American Idol' fans will have to tune in to see if 2 local singers make the show

It didn’t take long for Pittsburgh fans to get a glimpse of Gabby Barrett on ABC’s “American Idol.” How long the 18-year-old Munhall singer stays around, well, that’s the trick.

The reboot returned Sunday with a two-night premiere. In the opening montage Monday, the blond Ms. Barrett was shown checking in for what was likely her judges panel audition a few months back. She also was featured in a promotion for the show (note the 25-second mark of the video).

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Another local singer, Aubrey Burchell, 17, of North Huntingdon, also sang for the judges. Producers of “American Idol” film hundreds of contestants at this stage, so there is no guarantee fans will see either woman perform in the coming weeks. “Idol” airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m.

The two-hour episode Monday lost in ratings to “The Voice” on NBC, with ABC getting 8.4 million viewers and a 1.8 rating in the key 18-49 age demo. “The Voice” (11.7 million viewers, 2.3 rating) won the night.

ABC’s reboot went in pitching with its mostly tried-and-true mix of featurettes and good/bad singers. Example: Mara Justine, 15, of Galloway, N.J. practically had a heart attack when she met Ryan Seacrest and was equally breathless to sing for Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.

But she nailed Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain” and earned her golden ticket to Hollywood.

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“That’s worth doing ‘American Idol,’ right?” Ms. Perry said after Mara’s audition. Another outstanding high school singer was Garrett Jacobs, 17, of Bossier City, La. Unpolished but showing great potential, he had the judges eager to work with him.

Then, he FaceTimed the good news to his grandmother, Honey, with the celeb judges in the background.

Through two nights of “Idol,” there seemed to be more high school students auditioning than when the show was on Fox. One reason might be that the advent of YouTube, Facebook and other free online platforms for performance have given younger singer more opportunities to hone their craft. A 16-year-old today might be more confident about investing in an “Idol” tryout than 10 years ago. 

One of the “older” singers was David Francisco, 25, who sang “Isn’t She Lovely?” He had the judges in tears for his comeback story. Mr. Francisco was hit by a car while riding his bicycle shortly after moving to Nashville. Paralyzed from the waist down for months, he began to regain the feeling in his legs and walked, with crutches, into his audition.

There were more tears after he won his ticket to Hollywood.

In other reality news:

“RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars” crowned its third winner Thursday: Trixie Mattel. 

Allowing the eliminated All Star queens to choose the final two might have thrown a wrench into Mama RuPaul Charles’ plans. They did not pick Shangela (D.J. Pierce), who was perhaps the favorite going into Thursday night’s finale episode. Instead, they put up Kennedy Davenport (Reuben Asberry Jr.) against Trixie Mattel (Brian Michael Firkus).

Trixie lip synced for the crown, joining Chad Michaels and University of Pittsburgh grad Alaska (Justin Honard) in Ru’s drag hall of fame.

Looking ahead, Billy Eichner, Christina Aguilera, Stephen Colbert, Shania Twain, “Broad City’s” Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer are among celebs serving as judges or making guest appearances when VH1’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” returns for Season 10 on Thursday.

Fourteen queens will compete for the $100,000 grand prize. This season, all episodes will be 90 minutes and followed by a behind-the-scenes companion piece, “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked.”

One of our biggest gripes since the series went from Logo to VH1 is the skimpy time allotted for runway shows. Surely 90 minutes might allow the ladies to walk all the way down and back? We can hope.

On the subject of “Drag Race,” Season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio will be at Stage AE on the North Shore Friday with her “Blame It On Bianca Del Rio” comedy tour. 

• Television continues to embrace live stunts, so here we have History’s “Evel Live.” In the course of three live hours July 8 (8 p.m.), motor sports pro Travis Pastrana will attempt to master three of Evel Knievel’s iconic motorcycle stunts.

Riding a modern re-creation of Mr. Knievel’s V-twin motorcycle, Mr. Pastrana will attempt to break the record of jumping over 50 cars. He’ll also try to clear 14 full-sized buses and, because this is Las Vegas, he hopes to succeed where Mr. Knievel failed 50 years ago in an attempt to jump the Caesar’s Palace fountain.

• It’s “Youth Week” on CBS’s “The Price is Right” beginning Monday. Expectant parents will vie for the usual fabulous prizes, followed by shows featuring parents and kids 4-9, tweens and college funds-seeking teens.

Maria Sciullo: msciullo@post-gazette.com or @MariaSciulloPG.

First Published: March 16, 2018, 6:59 p.m.
Updated: March 16, 2018, 8:32 p.m.

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Garrett Jacobs of Bossier City, La., gave a solid "American Idol" audition, then called his grandma to tell her about it.  (Alfonso Bresciani/ABC)
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