One SC singer makes ‘American Idol’ top 12, another kicked off show

“American Idol’s top 12 is set and one among them is from South Carolina.

It’s Warren Peay, the 24-year-old Bamberg appliance repairman and worship leader.

Mariah Faith, the Conway hairdresser, did not make it. She was one of eight contestants who did not get the popular vote or a save from judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.

All 20 contestants sang during the show Monday, some for fun, as host Ryan Seacrest said, because they had already learned their fate. The others, he said, “sang for survival.”

Peay came out to the stage without his good luck hat and sang “It’s Not My Time.” Peay has said throughout the contest that he didn’t think he’d get far, but Monday night during the live show he looked relaxed, Seacrest said.

Faith’s turn came immediately after Peay. She sang “If It Hadn’t Been for Love.”

Bryan said he thought her song choice during the show Sunday night — “Cry to Me” by Solomon Burke — didn’t help her.

But, he added, “Way to show up after receiving heartbreaking news.”

Besides Peay, the top 10 voted on by viewers were:

• Wé Ani, 24 of Harlem, New York, came in third on “The Voice” when she was 17.
  
  

• Haven Madison, 17, of Clarksville, Tennessee, whose father is Jason Roy, the lead singer of Christian rock band Building 429.
  
  

• Tyson Venegas, 17, a Filipino-Canadian from Vancouver, British Columbia, who won a platinum ticket in the show’s first round.
  
  

• Colin Stough, 19, a HVAC technician from Amory, Mississippi. Bryan looked like he was watching his own child perform. Perry said afterward, “One moment can change a life and you just had that moment.”
  
  

• Marybeth Byrd, 21, of Armorel, Arkansas where she is a radio host. She also competed on The Voice.
  
  

• Oliver Steele, 25, of Mount Juliet, Tennessee. He said he keeps proving himself wrong and he needs to stop.
  
  

• Iam Tongi, 18, of Kahuku, Hawaii, who sang Richie’s song “Stuck on You” with a little Hawaiian twist. Richie beamed and danced and sang. When Tongi was done, Richie ran up on the stage and hugged him.
  
  

• Zachariah Smith, 20, a grill cook of Amory, Mississippi, whose town was heavily damaged during a tornado in March. He is stepdad to three small children.
  
  

• Megan Danielle, a 21-year-old server from Douglasville, Georgia.
  
  

The Judges picked Lucy Love, 28, of Holly Grove, Arkansas, and Nutsa, 28, from Tbilisi, the capital of the country of Georgia..