Jonny West will find out if he makes the top 5 on season 18 of American Idol during the show’s finale on May 17. If he is announced as one of the five finalists, he’ll get to sing for America’s votes before a winner is named LIVE on the show. “At first, at least for me, I was like…I just want to hopefully get on TV and maybe get some people to come listen to my music,” Jonny told HollywoodLife and other media outlets after the show’s May 10 episode. “Then, all of a sudden, we’re at the top 7 and I don’t know how this happened. It got away from me. So, I don’t know — I haven’t really thought much about [the possibility of winning].”
The 23-year-old pointed out that there’s “a lot of talent” left on the show, so he knows it’s not going to be easy. “I’ve been on the slow burn of things since the beginning, which I’m totally fine with,” he explained. “I think when that’s the case, you can pleasantly surprise people each round, and I feel like that’s what I’ve been trying to do. So I haven’t really thought about [winning]. I think, if I make it to the top 5, at that point, I’ll have to definitely give thought to what that would mean to be an “American Idol.” But I’m just happy to keep going.”
Throughout this season, Jonny has been compared to season 17 runner-up, Alejandro Aranda, quite a few times, and he admitted that he definitely doesn’t mind that comparison. “To be compared to the guy that kind of made American Idol cool again….it was a real great thing to me,” he said. “So I’ll take it!”
Jonny auditioned for the show alongside his girlfriend, Margie Mays, who was a returning contestant from season 17. Unfortunately, Margie’s dreams were crushed again when she was eliminated after Hollywood Week, but Jonny continued to impress the judges and viewers. Now, he has Margie as his biggest cheerleader! The finale of American Idol airs on Sunday, May 17 at 8:00 p.m. on ABC.