On top of Carrie Underwood replacing Katy Perry as judge, there are lots of new additions in Season 23 of American Idol. As part of your 2025 TV schedule, a common trend I’m seeing this season is the children of famous performers coming into the legendary audition room. Contestant Lola Bonfiglio experienced complaints from fans when she auditioned on the reality TV competition series with Wilson Phillips, and her mom, Carnie Wilson, reacted.
It’s not unusual for the kids of celebrities to audition for American Idol. We saw that in the past when Jim Carrey’s daughter, Jane, auditioned in Season 11, as well as Alex Preston on Season 13. Preston is the cousin of country singer Jo Dee Messina. Of course, we can’t forget that one of the most famous American Idol contestants, Jordin Sparks, is the daughter of former football player Phillippi Sparks.
On the March 23 episode of the ABC series, Lola Bonfiglio revealed herself to be the daughter of Wilson Phillips singer Carnie Wilson during her audition. The pop vocal group reunited on TV by singing “One More Day” (which you may remember as one of the best movie musical moments in Bridesmaids) with the 19-year-old contestant and her father, Rob Bonfiglio, accompanying them on guitar. However, Wilson got real at ‘90s Con (via EW) about the internet being “so cruel” about the band singing with Bonfiglio at her audition:
[The] comments were really pissing me off, and I can't respond. Would you encourage a doctor's son not to be a doctor? No. Would you ever say, 'Don't be a doctor because your dad's a doctor'? Lola wants to be a singer, and they say these terrible things, and she was so hurt.
This brings me back to the nepo baby debate. Actress Lily-Rose Depp made the same argument, asserting that she’s not a nepo baby any more than if someone wanted to be a doctor who happened to come from a line of doctors. Sure, Lola Bonfiglio has connections to talented performers like Carnie Wilson, her aunt Wendy Wilson, and her grandfather Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame. It just suggestst that her singing talent runs in the family and she wants to make great use of it.
Lola Bonfiglio not only sang with her relatives, but did a rendition of Kacey Musgraves’ tune “Rainbow” by herself. So, we saw that the young contestant could perform well on her own. The judges' yeses were unanimous, and she got to go to Hollywood for the next round of auditions. Carnie Wilson continued to talk about what the American Idol experience was like for everyone that happy day:
It was the scariest thing she ever has done. She was trembling with nerves, and she did great. I'm so proud of her, and they asked us to sing, you know, so we came and crashed the party. I don't think that Lionel and Carrie Underwood and Luke knew we were gonna be there, so that was fun.
I could tell watching the audition how proud Carnie Wilson was of her daughter. She didn’t hold back those tears of joy, seeing her daughter sing her heart out. It’s a real shame that despite the musical family having a great day seeing Lola Bonfiglio advance to the next round, internet haters were spreading their negativity toward them. The American singer brought something to light that every social media user should keep in mind:
I just want people to understand that it's not all these happy glitter things. We're real people with hearts and souls.
All the people who audition on American Idol have “hearts and souls.” Whether a contestant gets to go to Hollywood or doesn’t, it takes a lot of courage to audition in front of judges Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan and know there’s a chance it’ll air on TV. After all, Backstreet Boys’ Brian Littrell’s son, Baylee, is part of the Hollywood rounds too and has advanced to the Top 24.
The internet may have given its criticism to Lola Bonfiglio auditioning with Wilson Phillips, but you have to admit that she gave it her all. While the college student was eliminated in the first week of Hollywood rounds, I can’t wait to see her continue to make a name for herself in the music industry. New episodes of American Idol premiere Sundays and Mondays at 8/7c on ABC as well as on your Hulu subscription.
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