Of the 144 remaining hopefuls, only 62 were chosen to move on to the next round, which meant that more than half of the artists were cut by judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan. Everyone gathered at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles to compete in the Idol Arena, where they all gave solo performances.

American Idol” contestant Samantha Ray paid tribute to her late sister with an audition that brought judge Carrie Underwood to tears during Sunday’s new episode.