By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Sandite country singer Jacob Tankersley didn’t make it on American Idol, the Thursday night episode. But he did make it to Hollywood, and might show up during next week's episodes.

The Charles Page High School graduate and Claremore-based Worship Leader auditioned at Tulsa’s Guthrie Green during the American Idol Bus Tour, performing Kenny Loggins’ “Danny’s Song.” Impressing the producers, Tankersley was invited to the Little Rock auditions where he performed in front of judges Harry Connick, Jr., Keith Urban, and Jennifer Lopez.

Only a handful of the Little Rock auditions were aired on television, and unfortunately, Tankersley was not among them. He did, however, receive a ticket to Hollywood.

The first episode of American Idol’s 15th and final season aired on Wednesday, and featured the auditions from Denver and Atlanta. Jacob, his wife, Ashleigh, and their daughter June all made a brief appearance in a segment on cute babies.

***Spoiler Alert***

June is a cute baby. Like, super cute. Here's some pictures of June and her older brother, Elijah.

Photo by Kara Whisenhunt, Whisenhunt Photography
https://www.facebook.com/Whisenhuntphotography/timeline

Photo by Tara Cope, Full Feather Photography
https://fullfeatherphotography.com/

Thursday night’s episode focused on Little Rock and San Francisco, and viewers didn’t have to wait long to see Tankersley this time. Within the first minute of the show, the Little Rock auditioners made a big group appearance and Tankersley was right up front.

He appeared again later on in the episode during a montage of mic checks.

Though Tankersley’s audition hasn’t been shown yet, it’s still possible it could be aired at a later point. The January 14th, Thursday night, episode will be showing more auditions from Little Rock, and Hollywood week begins Wednesday, January 27th. However, if you want to see all of Tankersley, you'll have to tune in for every episode because he was seen in this Wednesday night's episode as well, despite it being focused on Denver and Atlanta.

The important thing is that he made it on to the next round and is that much closer to seeing his dreams come true.