Contestants audition in front of the judges, who must narrow the field from 20 to 12; the first half of the roster includes an engineer and someone related to soul group The Staple Singers.

Contestants audition in front of the judges, who must narrow the field from 20 to 12; the second half of the roster includes two sisters and a performer who found stardom as a child.

The top 12 contenders must compete in pairs by singing the same song; in this challenge, the contestants will have the opportunity to showcase their individual vocal styles and set themselves apart from each other.