The Tribune

By LESH AFTER successfully making it through to the Las Vegas rounds last Thursday, Bahamian contestant Mathenee Treco's road to becoming the next American Idol came to an end. Following his journey from the day he was given a golden ticket to Hollywood, Bahamian fans rejoiced and expressed their love for Mathenee after he was the only contestant in his group, the "Make You Believers", to advance to the next round of the competition. Sadly, he was eliminated right after, having failed to make the top 42. Keeping up to date with his followers, Mathenee took to his Facebook page to share the news of his progress on the hit singing show. After securing his spot in the Las Vegas rounds, Mathenee took to the Idol stage in the front of judges Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler to sing a rendition of Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory" during day one. In an interview with The Tribune, the 25-year-old said: "I just gave it to God when I went on stage and again I was just in the zone. I really don't remember it." Singing songs from the 50s during the day two auditions, Mathenee, along with contestants Lauren Gray and Wendy Taylor, were all prepped by Peggi Blu, whom host Ryan Seacrest called "the vocal coach from hell". Going hard on Lauren, Peggi screamed at her, telling her to focus and sing the rehearsal song, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles, the way it was meant to be sung. Although she brought Lauren to tears, Peggi's tough criticism paid off as Lauren, along with Wendy, advanced to the next round, while Mathenee was sent packing. Although he did not make the cut, Mathenee said he is happy with his Idol experience and has nothing but love and goodwill for the finalists whom he said are all extremely talented. "It's crazy to think that I will know the next American Idol. I have formed really close bonds with a lot of the people who are still in the running and they have told me the auditions got even more stressful." Now that his Idol adventure is over, Mathenee said that he will go back to completing his first album, a six-track record called "Math Class". He said he would also love to return to The Bahamas and sing for everyone here who was so supportive of his journey. "My first American Idol audition was back in July, so it's been my focus for a while. So now it's time to get back to things; write music every day. As a songwriter, I have a number of different influences, the island music of the Bahamas, rock, R&B - my music is a fusion of all of that. This is just the beginning of my journey." Moving ahead with eliminations, the three judges last week cut a lot of fan favourites besides Mathenee. Viewers were shocked to see contestants Johnny Keyser, Gabi Carrubba and Britnee Kellogg sent home. Like everyone else, Johnny's elimination was one I did not see coming, With 42 contestants remaining, this week viewers will get the chance to see the group cut down to the top 24.