Massapequa Park's Jesse Findling will try to make it into 'American Idol's' Top 20

After reaching the top 30 in Nashville last week on the ABC singing competition "American Idol," Massapequa Park’s Jesse Findling this Monday tries to make the top 20 at this season’s next venue, Disney’s Aulani resort in Ko Olina, Hawaii.

"This Monday's episode is the Ohana round," says the 20-year-old, referring to the Hawaiian word for "family" in a pre-show phone call. "So we were supposed to pick a song that had some special family meaning. 'Photograph' by Ed Sheeran was the perfect song," he says, because "I'm dedicating it to grandpa" — the late Harvey Findling, a professional photographer for weddings and other events.

The melancholy ballad, from Sheeran’s 2014 album "x," / "touches on how important it is that we should make memories with the people that we love," says Findling, a 2023 Massapequa High School graduate currently taking a spring-semester break from upstate Binghamton University, where he is a junior majoring in biology. "So it just felt like a great way to honor him."
He added that because of the family theme, "The emotion of the song was super important this round. That's something I don't struggle with — emoting when I sing — but I wanted to make sure that the way I was emoting wasn't all sad. Because this song for me is more bittersweet than sad. It's about me remembering my grandpa and the happy memories we had with him. So the way I delivered it, it's obviously a sad song, but I had a smile on my face throughout a lot of it."

The Ohana round, new in this 24th season, offers judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood three "focus groups" consisting of the contestants themselves; the contestants’ family and friends; and industry insiders and influencers. Each group will give a contestant one of three "platinum tickets," which were introduced in a different context in season 20. The significance of this season-24 version is as yet unrevealed.
Whatever happens, Findling got to spend several days in Hawaii "in late January," he says, "when it was snowing back on Long Island. ... That made me enjoy it so much more!"

And true to the Ohana theme, "My whole family was there: my mom, dad, brother and sister."
"I wish we’d been able to do more with each other, because I was busy the whole time — but it was a good busy," Findling saysy. "And it's a journey and an experience that I can have now forever."