American Idol fans are loving platinum ticket winner Huntergirl

'American Idol' season 20 contestant Huntergirl with the platinum ticket.
Huntergirl got invited to perform at Luke Bryan's bar after her successful audition. (Image credit: ABC)

American Idol season 20 has finally kicked off, and it seems lots of talent show fans are backing country singer Huntergirl as an early favorite!

The series premiered on Sunday, Feb. 27 with the first leg of the auditions. The opening episode featured a range of great performances including Taylor Fagins' moving original song, an adorable duet between Cole Hallman and his younger sister, and a performance from Aretha Franklin's granddaughter, Grace, which saw Katy Perry walking out as Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie decided not to send her to Hollywood.

Along with these auditions, we saw Tennessee country singer HunterGirl — aka Hunter Wolkonowski — take home the show's first-ever platinum ticket, a new twist for the show which lets the recipient bypass the first round of Hollywood Week. In her daily life, Hunter tried out for the show with the Rascal Flatts' song, "Riot". 

You can watch Hunter's audition below.

Her performance earned her a standing ovation. Luke Bryan even said Hunter's voice was "my favorite female country voice that I've heard in 5 years." As if that wasn't enough excitement, Hunter was later invited to sing at Luke's bar in Nashville, where the judges surprised her with the good news and the platinum ticket during her performance!

Hunter didn't just impress the judges, she seems to have won over plenty of fans at home, too as lots of viewers took to Twitter to sing her praises. 

One wrote: "there is something so fresh, authentic, and extra special about Hunter Girl".

Another commented: "Hunter Girl is great. Glad she made it to Hollywood", and there were plenty more kind words for her from lots of other viewers, too!  

Since Luke Bryan has handed out a platinum ticket, there are only two left. Will another lucky contestant be taking one home this week? You'll have to tune in this weekend to find out...

The American Idol season 20 auditions continue on Sunday, March 6 at 8 pm ET. You can watch the first episode of the new season on ABC.com and Hulu.

Martin Shore
Staff Writer at WhatToWatch.com

Martin was a Staff Writer with WhatToWatch.com, where he produced a variety of articles focused on the latest and greatest films and TV shows. Now he works for our sister site Tom's Guide in the same role.

Some of his favorite shows are What We Do In The Shadows, Bridgerton, Gangs of London, The Witcher, Doctor Who, and Ghosts. When he’s not watching TV or at the movies, Martin’s probably still in front of a screen playing the latest video games, reading, or watching the NFL.