Caleb Hawley Advances to American Idol's Las Vegas Round

graduate Caleb Hawley advanced all the way through the American Idol Hollywood Round and into the Las Vegas Round, getting plenty of national TV air time in the process. Hawley was shown performing on the show on both Wednesday and Thursday. Hawley said his TV appearances have had a big affect on his current tour.

"The exposure, the fans, the website hits have been huge. The timing has been right for the tour," Hawley said. "A lot of times when I go to a city where I've never been, there will be like 15 people at the first show, but that's never been the case on this tour."

A segment that aired on Wednesday showed Hawley performing as a member of the group Four Non Blondes and That Guy. Footage of the group's rehearsal in a girls bathroom showed Hawley playing his guitar while sitting in a stall. Hawley began the group's mini performance of Cee Lo Green's Forget You. 

Hawley's group included Devyn Rush of New Hope, PA; Chris Medina of Oak Forest, IL; Carson Higgins of Malibu, CA; and Erin Kelly of Bradenon, FL. 

"I was lucky. I had a really laid-back group," Hawley said. "Everyone brought their strengths. The best part of that round is that's when I made my closest friends there."

Hawley continue to keep in touch with some of the group members and recently crashed at Medina's home in Chicago while touring through the area.

All of the members of Hawley's group advanced, except for Rush.

The next portion of Hollywood week was a solo round in which Hawley performed Stevie Wonder's Sir Duke. 

"There was a list of about 20 to 30 songs that we could pick from. I played that song before, so it was really easy," Hawley said. "I have a hard time with memorizing lyrics in general. So if I can pick a song I already know, it's definitely a plus."

About 20 seconds of his solo performance was aired on Thursday night. 

"It was cool, because I felt more comfortable with my guitar and I was proud of the arrangement I made," Hawley said. "You can kind of hear [judge Randy Jackson] cheering in the background, so I think he dug the guitar-playing."

After the top 100 performed a solo round, the judges split the contestants into four rooms where each group found out as a whole whether they would advance. Hawley was briefly shown as a member of Room 1, which was full of contestants moving on to Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Round is scheduled to air on Feb. 23-24, with the competitors singing music by the Beatles. The field of 50 should be narrowed to the top 24 by the conclusion of the Feb. 24 show.