Last week's big moment on American Idol came when the youngest contestant, Daniel Seavey, lost the Twitter Fan Save to Rayvon Owen. Things are starting to get serious considering the fact that Seavey had been a fan favorite since his first audition. Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr. gave what advice they could tonight, April 8, but it didn't matter for one unlucky singer.
Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line and Jason Derulo joined Scott Borchetta as the mentors for this week. Both artists debuted new singles, and Derulo's performance of his new single "Want to Want Me" went down as a highlight for the ep. Iggy Azalea and Jennifer Hudson showed up for a rendition of "Trouble" that was also a nice surprise.
The contestants chose from hits on the Billboard chart, so there were plenty of pop classics performed. The swag was on full blast for Qaasim Middleton's performance. He rebounded after last week's lackluster showing, but it wasn't enough.
7. Jax, "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga: The singer sacrificed the energy of the original version for something a little more her style. She went too far left with the pop tune, J. Lo said, which was a decent assessment. Her vocals were impressive, as always, but the performance as a whole was inconsistent. She still has enough juice to make it another week, but she has to be careful.
6. Joey Cook, "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus: This was Cook's most deliberate performance. She ditched her spastic dance moves and stared down the cameras during climactic moments. The singer looked like she held back when the choruses dropped, but she took the verses to a different place. It wasn't her best performance because she missed some opportunities.
5. Nick Fradiani, "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry: There's always a chance at something special when a singer takes on a song by an artist of the opposite sex. Fradiani is starting to hit his groove finally, and this performance bought him another week without question. Vocals could have been stronger, but that's a minor detail. Connick didn't dig it, and somehow that led to the judge breaking out into an unfortunate performance of the tune. We get it, Harry. You're the funny one.
3. Rayvon Owen, "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele: The arrangement helped push Owen to a whole other level. That was the most alive he looked in weeks. The poor guy has had to fight the past two weeks to stay in the competition, and he's risen to the challenge every time.
2. Clark Beckham, "Make It Rain" by Ed Sheeran: Beckham is one of the best singers in the competition. "Make It Rain" didn't show off his performing chops, but the vocals were killer. Sure, if he wants to win, he's going to have to play the game, which may mean better wardrobe choices and more dramatic performances. But he's already poised for a decent career no matter what the outcome.
1. Tyanna Jones, "Stay" by Rihanna: The emotions got the best of Jones on this one, but it made the performance all the more touching. Her voice is so amazing. The judges kept talking about how Beckham was a lock for the finale, which may be true. But Jones almost has to make it there because she's the whole package.
