The original singing competition is always trying to surprise us!!
Tonight’s ‘American Idol’ didn’t just feature a new twist (which we’ll get to) but it also gave us the return of the Original Idol Queen…..
Kelly Clarkson!!
Kelly returned to her old stomping grounds to act as a mentor for the Top 9 and also perform her new single. The finalists would all be performing one of Kelly’s tracks!
The action was going to get REAL……and in real time, with the addition of the Fan Save.
Explanation?
The Fox page stated:
1. Ryan will announce which Idols are in the Bottom Two along with their specific “save” Twitter hashtags.
2. You will have about five minutes in which you can tweet your choice using the hashtag for your favorite contestant.
3. Once the Idol Fan Save window closes and the hashtag votes are collected, Ryan will announce which of the bottom two has been saved.
4. One finalist will stay in the competition; the other will go home
Got all that?
Here we go!!
1. Nick Fradiani – Catch My Breath
VERY happy that Nick made it through right out the gate, because now I don’t have to worry!
Nick got the show off to a great start, and while the judges seemed to think he needed to open up still, yours truly found the performance as a whole great. Nick’s been growing every single week and this was yet another fantastic performance!!
2. Jax – “Beautiful Disaster”
I don’t even have words.
Goosebumps from start to finish. That’s all.
We were then treated to a group performance of Kelly’s hit “People Like Us”, and then it as back to competition. Ryan Seacrest joined the top 9 afterwards, and informed Tyanna that she was through!
3. Tyanna Jones – “Mr. Know It All”
Our rising star really brought an intensity out this week, which is just what Kelly wanted!! Tyanna wanted to tell a story with her performance, and she did just that with a powerhouse vocal. Keith Urban seemed to disagree though, and told Tyanna he wasn’t feeling the connection with the track. Jennifer Lopez echoed Keith’s words, but did she she sounded fantastic.
4. Joey Cook – “Miss Independent”
Let’s hope Joey gets her groove back!
Absolutely genius rendition and Joey made the song all her own!! The unique take on the track was so original and while it was very different, it didn’t take away from it. The artistic side of this was out of this world. Incredible!!
Time for the Idol Queen to grace the stage!!
Kelly, looking ravishing in red, performed her #1 hit “HeartBeat Song” and what else is there to say?
STELLAR vocals!!
Back to the competition!!!
5. Quentin Alexander – “Dark Side”
Kelly was floored with Quentin’s passion in the track, but would it transition to the live stage?
When it comes to song selection, Clark and Quentin are on other levels, and this was proof of that. Keith and Jennifer praised the performance but Harry managed to crap on the whole thing and call Quentin out on his control. Okay, were there a few off parts?
Yes.
But it was still amazing!!!
Only two more spots until we get to our bottom 2…..
6. Qaasim Middleton – “Stronger”
Okay.
Qaasim seemed to struggle with the arrangement and his vocal suffered because of that. He finally gave the judges the moment they wanted, but unfortunately it fell flat. The vocal was nowhere close to where it needed to be.
Kelly Clarkson then took the stage one more time and delivered a show stopping performance of “At Last”. Seriously, hit up YouTube and find this.
AMAZING.
7. Clark Beckham – “The Trouble With Love Is”
OTHER. LEVEL.
That sums up Clark’s powerful rendition of one of Kelly’s earlier hits. It’s appearing this boy can’t be stopped. I think I was reacting in my living room the exact same way Jennifer Lopez was reacting in the studio. This was BRILLIANT and Clark is going to the finale. Plain and simple.
This now meant that Daniel and Rayvon would be the bottom 2. Each of them would perform and then America would instantly save one of them from elimination.
8. Daniel Seavey – “Breakaway”
Could he live up to the pressure?
No.
The vocal was way out of Daniel’s grasp and he never really had a hold of it. There may have been a couple notes that landed but the performance was very weak compared to the rest of the night.
Sorry buddy.
9. Rayvon Owen – “Since U Been Gone”
How…..do you make this a ballad?
THAT’S HOW.
Rayvon took arguably Kelly’s biggest hit and completely changed it, and shockingly made it sound absolutely incredible. Rayvon’s control during the number was outstanding and his falsetto was finally on point for me. There have been issues over the past few weeks for yours truly, but not tonight.
INCREDIBLE.
Interesting turn people.
It was time for the Fan Save, and after a very long 5 minutes, America came back with their decision:
Rayvon was SAFE!!
That means the end of the road for the youngest Idol finalist this year, Daniel Seavey.
He really should be proud of himself as he got VERY far in the competition.
There you have it everyone, your Top 8!!
Are you shocked/surprised by the save?
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