

Following last week’s totally intense (and awkward) episode of American Idol, the pressure was on for the April 22 episode. The top 5 were revealed sending one person packing. Jax once again proved that this competition was hers to lose, but Clark Beckham remained hot on her heels! Check out a full recap!
First up, Jax, singing “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” and it was dope. This is the Jax we fell in love with! She’s finally being herself and she has never sounded better. Next, she slowed it down, singing “White Flag,” sitting at the piano (wearing a most gorgeous, flowing dress). Again, she just rocks this. I think Jax knew she needed to step it up– and she picked the right week to do so. Yes, Jax.
Next, Nick Fradiani sang “Harder to Breath,” which, obviously, is ironic considering we all think he bares a resemblance to Adam Levine, right? I liked it okay, but, I’m just pretty much sold on the fact that at this point, Nick doesn’t have the vocal chops in this competition. Next, he sings “Maggie May,” which is definitely more to my liking. Look, Nick is a hottie and he knows what he’s doing. I’m fine with him being here a bit longer.
Clark Beckham is the next safe contestant, singing The Beatles “Yesterday.” Woah. It is just stunning. I just love how versatile Clark is. He can rock out with his guitar, then on a dime, sing a heart wrenching ballad. Speaking of versatility…Clark’s next song is Justin Bieber‘s “Boyfriend.” So yeah, you will basically find me dead in the middle of Times Square because I literally cannot handle this.
Tyanna Jones goes through next, and she sings the 2010s Miley Cyrus classic, “Party in the USA.” It’s not my very favorite Tyanna performance, but she looks like she is having an absolute blast, and that kind of energy is so contagious– and I’m loving that new look, girl. Next, she sings “Heaven” by Bryan Adams. This one is hot. Tyanna had more fun than anyone else tonight, and in turn she made me have fun, and isn’t that the point of this whole thing?
So with that, we learn that Quentin Alexander is in the bottom two, along with, for the third week in a row, Rayvon Owen.
Quentin sings first, with “Light My Fire.” The tension is especially palpable due to the feud he had with Harry last week, and everyone was wondering whether the two would beef again, kinda overshadowing the performance. Still, it was pretty good, but I don’t see Quentin winning this competition, bottom line. For his next song he sings “Shake it Out”– a notoriously difficult tune. Eesh, his voice doesn’t sound too great on this one. I’m sorry, I do appreciate the risk, but I’m not feeling it.
So Rayvon sings for his life next, taking on Sam Smith‘s “I’m Not the Only One.” It’s super beautiful. I love when Rayvon sings ballads, but I don’t feel as though he did enough to make the song unique. Basically, it’s clear why both are in the bottom two. For his next (and maybe last) song, Rayvon sings “Go Your Own Way,” and it’s actually quite different from the other songs he’s sang the last few weeks. Rayvon ain’t goin’ down without a fight, and the audience just ate his performance up.
So who goes home? Drumroll please…Quentin. And Rayvon lives to fight yet another day!
What do you think of the results? Are you sad to see Quentin go?
— Casey Mink