The May 5 episode of American Idol has the singers taking the stage TWICE: First, to sing songs inspired by Woodstock for the festival’s 50th anniversary, and second to sing something that inspires them. The first artist to perform is Madison VanDenburg, with a rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart.” She rocks out on her electric guitar for the performance and the judges are on their feet to applaud the high-energy set. They praise her for coming out of her shell even further and let her know she’s definitely on her way to being a star.
Up next, Laine Hardy sings “I Don’t Need No Doctor” by Joe Cocker/Ray Charles. Luke Bryan compliment’s Laine’s song choice, and lets him know he consistently picks the right songs. The judges also praise Laine for consistently singing well, while also forming a new identity onstage, which has stuck throughout the season. Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon is up next, and he sings “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” by Joan Baez. He plays piano for half the performance, and gets on his feet for the rest, showing his full versatility — or as Lionel Richie raves, “You’re bringing the bling and the swing!”
Next, Laci Kaye Booth is up with a performance of “To Love Somebody” by Janis Joplin/The Bee Gees. She gets a standing ovation from the judges, and Katy Perry gushes that Laci is a “superstar,” but urges her to be a little less stiff onstage. Following Laci is Alejandro Aranda, who sings “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane, and the judges compliment him for stepping out of his comfort zone a bit and doing something different than they’ve ever seen from him before.
To close out the Woodstock round, Wade Cota sings Joe Cocker’s “With A Little Help From My Friends.” Wade leaves everything on the stage, and the crowd goes absolutely nuts for his high-energy performance. The judges are also impressed, and Katy even raves that it was the best performance of the night so far.
Madison returns to the stage to kick off the Showstoppers round with a rendition of “I Surrender” by Celine Dion. It’s obviously a huge song, and Madison worries about whether or not she’ll be able to hit all the big notes. She nails the performance, and Katy applauds her for taking all the judges advice and truly bringing it onstage. Alejandro is back next with a gorgeous rendition of an original song called “Poison.” The judges rave over Alejandro’s performance, and agree that it’s the best he’s sung in the competition so far.
Laci is back next for a performance of “Open Arms” by Journey, but she’s nervous about whether or not she’ll be able to be a true ‘Showstopper,’ because she’s not used to belting notes in her performances. She gets some great advice from mentor Lauren Daigle, and brings it BIG time onstage. The judges praise her “great delivery” of the song, and praise her for finally getting to her comfort zone.
Next, Jeremiah belts out an incredible rendition of Barbara Streisand’s “Somewhere.” As always, he nails every big note, and the judges are beyond impressed. Luke points out that Jeremiah had a bit of a shaky start, but gushes over how he came back and finished so big. Wade returns next with a performance of “Through The Valley” by Shawn James. “It feels like a total Johnny Cash moment,” Luke says, and Lionel begs America to vote for Wade.
To close out the night, Laine is back with a performance of “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry. The judges are out of their seats dancing during the performance, and Laine loosens up more than ever onstage. He even shows off some dance moves that Lauren taught him in rehearsals, and it’s the perfect way to end the show!
Of course, the show can’t really end without some results. The four contestants voted through by America are: Madison, Laine, Alejandro and Wade. That means Laci and Jeremiah are the bottom two, but the judges have ONE save to use, and this is their last chance to do it. They all have to come to an agreement on the save, and at the very last second, they go with Laci.