‘American Idol’ Recap: The Judges Are Blown Away As The Top 20 Perform From Home For The 1st Time

With just TEN singers moving on, ‘American Idol’s top 20 sang for their lives with epic performances from their homes during the show’s virtual episode on April 26.

The show must go on on American Idol! Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the top 20 perform from their homes on the April 26 episode, with hopes of earning the judges’ praise and America’s votes for a spot in the top 10. Up first is Kimmy Gabriela, who performs “Leave My Lonely” by Ariana Grande from her backyard. The judges are not only impressed with Kimmy’s voice, but with her presentational evolution and newfound ability to give a memorable performance, as well. “You took it to the next level and you killed it,” Lionel Richie admits.

Next, Jovin Webb shows off his voice’s natural grit with an amazing rendition of “With A Little Help From My Friends” by Joe Cocker. As always, the judges are blown away, and Katy Perry tells Jovin that he “separated himself” from the rest of the competition with his performance. Franklin Boone is the next performer. He sings “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” with his family looking on from the side of their home. The judges are so thrilled by the performance, that Luke Bryan can’t help but kick his heels up in excitement.

Up next is Olivia Ximines, who sings a powerful version of “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish. The judges love hearing the growth in Olivia’s voice, and are confident that she has star power. Louis Knight is the next artist who’s front-and-center, with a performance of “If The World Was Ending” from his bedroom. The judges love the song choice and how it showed Louis’ artistry, although Katy admits that it was “a bit nasally.”

Makayla Phillips performs next. She belts out “Greedy” by Ariana Grande, while looking stunning in a sparkling crop top and jeans. The judges love the performance, but Katy urges her to choose a song that “tugs at the heartstrings” more if she moves onto the top 10. The next performance is from Aliana Jester, who sings “Run To You” by Whitney Houston. It’s obviously an extremely difficult song to sing, and Aliana kills it!

Next, straight from her garage, Faith Becnel gives a powerful performance of “River.” The judges give her major praise, and applaud Faith more controlled voice compared to the last time they heard her sing. The next performer is Nick Merico. He sings “Hey There Delilah” and plays piano. Luke tells Nick that he wish he dug down “just a little more,” but overall, the judges love the stripped-down performance.

Lauren Spencer-Smith is up next with a rendition “Mamma Knows Best.” The judges are not only impressed with Lauren’s voice, but at how much she’s grown as an artist. Following Lauren is Cyniah Elise, who belts out “Warrior” by Demi Lovato. The judges rave over how effortless it was, and Katy urges Cyniah to continue evolving if she moves on. Next, Francisco Martin sings one of Katy’s own songs, “Teenage Dream.” It gets Katy’s nod of approval, who lets Francisco know that he did the song “real justice.”

Next, Sophia James (Wackerman) performs “Burning” by Maggie Rogers, while also playing her keyboard. The judges love the vocals, but Luke admits that Sophia could have connected with the camera a bit more instead of looking down at the piano. DeWayne Crocker Jr. is next. He gives a fun performance of “I Feel Good,” which has his family members dancing on the sidelines. The judges are super impressed by DeWayne’s final run, although they admit they wish that the performance had a little more “growl.”

Following DeWayne is Dillon James. Dillon sings “Let It Be Me” and plays guitar from his backyard. Lionel lauds Dillon as a “world class artist,” and the judges are all-around thrilled with what Dillon did. Arthur Gunn is up next with an upbeat performance of “Lovin’ Machine.” Lionel loves it so much, that he gets on his feet to applaud Arthur, and the judges agree that they love the “vibe” that he brought.

Up next is Julia Gargano, who plays piano while singing “Human” by Christina Perri. The judges applaud her as a superstar, and also rave over Julia’s ability to stylize the performance right in her wheelhouse. Following Julia is Grace Leer, who earned the last spot in the top 20 after beating out Lauren Mascitti for America’s vote last week. She proves her deserves her spot with a performance of “Cry” by Faith Hill, and the judges are very happy with the performance.

Just Sam is up next. She sings “I Believe” by Fantasia and it’s absolutely stunning. The judges love it so much that they audibly cheer loudly and express how proud they are. To close out the night, Jonny West sings “What A Wonderful World.” It’s the perfect way to end the night, as his gorgeous vocals and the song’s inspiring message leave viewers on a high note. Now, fans can vote for their favorites, and only TEN will move on. The results will be revealed during next week’s live episode on May 3.