The performances continued during the April 25 episode of American Idol! This week, the judges, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, each chose a song for the top 11 contestants. Each artist then got to pick which of the three songs they would perform during the live show. At the end of the episode, the judge with the most songs chosen was named “the winner.” Meanwhile, one contestant was also eliminated.
First up, Nicolina chose to perform “Since U Been Gone,” despite it being a bit out of her comfort zone. Nicolina was shocked to find out Lionel chose the song. “I wanted fire from you,” he explained. “Can you make the stage presence work? And we just saw — you lit up the room.” Next, Mike Parker sang “Chasin’ You” by Morgan Wallen, which was picked by Luke. “I love that you did your own thing with it,” Luke said. “Especially your choices at the end. You nailed it just then.”
‘American Idol’ Top 11 Performances
Fritz Hager was up next. He chose to perform Luke’s pick, which was “Wonderwall” by Oasis. Luke gushed that it was a “great, great, great job,” while Lionel said it was a “perfect” performance. Following Fritz was Christian Guardino. Christian sang Sam Smith’s “I’m Not The Only One,” which was revealed to be Katy’s choice, finally putting her on the board. “That song has soul in it and gospel in it and you can just rev up into it, which you did,” Katy explained.
Next to take the stage was Noah Thompson. Noah sang “Heartbreak Warfare” by John Mayer, despite not being familiar with it beforehand. The song was chosen by Luke, who praised Noah for learning the song so quickly. “To take a song and crash course it, it was done really well,” Luke said. “The fact that you challenged yourself — that was a big move.”
Lady K was up next, and she picked “Traitor” by Olivia Rodrigo to sing, since it was different than everything else she’s done on the show. Surprisingly, it was Lionel who chose the song. “I took you out of your wheelhouse and put you into something where it challenged you and it won the challenge,” Lionel gushed.
Up next was HunterGirl, who sang “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton. The song was Luke’s pick, and his excited, dancing reaction said it all. Katy added, “You showed me there’s more and more sparkle — you embody Dolly.” The next to take the stage was Leah Marlene with a performance of “To Make You Feel My Love,” which was Katy’s choice. “It was a big canvas for you to do your thing and hold the room in the palm of your hand like you do so well,” Katy gushed. “You are so beautiful when you sing. It’s angelic.”
Tristen Gresset was next to take the stage, singing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” The song was Lionel’s pick, and Tristen’s high-energy performance got everyone going. “He gave me Mick Jagger on steroids, baby!” Lionel raved. Next, Emyrson Flora chose to sing Katy’s pick, which was “Lovely” by Billie Eilish. “Never run from who you are, you are so great,” Katy assured Emyrson.
The final performance of the night was from Jay Copeland, who sang “Lilac Wine” in an effort to show his softer side. The song, which was Katy’s pick, earned Jay a standing ovation. “That was your best performance yet, in my opinion, of the whole show!” Katy declared.
‘American Idol’ Top 10 Revealed
In the end, the winner of the judges’ song contest was…a TIE between Katy and Luke! Meanwhile, throughout the night of performances, America voted for their favorites, and the nine artists with the most votes moved on. They were: Noah Thompson, Christian Guardino, Fritz Hager, Nicolina, HunterGirl, Emyrson Flora, Leah Marlene, Jay Copeland and Mike Parker.
Sadly, that meant Lady K and Tristen Gressett were in the bottom two, and the winner of the judges song contest got to pick who would stay. Luke and Katy agreed on LADY K, which meant Tristen was eliminated.