Just eight singers remain on American Idol, and after the Monday, May 5, episode, one more will be sent home. The episode featured the return of the judge’s song contest, where each judge selected a possible song for the Top 8 artists to sing.
After learning of their song choices in rehearsals — but without knowing which judge selected each song — the remaining singers picked whichever one they wanted to perform on stage. Of course, this led to some friendly competition between Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Carrie Underwood.
Throughout the show, America will vote for their favorites, with the Top 6 automatically moving on. Then, the judge who wins the song contest will save one of the bottom two from being eliminated, leaving just seven singers left going forward. Scroll down for a full recap of the performances and to find out who goes home later on!
Breanna Nix
Breanna Nix chose Martina McBride‘s “Independence Day” from her three choices. She guessed that Bryan was the one to choose her song, and she was right! That put him in a 1-0 lead.
ABC
“[Your voice] has that Martina McBride purity and you just displayed that perfectly with that song,” Bryan explained. “That is an amazingly challenging song. I didn’t understand the emotional ties you had to that song … missing a word or two is no big deal. The ease at which you hit those high notes was tremendous. You hit notes like that effortlessly.”
Yes, Breanna did have a small mishap in the middle of the performance, but she recovered perfectly without missing a beat.
Mattie Pruitt
For her Top 8 performance, Mattie Pruitt chose to sing “Always Been You” by Jessie Murph. Although she had trouble picking between two of her choices, she ended up going with this one to show some sass like the judges have been asking for.
ABC
Mattie guessed that Bryan made the song choice, which was once again correct, putting the country singer in the lead with two picks! “Great job. Listen, I think we’ve all kind of heard that Jessie Murph thing in your voice. I don’t think you have to worry about being compared to her like that,” Bryan said. “I think you have to take aspects of your voice and grow it, but still, sass, sass, sass.”
He urged her to “give more” sass, but said, “Vocally, you did amazing.” Underwood said she agreed. “I feel like we’re taking baby steps in the sass department and I think we just want more,” she explained.
John Foster
John Foster chose to sing “I Cross My Heart” by George Strait, which he dedicated to his girlfriend, Brooklyn, who was in the audience. He guessed that Underwood picked the song, and he was right, which put her on the board!
ABC
“The reason I picked the songs for everybody that I picked is because I’ve been in your shoes and I feel like I know what will showcase your voice the best and what people out there would want to hear and vote for. I only had all of you guys in my mind and heart when I picked the songs, and I was so right! That was absolutely perfect,” Underwood explained. “Hearing you sing that song, it felt comfortable, it felt genuine. I feel like this is one of your best performances and it made me so happy.”
Josh King
Josh King was up next. He picked “Home” by Michael Bublé, which he guessed was chosen by Underwood. He was actually incorrect, as it was Richie’s selection! That put the score at two for Bryan, one for Underwood, and one for Richie.
ABC
“It’s the vibe,” Richie explained. “You embody that song. When I saw your name and saw the song, I said, ‘The two need to be together right away.’ And the marriage was perfect.”
Underwood added, “I feel like it was a blessing that you were given the option of a song that you already love and are already comfortable with, instead of getting three songs where you’re like, ‘I don’t know these.’ You seemed really in your element. That was a really strong performance.”
American Idol, Season 23, Sundays and Mondays, 8/7c, ABC
