With the shocking and emotional elimination of Burnell Taylor last week, it's becoming clear that no one is safe on "American Idol." This week, each contestant performed twice: once singing a Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic and the other singing a song they wish they had written themselves. While few truly stood out in their Bacharach/David numbers, the "Idol" hopefuls were given the chance to shine with their personal favorites. So who is one step closer to becoming the next American Idol? And who might be packing their bags?
Angie started off the night singing "Anyone Who Had A Heart," and while the judges all commended her vocal performance, they felt that she needed more passion behind her words. "You gotta digest it like it's a song you wrote," Randy advised her. In her second song of the night, Angie chose the Kari Jobe's "Love Came Down." At home with her piano, Angie had no trouble connecting with the audience or judges. Mariah called it "organic" and "perfect" and Nicki told her that when she performs at the piano, that's the only time she truly stands out.
Amber's performance of "Say a Little Prayer" had Nicki declaring her to be her favorite girl in the competition. She let her inner-diva out with her second song of the night, Beyonce's "Love on Top." All of the judges were wowed and Nicki told her that Beyonce better watch out.
Unfortunately for Lazaro, he couldn't pick up any of Amber's magic, and his performances of both "Close to You" and Robbie Williams's "Angels" had the judges questioning his vocal ability in comparison to the other contestants. Despite his inspirational story and his strong fan base, it's clearly time for Lazaro to pack his bags.
Kree's performance of "What the World Needs Now" had all of the judges raving, with Keith speaking of her compassion as a person and performer and Nicki telling her that she thinks she'll be performing at the Country Music Awards next year. For her personal song, Kree chose "Help Me Make it Through the Night" by Kris Kristofferson. Her performance inspired the judges and Keith told her that she is "everything beautiful and pure about country music."
Janelle started off her night with a sweet performance of "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and though Keith applauded her for her versatility as a performer, Nicki thought it was boring. Janelle's second song of the night, "The Dance" by Garth Brooks, received a better response from the judges, but Nicki told her that she couldn't keep up with the other girls.
The true star of the night, however, was Candice. She started off with "Don't Make Me Over," which received standing ovations all around and had all of the judges raving over her talent. But it was her performance of The Cure's "Lovesong" that brought down the house and left the judges speechless. After Mariah threw glitter at Candice, Randy declared it to be one of the best performances "American Idol", or any talent show for that matter, has ever seen.
"American Idol" airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
