It was all about the viewers on tonight’s episode of American Idol.
The Top 6 performed two songs for America’s votes, both being chosen by their fans.
Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert kicked things off with an amazing performance of “Mad World” by Gary Jules. Just like he did in 2009, Lambert had everyone on their feet cheering when he finished.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kAWesgI5LY
After Lambert hit the stage, the show progressed and we saw performances from La’Porsha Renae, Trent Harmon, Dalton Rapattoni, and MacKenzie Bourg. Before each contestant took the stage, we visited the hometown of each and met all of their biggest supporters.
Out of La’Porsha, Trent, Dalton, and MacKenzie, my favorite was Trent Harmon‘s cover of “Counting Stars” by One Republic. While it wasn’t his best performance, JLo said he did everything he could with what he was given. I think he gave it his best effort, which is all he could do with a song that wasn’t his style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG87S-9pYuc
**SPOILER ALERT**
After the four contestants performed for America’s votes, it was revealed that Sonika Vaid and Tristan McIntosh were the bottom two contestants that received the lowest votes last week. My heart was broken because I’m a hard core Tristan supporter!
Tristan performed “Independence Day” by Martina McBride and Sonika performed “Let It Go” by Demi Lovato. Both girls gave it their all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC_-isdAxEk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZK48w80vrI
The judges told McIntosh that she needed to grow older within her music and branch out to different styles and not plateau. For Vaid, however, the judges told the 20-year-old that her performance was a reminder why she’s here. With that being said, Sonika was saved and able to perform one more time this evening for America’s votes.
After the Top 5 was revealed, Sonika, La’Porsha, Ternt, MacKenzie and Dalton performed their second audience chosen songs. My favorite performance of the night on this half of the show was really hard to choose.
As always, I wanted to choose Mackenzie Bourg because I’m convinced he’s going to win the show, but tonight Dalton Rapattoni sold me! We heard a very heart-felt story of Rapattoni’s bipolar diagnosis and feelings of wanting to die at a young age in his video package. We learned that thanks to his grandmother, Dalton would not be where is is today. She bought him his first guitar and signed him up for lessons. He later learned that he could express himself through music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HszuN3tV5wA
Dalton performed “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel, and he killed it. The tune is already emotional, but the 20-year-old’s performance took it to the next level. Harry Connick Jr. referred to him as a graffiti artist and the song being a blank wall, which was the perfect metaphor for Rapattoni’s constant artistry.
In addition to the Top 5 and Adam Lambert’s performances, Empire’s Yazz and Jussie Smollett took the stage with the Top 6 to perform “Never Let It Die” from the hit drama series.
The Top 5 are Dalton Rapattoni, MacKenzie Bourg, Sonika Vaid, La’Porsha Renae, and Trent Harmon. Make sure to tune in next week at 8PM ET/PT to watch your favorites compete for the Top 4!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOahAYvLUFg
