'American Idol' Top 4 Performances Recap: New Frontrunner Emerges
TV

Jena Irene wins the night with well-reviewed performances in all three segments, 'Break-Ups', 'Dedications' and 'Make-Up Songs'.

AceShowbiz - It's a game-changing night on "American Idol" Wednesday, May 7 as the Top 4 took the stage to fight for the spots in semifinals. While Caleb Johnson didn't have a wow moment in two of his three performances, Jena Irene picked the right songs for all three segments, "Break-Ups", "Dedications" and "Make-Up Songs", to bring her to the top of competition so far.

Caleb kicked off the night, going with "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi for the "Break-Ups" song. The judges raved with Keith Urban calling it a "Caleb Slayer," but the performance wasn't special until he made it his own at the end.

Next was Jessica Meuse with a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone". Jennifer Lopez thought the song didn't complement Jess' vocal style, Harry Connick Jr. wanted her to "show us how you feel" and not just "feel it," while Keith believed it's a confidence issue.

Alex Preston went with "Too Close" by Alex Clare, giving it a simmering, bluesy funk. Harry appreciated his effort to make the song his own, but J.Lo wanted him to think about whether or not each performance would be helping him win the competition when he picked his songs.

Jena did "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benatar. J.Lo dubbed it "a very commanding performance," and Keith gave it a "10 out of 10" vocally, but felt there's a disconnect between the music and the way she looked. He suggested her to "take the heels off."

Caleb's second song was Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Travellin' Band", which he dedicated to his band in North Carolina. He did a decent job but it's a little too similar to his other performances. The judges had nothing but praises as J.Lo said, "You're going to be hard to beat," and Harry called it "fantastic."

Jess dedicated her rendition of "So What" by Pink to her haters. The judges agreed that the song didn't suit her. "A song that doesn't suit you has no reflection on your talent," Keith said, while an unusually nice Harry said she's a great singer and talent.

Jena turned Lady GaGa's "Bad Romance" into a metal rock song. Harry called it an "interesting choice" and Keith liked it that the arrangement made the song "potent and powerful." J.Lo said that she's "a force to be reckoned with," adding, "You give Caleb a run for his money."

Alex dedicated his performance of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" to his girlfriend and everyone who supports him. J.Lo wanted him to "surprise us in some way," while Harry thought the new version was too similar to the original one and "wanted to hear something different."

In the third segment, Caleb finally pulled his best performance of the night with "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney. "Caleb, that was absolutely phenomenal," Keith gushed. J.Lo agreed, adding, "That was probably your best performance since the beginning."

Another GaGa song, "You and I", was brought to "Idol" stage by Jess. Keith said "that is the perfect song" for her, and Harry said she "killed it."

Jena sat at the piano when singing "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley. J.Lo was so excited that she ran over the stage and kissed Jena at the end of the performance. "I could cry now. It's crazy," she said. Harry gushed, "Very simply put: It was incredible, absolutely incredible," and Keith chimed in, "You're like a musical platypus, baby."

Alex's cover of Coldplay's "Yellow" rounded out the performance show. It was a solid performance though Jena's amazing rendition of the classic Elvis song might overshadow it. "It was the perfect song; you sang it beautifully," J.Lo told Alex.

In between the performances, host Ryan Seacrest announced audition cities for season 14, hereby confirming that the singing competition series had been renewed for another season. The judge line-up for the next cycle has not been announced yet.

Follow AceShowbiz.com @ Google News

You can share this post!

You might also like
Related Posts