Adam Lambert returns to deliver musical performances, one singer is eliminated and the remaining five finalists sing two songs each which are picked by viewers.
- Mar 18, 2016
AceShowbiz - "American Idol" was back on Thursday night, March 17 with six singers who survived the elimination last week. Before they got to learn their fate, season 8's runner-up Adam Lambert returned to the stage to sing "Mad World" by Gary Jules which he sang when he competed on the show.
Trent Harmon was announced as the first artist who advanced. He immediately sang "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic. The songs performed by the contestants that night were all picked by viewers. "I don't think that song and you, personality-wise, came together," Keith Urban said.
.@TrentWHarmon is "Counting Stars" as he hopes to become one himself, singing @OneRepublic's smash single. #IdolTop5https://t.co/RIcPSNSJHW
— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) March 18, 2016
Dalton Rapattoni was also safe. He sang "Numb" by Linkin Park and put his own twist on it, turning it into a soft ballad. Jennifer Lopez, however, didn't like the arrangement. "I feel like you took the oomph out of it," she commented on the performance.
It's impossible not to feel @DaltonRapattoni's rockstar presence as he performs "Numb" by @linkinpark. #IdolTop5https://t.co/IIOhvb6E09
— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) March 18, 2016
La'Porsha Renee followed it up with a cover of "Ready for Love" by India.Arie. It was flawless like her previous performances and Harry Connick Jr. called it "phenomenal." Keith added, "About half way through that I found myself realizing that I wasn't even judging, I was just a person in the audience captivated by the moment."
There's a lot of love for @laporsharenae, and she's "Ready for Love," performing @indiaarie. #IdolTop5https://t.co/G7dpKT6PHW
— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) March 18, 2016
After "Empire" stars Bryshere Y. Gray a.k.a. Yazz and Jussie Smollett debuted a brand new song called "Never Let It Die", Mackenzie Bourg took the stage to sing Cat Stevens' "Wild World". "You have so much likability," J.Lo said. Keith also praised Mackenzie, "You're like cake batter, even when it's not fully cooked it is really good."
LIVING for @JussieSmollet & @YazzTheGreatest�����¢��¯��¿��½��¯��¿��½s �����¢��¯��¿��½��¯��¿��½Never Let It Die�����¢��¯��¿��½��¯��¿��½ #EmpireOnIdol performance! https://t.co/HUT1qU6JWKhttps://t.co/pTgu1Lm31E
— Empire (@EmpireFOX) March 18, 2016
Embracing the singer-songwriter universe, @mackenziebourg goes retro with @YusufCatStevens' "Wild World." #IdolTop5https://t.co/LF1zWsSVb0
— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) March 18, 2016
That left Tristan McIntosh and Sonika Vaid in the bottom two. Tristan tried to win the judges' save with a rendition of "Independence Day" by Carrie Underwood. J.Lo said while she's clearly one of America's favorites, Tristan tended to deliver the same performance every week and that's maybe why she ended up in this position this week.
Sonika tried to win the judges' hearts with a performance of Demi Lovato's version of "Let It Go". Harry advised her to practice more with strong songs, while Keith said, "Your performances are really starting to come alive."
.@sonikavaid can't hold it back anymore, belting out @ddlovato's version of "Let It Go." #IdolTop5https://t.co/exrYw6n3gp
— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) March 18, 2016
The judges then made the decision and chose to keep Sonika. That meant Tristan was eliminated.
Next, Dalton was back for the second round. Before his emotional performance of "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel, he revealed that he has bipolar disorder. "Music is the best medicine," he said. "We felt like we were getting a piece of your soul there," J.Lo said.
Dalton Rapattoni - Top 5 Revealed: "The Sound of Silence"Hello darkness, and hello, Dalton Rapattoni!
Posted by American Idol on Thursday, March 17, 2016
Adam took the stage again to debut his new song "Welcome to the Show" featuring Laleh before the next contestant's performance. Mackenzie's second song was "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson and he stripped it down by playing his acoustic guitar. J.Lo gushed, "People have played with that song over the years, but that was the most special version that we have ever seen."
Trent sang Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" for his second performance that night. "There is that extra sort of thing that you have. I enjoyed it very much," Harry said, adding that he would like to see a rocking duet with Trent and Adam Lambert.
Sonika also sang again. She did "Clarity" by Zedd which was chosen by America. Keith said it was a good song for Sonika and advised her to keep letting go, but J.Lo begged to differ, saying, "I didn't love this song for you."
For the final performance of the night, La'Porsha wowed the crowd with "No More Drama" by Mary J. Blige. In a pretaped video, she emotionally shared her story of being abused by her husband before leaving him with her baby daughter. J.Lo was moved to tears and she gave La'Porsha a standing ovation.
