Nick Fradiani returns to ‘American Idol’ to mentor and perform with contestants

It’s pretty hard to do a Michael Jackson song and sound unique.

McCreery was also paired with Jeneve Rose Mitchell for a duet of “Gone” by Montgomery Gentry.

Jenna Renae Ryckman, who performs just as Jenna Renae, was eliminated on Thursday night after making the top 24.

Lauren was obviously the experience singer and compared to her, the judges felt like Emily had sounded overproduced. Harry liked the energy and enthusiasm, but warned that there is a fine line between singing with enthusiasm and shouting, and her pitch suffered because of it.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen Lauren blush”, said Keith Urban. She sang “Mamma Knows Best” by Jessie J.

Sonika Vaid hadn’t gotten off as lucky. Harry thinks that country may not be Emily’s best genre, but he compliments her on how well she collaborated with Lauren. The song choice suited her voice, and she had a lot of confidence in the way she sang and worked the stage, nailing several impressive runs. Fantasia boiled over, while La Porsha held her own as the drama student: “I used to sing like I knew what I was doing, and now I sing like I know why”.

Now, it’s time for Season 13 finalistCaleb Johnson and Sonika Vaid to kill it on that sacred stage.

The countdown to selecting the final “American Idol” has started. Keith and Jennifer thought it was the flawless song for the two. Clarkson is scheduled as a guest judge on the first live Top 10 show on February 25.

Nice job, Gianna! Then it’s a meeting of the minds between Ruben Studdard and Avalon Young. Then, after giving it their all, the first round of performers will find out who will make the cut.

Jordan Sasser, who loves turtles apparently, sang “All By Myself” by Celine Dion.

During the performance, however, Mitchell seemed lost in the song and the typically positive Urban was confused. Harry noted Sasser has a great voice, but called Wednesday’s performance “show-offy”.

And unfortunately Thomas Stringfellow got the same critique. Lopez was impressed with the way he “played” with his voice in a way she hadn’t heard before, adding that his emotion “filled the room”. Connick warned him about upstaging the person with whom he’s performing.

Judges said Bourg, 23, built on his solo performance from Wednesday night.

“There’s no one in this competition in the all the years watching and even as a judge that’s in the specific lane that you have”, Connick Jr. said.