Just one day after American Idol viewers made the worst decision of the season by eliminating Amanda Barise (bitter, party of one!), the show’s remaining singers returned on Monday for a live Top 10 reveal.
With Season 3 winner (and major scarf enthusiast) Fantasia serving as their guest mentor, the contestants — Filo, Mattie Pruitt, Josh Foster, Jamal Roberts, Canaan James Hill, Josh King, Thunderstorm Artis, Gabby Samone, Breanna Nix, Kolbi Jordan, Ché and Slater Nalley — took us on a journey back in time, paying tribute to some of the most iconic names and performances in Idol history.
And the show wasted no time pumping us full of feels, with the judges entering to Carrie Underwood’s winning single “Inside Your Heaven.” The contestant-turned-judge added an extra dash of nostalgia by wearing the very same dress she rocked when she won… two decades ago.
Read on for a breakdown of how the remaining singers fared on Monday, including which 10 will return next week… and which two have reached the end of their Idol journeys. Once you’ve soaked it all in, vote for your personal Top 8 and drop a comment with your thoughts on the night’s results. Were any of your favorites eliminated?
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- Slater was the first to receive words of wisdom from Fantasia, who challenged him to really let loose with John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery.” Other than Slater rocking his snazziest cowboy getup yet, this didn’t physically stand apart from any of his previous performances. Vocally, however, he’s never been stronger. Jelly Roll hit the nail on the head when he described Slater as having “the voice of a running river.” He feels like one of this season’s more authentic contestants, just getting up there every week and showing us what he’s got without any pretenses. And what he’s got is always good.
- Andy’s Grade: “A”
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- Recognizing that his song choices have been skewing a bit more “old school” as of late, Ché decided to switch things up with Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” in an effort to appear more “current” (a word famously used by Simon Cowell to describe Katharine McPhee after her Season 5 audition… but I digress). It turned out to be a fantastic song choice, one that allowed Ché to show off every last trick in his vocal arsenal — and at this point in the competition, he needs ’em. That said, I have to respectfully disagree with Luke Bryan’s claim that Ché has become an exponentially better performer since they chose to save him. This is exactly the Ché we’ve always seen.
- Andy’s Grade: “A-“
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- Fantasia was blown away during her time with the multi-talented Thunderstorm, who threw it back to the days of Haley Reinhart with a performance of The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun.” Did he give us the growl we craved? No, no. He pummeled us with it, and we welcomed every crushing blow. I’ve always been in awe of Thunderstorm’s talent, but I never thought of him as this type of performer. He really woke up tonight — and I didn’t even know he’d been asleep! How exciting to discover yet another layer of a contestant I already loved this late in the game.
- Andy’s Grade: “A+”
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- First of all, Kolbi was absolutely right to call Katharine McPhee’s 2006 performance of Judy Garland’s “Over the Rainbow” as a “ridiculously iconic” Idol moment — because it was. Second, Kolbi was also absolutely right to choose this as her song, which she navigated as beautifully as, say, bluebirds might fly over a rainbow. Just as Kat’s performance sealed her victory back in Season 5, we very well may look back at this version as the moment Kolbi became a shoo-in for Season 23. I think Lionel took the words out of most people’s mouths: “…What the hell was that?”
- Andy’s Grade: “A+”
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- Of all the people I’d expect to pay tribute to a classic Jennifer Hudson performance tonight, much less a song like “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from Dreamgirls, Filo wouldn’t have been on the top of my list — but shame on me for doubting him, because he absolutely crushed it. More importantly, he took Fantasia’s advice (an answer to her prayer!) and really made it his own. I have to disagree with Carrie that this was a new iconic moment, but it was a very good moment, and definitely Filo’s most impressive yet.
- Andy’s Grade: “A”
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- When it comes to American Idol contestants, it doesn’t get more iconic than Kelly Clarkson, so Mattie rightfully opted to perform “Because of You,” which she dedicated to her own inspiring uncle. It was definitely the Mattie version, with more glorious rasp and delicious angst than the original version of the ballad, both of which I appreciated. And she obviously had a strong connection to the song; you could hear the genuine emotion in every note. (That said, did she need to literally spin around and point when she sang “everyone around me”? It felt a little theatrical in the wrong way.)
- Andy’s Grade: “A-“
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- Unsurprisingly, Fantasia and Canaan formed an instant connection during their time together, and that beautiful bond came through in his performance of CeCe Winans’ “Goodness of God.” It was another powerful, polished gospel number, beginning softly from a place of intimacy and growing until the entire auditorium was bathing in his light. Luke really put it best: “He baptizes me every time he sings.”
- Andy’s Grade: “A”
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- I didn’t think it had been that long since Elliott Yamin blessed us with his famous performance of Donny Hathaway’s “A Song For You.” Then Gabby said she was three years old when Fantasia won… and I suddenly became very aware of the passage of time. Anyway, Gabby’s talent was something I’ve always been extremely aware of, so I wasn’t the least bit surprised when she crushed — nay, clobbered — the very same tune. Gorgeous runs and big notes in all the right places, paired with deep emotion and a soulful delivery? To quote Carrie, it was “absolute perfection.”
- Andy’s Grade: “A+”
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- I’m not sure what surprised me more: discovering that Josh sang back-up for Fantasia in church, or hearing that Josh had chosen Celine Dion’s “All By Myself,” famously performed by Pia Toscano (one of the most underrated Idol contestant of all time) back in Season 10. I was looking forward to being blown away by a totally unexpected take on a classic, but I have to admit… I was not blown away. The emotions were obviously there, and I respect that, but I also think the performance would have been benefited from a little less emotion. This is one of the most iconic ballads of all time, with endless potential for jaw-dropping vocal moments. If you’re not going to give them to us, at least give us something different that we can similarly enjoy. This was all feels, no thrills for me.
- Andy’s Grade: “B+”
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- After bonding with Fantasia over, as Michelle Williams would say, not compromising her Christianity in the music business, Breanna took the stage with a powerful take on Danny Gokey’s “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again.” All those haters who say that Breanna isn’t a Christian anymore can go choke on a Communion wafer, because God was definitely with her on that stage tonight. (He dipped out a little bit during her last note, but he stuck around for most of it.)
- Andy’s Grade: “A-“
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- As a nod to Carrie, John crooned Randy Travis’ “If I Told You,” which the judge included as a cover on her 2007 album Carnival Ride. John walking towards the judges’ panel to serenade Carrie could have taken an extreme left onto Cheese Avenue, but it was actually really endearing. In addition to the guy being incredibly talented, there’s a subtle sweetness to John that really shone through this performance.
- Andy’s Grade: “A”
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- It was fitting that Idol saved Jamal for last, and not just because he’s probably the biggest Fantasia fan of the bunch. His performance of Tom Odell’s “Heal” was the perfect way to end the night, even if it was a bit of a stretch to say this was a tribute to Leah Marlene’s “iconic” performance back in *checks notes* 2022. Arguably the truest performance of the night, there was something appropriately healing about the pairing of Jamal’s voice with those powerful lyrics. And that moment of silence at the end? If you didn’t get chills from that, you’re dead, baby.
- Andy’s Grade: “A+”
Image Credit: ABC screenshot- Fantasia may have returned to Idol as a mentor this week, but after witnessing that absolutely jaw-dropping performance of her new single “Have Your Way,” I don’t think we have any choice but to also declare her the winner of Season 23. Sorry, everybody else, but you can all go home. That had to have been one of the most powerful, emotional and overall transcendent performances I’ve ever seen on this show — and I’ve been here since Day 1, folks. “The world is going through a lot right now, and we need more God, so I allowed him to use me on the biggest stage ever,” she told Ryan Seacrest as even he struggled to process the beauty he’d just witnessed. Fantasia, on behalf of mere mortals everywhere, thank you for that.
- Andy’s Grade: “A+++”
- But seriously…
- //static.polldaddy.com/p/15404519.js Take Our Poll
