It was another night of fast and furious American Idol results on Sunday as two more contestants were given the boot to make way for this season’s Top 8.
Shania Twain served as this week’s celebrity guest mentor, marking the country queen’s triumphant return to ABC — the first major appearance since her iconic performance as Mrs. Potts in 2022’s live-action Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration. (Yeah, we didn’t forget about that. And we never will!)
It was also a humbling night for millennial viewers, who had to watch in horror as the contestants sang songs from the year they were born. Years like… 2008. We swear, some of those baby videos they showed at the beginning of the episode were filmed on camera phones.
And not one but two previous Idol winners returned to the stage with special performances. Season 18 winner Just Sam was up first, bringing down the house with a powerful take on Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time,” followed later in the show by Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery, who has grown quite a bit since we first met him as a bass-voiced teen in 2011. Can we say he got hot? Is that unprofessional? Eh, too late.
Read on for a breakdown of Sunday’s results, including which two contestants were eliminated and which eight will get to sing for America’s votes again on Monday. Once you’ve processed everything, vote for the singers you’d keep in your Top 6 and drop a comment with your thoughts on the night overall.
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ELIMINATED: Mia Matthews
Image Credit: ABC screenshot Shania Twain superfan Mia has had her jaw on the floor ever since the country icon was announced as the next Idol mentor last week. And while we’re happy for her, we can’t say the same thing about her performance of “No One Needs to Know.” It had a more youthful energy than some of Mia’s performances, down to the Glinda-approved pink party dress and shiny boots, but it lacked the wow factor we’re used to getting from her. You could tell that she wasn’t totally comfortable on stage, especially without her guitar, and even Luke Bryan had to point out that she forgot the words multiple times.
TVLINE’S GRADE “B-“
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SAFE: Jack Blocker
Image Credit: ABC screenshot OK, is Jack trying to make us fall in love with him? Because choosing Cher’s “Believe” is a big step in the right direction. And his fear of butchering such an iconic song only made him more endearing. Were we anticipating anything close to the laid-back, countrified spin he ultimately put on the dance jam? Not a chance. We still prefer the original, but we also respect Jack’s ability to remix such a well-known song and present it in a way we’ve never heard before. Few would have even been brave enough to try.
TVLINE’S GRADE: “B+”
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SAFE: McKenna Faith Breinholt
Image Credit: ABC screenshot First of all, Shania gave McKenna one of the best pieces of advice we’ve ever heard: “Find those mice and just gently let them jiggle around up there.” Wait, did we say “best”? We meant most insane. As for McKenna’s actual performance of Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” we were a little worried during the song’s too-low first part (she must have gotten over her recent sickness), but the rasp queen of Season 22 quickly rebounded, building to a beautiful climax. Katy Perry could barely give McKenna her critique over the sound of the audience’s cheers.
TVLINE’S GRADE: “A-“
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ELIMINATED: Kayko
Image Credit: ABC screenshot An eleventh-hour song change prevented us from getting Britney Spears’ “Oops!…I Did It Again” in the style of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and we will never forgive Kayko for depriving us of that experience. He opted for Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag,” which was definitely more in his wheelhouse, but we have the same complaint we had about his Gotye performance last week — it feels like he’s suddenly playing a punk rock character, rather than showing us who he is as an artist. Kayko first got our attention with his incredible originals, and we understand why he can’t keep performing them, but we still miss them.
TVLINE’S GRADE: “B”
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SAFE: Emmy Russell
Image Credit: ABC screenshot Yodeling on blink-182’s “All the Small Things”?! Hold on, we’re going to need a minute.
Seriously, Emmy’s delightful, plunky rendition of this iconic pop-punk anthem was one of the most pleasant surprises of the evening. It’s like she finally got our (or whoever’s) note about not needing to push her voice beyond its comfort zone. She stayed in her sweet spot, and it resulted in one of her strongest, most consistent vocal performances to date.
TVLINE’S GRADE: “A-“
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SAFE: Triston Harper
Image Credit: ABC screenshot Did we witness Triston evolve into his final form before our very eyes this week? Jason Aldean’s “She’s Country” was the perfect song to display the teen’s growth this season, giving us a performance that was loaded with attitude and charisma without sacrificing even an ounce of the country charm we’ve come to expect from Triston. Those moves at the end?! Our little boy is all grown up, guys. When did this happen?
TVLINE’S GRADE: “A+”
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SAFE: Abi Carter
Image Credit: ABC screenshot Foregoing a piano for a piano-heavy song like Coldplay’s “Clocks” was just one of several bold moves Abi made this week. And while we wish we could say that her risks paid off in spades, that’s simply not the case. Starting her performance in the audience, singing inspirationally to individual audience members, was a super uncomfortable way to kick things off. Things ticked up briefly when Abi settled into the gorgeous vocals we’ve come to know her for, but she lost it again by trying to create a big “moment” towards the end.
TVLINE’S GRADE: “B-“
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SAFE: Julia Gagnon
Image Credit: ABC screenshot We weren’t expected to be reminded about Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron today, but here we are. Julia once again showed off her powerful voice using Bryan Adams’ “Here I Am,” a song from the 2002 animated film, and you could tell that it had a special meaning to her. If Spirit were here today, we’re sure he’d be clapping his hooves in support of her emotional moment in the spotlight.
TVLINE’S GRADE: “A”
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SAFE: Will Moseley
Image Credit: ABC screenshot Shania Twain basically gave everyone the same critique (“can you try that again… higher?”), but it didn’t sound like Will took her advice to heart with Travis Tritt’s “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde,” instead delivering exactly the same type of performance we’ve been getting from him every week. That “type” happens to be “excellent,” so it really wasn’t an issue. The guy’s already a country powerhouse, what can you even tell him?
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SAFE: Kaibrienne
Image Credit: ABC screenshot The emotion in Kaibrienne’s voice has always been raw and powerful, but never more so than this week, with her performance of 3 Doors Down’s “Here Without You,” dedicated to a close friend she lost unexpectedly. It’s a song we’ve heard countless times, but never like this. This was heartbreaking and painful in the best way. We weren’t surprised to see her get choked up mid-performance. In fact, we were more surprised that she was able to pull it together and finish the song. The gutteral cry on that last big high note? Superb!
TVLINE’S GRADE: “A”
Now that you’ve taken in all of Sunday’s results, vote for the six singers you’d keep in the game: