In the Sunday, May 15 episode of the long-running show, the top 3 finalists of season 20 were announced as two of the remaining 5 singers were sent home in a shocking elimination at the end of the night.
- May 16, 2022
AceShowbiz - Season 20 of "American Idol" is about to end. In the Sunday, May 15 episode of the long-running singing competition show, the Top 3 finalists were announced as two of the remaining 5 singers were sent home in a shocking elimination at the end of the night.
Kicking off the episode was HunterGirl, who took the stage to perform a sassy rendition of Carrie Underwood's "Undo It". Judge Katy Perry totally loved it as she claimed that it was HunterGirl's "best performance" yet. As for Luke Bryan, he said that he loved how "inspired" HunterGirl was by Carrie, who served as the mentor for the Top 5.
Following it up was Leah Marlene, who opted to sing Carrie's "I'll Stand By You". Luke was impressed, calling the performance "beautiful on all levels." Lionel Richie also raved over the performance as he told Leah that she "took that song and turned it into your song."
As for Fritz Hager, he decided to take the stage to sing Carrie's "I Wanna Remember" feat. NEEDTOBREATHE. Of the performance, Luke said that Fritz had a "great interpretation" of the song. Lionel dubbed Fritz's stage presence "effortless," while Katy said that the performance was "captivating."
Noah Thompson, who was unable to meet Carrie in person because he was still on the mend from having COVID-19, returned to the stage to sing "So Small". Just like everyone else, the judges were "obsessed" with him. After Nicolina belted out "Blown Away", Katy shared that she's "proud" of her progress. Meanwhile, Lionel noted that Nicolina needed to stay in this lane of performing because it worked for her.
The second half of the night opened with Leah's amazing rendition of Journey's "Separate Ways (World's Apart)". Following the performance, Luke joked, "Y'all are going after each other now." Meanwhile, Katy thought that Leah reintroduced this classic song to a new generation.
Up next was HunterGirl, who chose to sing "Girl Crush" by Little Big Town. Lionel praised HunterGirl for her "crystal clear" sound with Katy admitting that she and her nieces had crush on HunterGirl. "You're totally in star mode right now," Luke said.
Fritz then returned to the stage to sing 5 Seconds of Summer's "Youngblood" which rendered Katy speechless. "That was so cool!" she raved and Luke also echoed the sentiment. Later, Nicolina hoped to impress the judges with her performance of "All I Ask" by Adele. "That was an 'American Idol' treasured moment," Lionel commented.
Noah, meanwhile, opted for a powerful performance of "Working Man" by Larry Fleet with his guitar. "You just aced that test," Katy gushed. Luke said that Noah with just a guitar and a stool was enough to hold the room.
It was time to reveal the Top 3 who advanced to the Finals. The first contestant being announced as one of the Top 3 finalists was HunterGirl. She was joined by Noah, meaning that it was down to Leah, Fritz and Nicolina. The final spot went to Leah! Unfortunately, Fritz and Nicolina were sent home.
