'American Idol' recap: The top 7 perform Prince songs, get cut to the top 5
Hopefuls perform Prince songs Sunday and Carrie Underwood debuts new video.
The seven remaining contestants on Sunday's episode of "American Idol" were cut to five, as two artists were eliminated at the end of the show.
The hopefuls performed a Prince song, backed by his longtime drummer Sheila E., and another song from the year each of them was born. Nick Jonas served as their mentor on the second song.
America chose the following singers to move on: Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Gabby Barrett, Michael J. Woodard, Cade Foehner and Maddie Poppe.
Catie Turner and Jurnee were sent home. Both will rejoin the others this summer for a 40-plus city tour featuring the top seven artists.
Host Ryan Seacrest announced the tour, which will also feature season 8 winner Kris Allen, during Sunday night's show. The tour will kick off July 11 in Redding, California, and wrap up September 16 in Washington, D.C. Details are available at AmericanIdolLive.com.
Here's how Sunday's show all went down:
Jurnee tackled Prince’s 1986 hit, “Kiss.” The judges approved of the performance, including Katy Perry, who told Jurnee, "You look like a snack." She went on to praise her for moving around the stage the way Prince would have, but urged her to move even more for her next performance. Jurnee returned later with Brian McKnight’s “Back at One,” from her birth year, 1999. Katie admitted that it wasn’t her favorite rendition of the song, but she knew Jurnee had that in her. Judge Luke Bryan agreed, as did fellow judge Lionel Richie, who praised her for keeping her cool on stage, in the midst of chaos.
Gabby Barrett performed "I Hope You Dance," Lee Ann Womack’s hit from 2000, the year Barrett was born. Jonas, addressing the camera during rehearsals, said her performance brought him to tears, but thought the 18-year-old could "lean into the song" even more. Afterwards, Bryan called it "maybe one of the best vocals we’ve heard in this room so far." "You know what was wrong with that performance,” asked Richie, before answering his own question with, "Nothing." For her Prince song, Barrett chose "How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore," which Luke described as a "mic-drop moment."
Michael J. Woodard delivered a rendition of Prince’s "I Would Die 4 You." Richie was impressed with Woodard's ability to take the iconic Prince song and "own it." Sheila E. agreed, calling Woodard "amazing," adding he’s "an entertainer and he sang his butt off." Woodard returned with a song from his birth year, Céline Dion’s 1997 hit "My Heart Will Go On," from the movie Titanic. Perry compared Woodard to Idol alum Jennifer Hudson, declaring the 21-year-old could "win an Oscar [and] a Grammy ... the sky’s the limit."
Cade Foehner added a rock edge to Jewel’s 1995 hit, "Who Will Save Your Soul." During rehearsals, Jonas advised Foehner to "find a connection to the song" beyond just the arrangement. Richie’s only critique was that he could sense Foehner struggling a little at the beginning, but added that he eventually "took the song to another place." The rocker also drew praise from the judges later with his cover of Morris Day and the Time's 1984 hit "Jungle Love," written by Prince.
Once Catie Turner got past her excitement over meeting Jonas, she revealed the song choice from her birth year, 2000 -- Britney Spears’ "Oops!... I Did It Again." Bryan urged her to start believing she’s a star, and Richie agreed, explaining that Turner was bringing a style all her own to the table and she should "own it." Unfortunately, Turner kicked off her next performance -- "Manic Monday," the Prince composition recorded by The Bangles -- by forgetting the first few lines. That didn’t faze the judges, though, who assured Turner that in spite of the glitch she was still a contender in their eyes.
Also Sunday night, season 4 champ Carrie Underwood previewed her new music video for "Cry Pretty," the first single from her upcoming album of the same name.
The emotional video shows the 35-year-old country superstar crying in the shower while looking at her image in the mirror, but putting on a brave face as she performs for her fans. The video was posted on YouTube minutes after she previewed it on "Idol."
Host Seacrest also revealed that the top five contestants will jet to Nashville and spend the week being mentored by Underwood, who will perform on next week's show. "American Idol" returns Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC with special guest Carrie Underwood.
ABC News' George Costantino contributed to this report
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