American Idol's third annual Judges' Song Contest took place Monday, and for those of you who missed the first two Judges' Song Contests, here's how it works: Each contestant in the top eight is given three songs to choose from, without knowing which judge has suggested the songs. By the end of the episode, the judge whose song picks are performed the most is declared the contest's victor.
When it came time for Emmy Russell, Loretta Lynn's granddaughter, to perform, I wondered which judge had had the audacity to suggest "Coal Miner's Daughter" for her. (Spoiler alert: It was Katy Perry. Of course it was.) The shy and fragile Emmy, who has long yearned to establish herself as an artist in her own right, has repeatedly claimed that it's been daunting trying to escape her grandmother's "big shadow" and find her "own voice." And quite frankly, the fact that she has made it this far on the show, beating out several technically superior vocalists, has had many irate Idol viewers crying nepotism, claiming that Emmy's heritage has given her some sort of competitive edge. So, I never thought Emmy would choose the Loretta cover. I figured she'd go with Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again," or maybe KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See."
But then... Emmy chose the Loretta cover!
"It's my grandma's song. It can't get too much closer to the heart," she explained. "I'm Emmy Russell, I'm 24 years old, and I'm proud to be a coal miner's great-granddaughter."
To be perfectly honest, I was prepared to trash this performance. But... I couldn't. Emmy pulled it off and did her grandma (and her mama, second-generation country singer Patsy Lynn, who was in the studio audience crying) proud. No, it wasn't the best vocal of the night. But it was Emmy's personal best of the season, by far. Why hadn't she ever belted like this before? And by interpreting "Coal Miner's Daughter" as a sparse, plaintive piano ballad, she brought new pathos and ethereality to it. Last week, Emmy couldn't remember all the words to one of her covers, but now, doing a tune she knew "like the back of my hand," she didn't even let getting choked-up mid-song derail her performance. Singing from a place of true connection, the way she sings when she performs her original material, made all the difference,
"I chose this song not because Loretta Lynn is your grandma," a proud Katy (admittedly somewhat unconvincingly) told Emmy. "I chose this because you are Emmy Russell, and you can do anything now — as Emmy Russell."
At the end of the night, reigning Judges' Song Contest champ Katy prevailed again, with four of the eight contestants picking her songs. But the loser of the night was Kaibrienne "KB" Richens, who — after delivering a compelling performance of her personal "high school breakup cry song" (and a Katy song pick), Olivia Rodrigo's "Traitor" — somehow landed in the bottom two, alongside fellow emotional balladeer McKenna Faith Breinholt.
As the Judges' Song Contest winner, Katy had the authority to save one contestant from elimination this week. She'd just watched Kaibrienne and McKenna, along with fellow "Katy's Ladies" Abi Carter and Julia Gagnon, do a girl-powered cover of her own song, "Wide Awake," so this was an especially tough decision for her. "I didn't want to do this part, and I didn't know it was going to happen like this," Katy confessed through tears, before finally saying, "I'd love to hear McKenna sing again", thus sending KB home.
Below are the other contestants' performances from Monday. Did the judges pick wisely? Did the contestants? Did the voters at home? You be the judge.
Will Mosley, "Folsom Prison Blues"
Big Mo's other options were Whiskey Myers's "Stone" and Chris Stapleton's "White Horse," and I'm so glad he didn't go with the obvious, low-hanging-fruit choice (Stapleton) and chose Johnny Cash's outlaw-country classic. This man-in-black was a badass, and he looked like he was having a ton of freewheeling fun. The energy in the room was high, with the judges and audience on their feet throughout. "If you give it, you will get it back," Katy noted. Will correctly guessed that Lionel Richie selected this song for him, because Lionel always keeps it old-school. And Lionel was delighted, telling Will, "You killed it." Katy admitted that "Lionel was right," declaring this Will's best performance yet.
McKenna Faith Breinholt, "Everywhere I Go"
McKenna's other two choices were Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," which had the potential to be cheesy, and Miley Cyrus's Plastic Hearts rock ballad "Angels Like You," which had the potential to be awesome (apparently many of her fans have been asking her to cover it). But she went with this more obscure Lissie ballad, even though it might not resonate with mainstream voters, because it resonated with her. (McKenna had never heard the haunting song, another Katy pick, but it gave her "chills.") This performance was pretty and pleasant and occasionally very powerful, but I still think McKenna should've gone with the Miley song (Luke Bryan's suggestion). I believe what kept McKenna in the competition this week — i.e., why Katy saved her over Kaibrienne — was Katy's own investment in the song, because Katy had picked it "for Amy," McKenna's late birth mother.
Jack Blocker, "Always on My Mind"
Jack just covered the Weeknd, so he passed on "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)," and he thought Zach Bryan's "Heading South" was too on-the-nose. So, he swung for the fences with his riskiest option — Katy's pick, again — crooning one of the most beloved songs of all time, by one of America's most beloved songwriters. And he took another big chance by ditching his trusty guitar. But this was a total triumph. Jack is such a storyteller, and such an expressive and earnest performer, that he took a Willie Nelson classic that's been covered by everyone from Elvis Presley to the Pet Shop Boys and had his own magical moment with it. Going guitar-less even allowed him to get more into character, as he often clasped his hands to his heart and pointed to the audience. "Something is brewing here. ... I feel like you've been fully realized," said a proud and weepy Katy. "You're winning in so many ways," said Luke. I think this was Jack's Kris Allen-does-"Heartless," David Cook-does-"Hello" breakthrough — meaning, I think he might be this season's actual winner.
Abi Carter, "Bring Me to Life"
Abi fluctuated between two choices, this Evanescence smash and the traditional hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow." (Apparently Ariana Grande's "Dangerous Woman" was never in the running.). But once again, she leaned into her alt-rock side, taking the stage in a Goth gown and army boots. I thought last night's Coldplay cover, when she stomped the stage in Alanis mode, felt inauthentic and affected, but this time, she very convincingly rocked it. And she nailed that Amy Lee wail. This was the right choice. "I created a monster!" gasped Luke, who surprisingly was the one who'd picked the song. "You took it to that next level of your life," Lionel said. "You just kicked down all four walls of the box I thought you were in. That was something brand-new, and that was the best performance of the night so far," proclaimed an impressed, mock-fainting Katy.
Julia Gagnon, "Over the Rainbow"
Julia passed on Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" and Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" to sing the theme from her late grandmother's favorite movie, even though she knew it was a risk. "I'm going to take probably one of the most classic songs in the world and turn it into my own sound. Everybody knows that song. If you're going to switch it up, you kind of have to knock it out of park," she said. But this folksy performance, inspired by Eva Cassidy's version, is just what Julia needed to do to stay in the game. We all know that this Platinum Ticket recipient can belt at top volume, but this was the first time we really heard her artistry. Julia finally realized she doesn't need to always crank it to 11 to make an impact. Luke, who picked the Oz song, explained to Julia, "You just captured everything you want to be, just then." Katy told Julia, "I hope you sing from this space every time you sing, because it just so cozy."
Triston Harper, "Sand in My Boots"
Triston felt a personal connection to Morgan Wallen's hit (it reminded him of missing his girlfriend while he was competing in the Final Judgment round in Hawaii), so he "automatically" gravitated towards it. But when he gave Tim McGraw's "Humble and Kind" a try in rehearsal, he broke down in tears. He was so moved by McGraw's song that I was really hoping he'd sing it in the end. (Alabama's "Mountain Music" was Triston's third option, which I agree would not have been a good fit.) But he stuck with Wallen. The result was good, but I think "Humble and Kind" could have been great. However, Lionel, who picked "Sand in My Boots" for Triston, thought this performance proved Triston is a "world-class storyteller." And Katy told Triston, "You can sing anything, and you're still humble and kind. I believe in you."
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