'American Idol' season 13 recap: Top 11 won't include Emily Piriz after so-so performance

For two weeks in a row, American Idol has sent home one of its female contestants. After a "Home" themed live show last night (March 5) full of largely so-so performances, Latina Emily Piriz was sent back to Florida.

This night of Idol started with quite a bit of filler, with judges Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban discussing, well, a variety of things, from last night's performances to their hometowns to I don't even care.

Note: Idol is moving to 30-minute result shows by the end of the month, and thank goodness for that. There's no reason for this to be an hour long.

When Idol finally got to the meat of the show, it got right to business, calling Emily Piriz, Sam Woolf, Jessica Meuse and Ben Briley to the stage. Though Sam was the only one of these four to truly dazzle, Ben and Jessica joined him on the safe couch cushions as Emily was moved to the bottom three.

Though a notably strong singer in Hollywood, her performance last night of Jennifer Lopez's "Let's Get Loud" was all salsa and no soul. Plus, the backing band (that the judges seem to go cuckoo over) played over her, causing Emily to get lost in the mix.

Then, the Idols were really shown how it was done, as season 11 winner Phillip Phillips performed his new single "Raging Fire..." this guy is a tried and true performer and professional and truly gives these singers something to aspire to.

Then, Jena Irene, Dexter Roberts, Majesty Rose and Alex Preston were called to the stage, and all were safe except Jena... again. The wildcard contestant gave a pretty solid performance of KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" on Wednesday night, but I just don't think the fanbase is there for her. Seems like her weeks are numbered on Idol, unless she pulls out an out-of-this-world performance.

Then, continuing on Idol's season 13 desire to expose new musicians to America, Irish rockers Kodaline performed its soft-spoken ballad "All I Want." It was simply pretty.

Finally, the last four competitors, Caleb Johnson, Malaya Watson, CJ Harris and MK Nobilette were called to the stage, and like Jena, MK found herself in the bottom three for the second week in a row.

In the end, though, Jena was safe. And MK, miraculously, was safe. In something I certainly didn't call, Emily was the bottom voted performer.

For the save, she belted out Grace Potter's "Stars," the song that helped her to truly shine and breakthrough during Hollywood Week. However, it wasn't enough, and in a mixed decision, she was sent back home.

Now, Idol is down to 11 contestants. The show will return on Wednesday, March 12, with a movie-themed episode.

Tags

American Idol, Emily Piriz, Sam Woolf, Jessica Meuse, Ben Briley, Phillip Phillips, Jena Irene, Dexter Roberts, Majesty Rose, Alex Preston, Kodaline, Caleb Johnson, Malaya Watson, C.J. Harris, MK Nobilette