idol

‘American Idol‘ saved the best for last tonight as Elise Testone closed out the Top 12 girls with an impassioned and soulful performance of Adele‘s ’One and Only.’  She was the second girl of the night to sing the song after Jen Hirsh performed it admirably. But Elise, the oldest contestant this season at 28, was able to infuse more life experience into Adele’s dramatic lyrics.

‘American Idol’ contestant Shannon Magrane may look like your average high school prom queen, but when the 16-year-old opens her mouth she has a voice that far transcends her teenage years. Singing ‘Go Light Your World’ by Kathy Troccoli, she remained strong and consistent from the first note until the very last.

With only two girls left to perform, Jessica Sanchez took the ‘American Idol‘ stage tonight to chat first with Ryan Seacrest about the emotional week she’s had while losing her voice and having to visit the doctor. When asked how she thought her voice would hold up for her performance, the 16-year-old San Diego native was obviously apprehensive.

Haley Johnsen took a huge risk on ‘American Idol‘ tonight performing ‘Sweet Dreams’ by the Eurythmics, and it didn’t quite pay off for the Top 24 contestant. Before her disappointing performance, Haley brought us to her hometown of Beaverton, Ore.  We fell in love with the 23-year-old’s bubbly personality and so wanted her to succeed.

Texan Hollie Cavanagh, who didn’t make it past the audition rounds on Season 10 of ‘American Idol,’ got to make her live performance debut on tonight’s episode (Feb. 29.) It wasn’t her time last year, but she certainly made the most of the chance she has been given. She performed Christina Aguilera‘s ‘Reflection’ for her live debut on Season 11. It’s a big song so does she have the big voice? Oh y

When ‘American Idol’ contestant Baylie Brown came out looking like Miss America, we wanted her to then open her mouth and bestow upon us the brawn to go with the beauty. However, when she began her rendition of Lonestar’s ‘Amazed,’ we were anything but.

Skylar Laine brought honky-tonk to ‘American Idol‘ tonight with a fiery version of Face’s ‘Stay With Me.’ The song, originally written by Rod Stewart, perfectly fit Skylar’s country twang.  She received universal praise from the judges for her exciting performance.

It was a new dawn and a new “Day” when Baltimore waitress Hallie Day performed the standard ‘Feeling Good’ on tonight’s episode (Feb. 29) of ‘American Idol,’ which marked her live performance debut of Season 11. She turned the classic tune into a bit of a torchy ode and she was almost flaw to the less. The girl can sing and she had some beautiful moments, and her imperfections made her interesting

Steven Tyler was not going to let Jennifer Lopez‘s Oscars nip slip pass without making a joke at his fellow ‘American Idol‘ judge’s expense. During last night’s show, Tyler pulled back his shirt to expose his chest and asked, “Wait, wait… Who am I?”

Staten Island’s Brielle Von Hugel just might be one of the youngest contestants on ‘American Idol‘ this season (she’s only 17), but girl proved tonight that she’s got the pipes it takes to become a frontronner in the competition.

The ratings for ‘American Idol‘ are down this season, but the show may lure back some viewers with its plans to have several former contestants — including Adam Lambert and James Durbin – return to perform on the ‘Idol’ stage this season.

Country girl Chelsea Sorrell brought her brand of country to the ‘American Idol‘ stage during the first live round for the girls on tonight’s episode (Feb. 29.) Sorrell performed Carrie Underwood‘s ‘Cowboy Casanova’ to show the power in her voice. How did she fare?