‘American Idol’ Contestant Elise Testone ‘Killed It’ With Rendition of Lady Gaga’s ‘You & I’
‘American Idol‘ contestant Elise Testone was left to close tonight’s show, and after several standout performances, the pressure was on. Maybe it’s simply because she’s got the chops, or maybe it was the video of celebrity Jason Segal wishing her luck before she sang – but in any event she blew it out of the water with her performance, of Lady Gaga‘s ‘You & I.’
Originally Testone wanted to start by playing drums (we didn’t know she could do that!) but was talked out of it by mentor Akon who said “That doesn’t need to happen, what needs to happen is you need to kill it.” Taking his advice, Testone started behind the piano instead, standing after the first verse and putting on a performance we think would constitute as “killing it.”
Testone belted and growled in her signature rock star voice, and while she didn’t get a standing ovation from the judges, they were all smiles. Randy Jackson began by alerting America: “Yo America Elise is back, she’s back!” He complimented the singer on choosing a perfect song and delivering perfect vocals and said “You needed a moment and you got it tonight!” Jennifer Lopez told Testone that she did exactly what she wanted to do, and that her ability to let go and keep control at the same time is what makes her unique.
Steven Tyler kept it simple saying “You took a song and turned it into genius. You laid a beautiful vocal and it was great.”
Watch Elise Testone Perform ‘You & I’ on ‘American Idol’