Amber Holcomb performed in the Sudden Death Round of "American Idol" tonight -- and made it on to the next round.
No "sudden death" for Zoanette Johnson of Tulsa -- not this week.
She wasn't among the first 10 girls on Wednesday's sudden-death episode of "American Idol," the first of the live performances.
The first singer of the night was Jenny, who sang Trisha Yearwood's "Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love."
"Not the best song for you," celebrity judge Keith Urban said, with fellow judges Nicki Minaj and Randy Jackson receiving boos from the audience for their similar critiques.
The final judge, Mariah Carey, proved to be the Paula Abdul, if you will, of the evening, doling out words of comfort to those who obviously didn't shine as bright as the others.
Unfortunately, Jenny was one of those, and she was the first to be cut from the 10 at show's end.
Despite how much I loved her performance during the Hollywood Rounds, I thought songwriter Angela was going to go home. Alas, she was among the five to stay, having impressed enough with a cover of Jessie J's "Nobody’s Perfect."
"Nothing's going to compare to that last performance of your original song," Minaj said. "... You're already a top contender."
Although I thought Isabelle did a lovely job with Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child," it wasn't enough to keep her from getting cut. Jackson's "a bit old-fashioned" comment of her performance was probably, in retrospect, what did her in.
Brandy's pick of Travis Tritt's "Anymore" wasn't a good song for her, with Urban citing a lack of an "emotional connection."
"He took the words right out of my mouth," Minaj said, adding it was "a pageant delivery of a song."
Also cut was Shubha, who should've stayed on the piano for a softer version of Lady Gaga's hit song "Born This Way."
"You crammed a lot into that," Urban pointed out.
"Prepare to boo again," Minaj warned, comparing the performance to a "mash-up of Christina Aguilera and the 'Gangnam Style' guy."
Kamaria, who did look fabulous, didn't sound such with first-season "Idol" alum Kelly Clarkson's "Mr. Know It All." (Seriously, isn't it a smidgen jinx-y to sing past "Idol" winners' songs?)
Based on pitch comments from at least two of the judges, Kamaria was cut.
But Tenna made it through with Natasha Bedingfield's "Soulmate," and Adriana totally sealed it with Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way."
"This girl is born to do it," Jackson said.
My favorite two of the night, though, were probably Kree and her "Up to the Mountain," which garnered a "natural born singer" compliment from both Urban and Jackson.
"You don't over-try ... It's authentic," Urban added before Carey wrapped it up with "it was amazing."
She could've said the same thing for Amber's "My Funny Valentine."
"You just made it timeless," Urban said, with Minaj commenting her vocals were an "A+++ ... top of the class."
"I wanted to smack you — in a good way," Carey said.
Next up: Ten of the 20 remaining guys compete live 7-9 p.m. Thursday on Fox, channel 23.
Who was your favorite tonight?
Peace, love and God bless the child ... XOXO
