Jennifer Jeffries makes it to the Top 20, but judge has words of wisdom for her

Starkville teen Jennifer Jeffries was voted into "American Idol's" Top 20 Sunday night, validating what the judges said about her talent in the first round of nationwide voting.

But Jeffries, now 18, appeared a little nervous as she took the stage to perform another cover song, Matt Maeson's "Grave Digger."

The judges appeared to enjoy the song and told her she had a special voice, but they also were concerned about Jeffries' lack of nerves.

"If I could, I would give you a big bucket of confidence and pour it all over you," Lionel Richie said. "What you have is a style, and that is more important than being a singer. Embrace it, don't be afraid of it."

"I think the first step is for you to know how special your voice is in that zone," Luke Bryan added.

Katy Perry said she could feel what Jeffries was thinking in her head as she was performing.

"I could see you were starting to get into your head a little bit," Perry said. "'Do they like me? Is this going well? I'm singing. Am I on stage? What?' I didn't want you to think all that, but I could hear all that."

Perry told Jeffries when the nerves start getting in the way is the time to push them aside.

"That's when you've got to con yourself into the word 'confidence,'" Perry said.

Despite her lack of confidence, Jeffries is committed to making music, something she's been doing ever since she can remember. Before her performance, Jeffries talked about her love of journaling and how it enables her to put herself back in the moment. She read some of her thoughts from the day she auditioned for "American Idol" and what that day meant to her. She also revisited her 12-year-old self writing a song.

"I don't know if it's very good, but I'm going to keep practicing it," Jeffries read from her journal.

Sunday's three-hour show will be followed by another round of eliminations Monday night as the Top 20 will be narrowed to the Top 14 as voters throughout the nation choose their favorite contestants once again.

"American Idol" airs at 7 p.m. Sundays and Mondays on ABC.

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This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Jennifer Jeffries makes it to American Idol Top 20