‘American Idol’ Top 6 Revealed Recap: Once More, With Feeling

Thursday’s theme on American Idol was “The American Idol Songbook,” aka the most-performed songs in the history of the series, aka potentially THE WORST THEME EVER. Seriously, this is the kind of nostalgia the show’s powers-that-be believe loyal Idol-viewers want? Rehashes of “Hallelujah,” “Unchained Melody,” and “Against All Odds”?

Well, thankfully, that didn’t happen. No one covered those particular songs, and while one duet rendition of Aerosmith’s Armageddon ballad “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (aka The Asteroid Song) was semi-disastrous, some contestants’ reprises actually breathed surprising new life into some done-to-death Idol standards.

So the top eight first sang duets, and then did solo songs – with the bottom three contestants going last, and the judges saving one of them and sending the other two home. And then we had a top six.

Got all that math? OK. Let’s get to the recap and figure out which contestants were able to make everything old new again.

DUETS

La’Porsha Renae and Trent Harmon

The show got a little loose with the “Songbook” theme for the duets section, or downright deviated from that theme… but honestly, La’Porsha and Trent could have done a “Feeling Good”/“I Believe I Can Fly”/“Man in the Mirror” medley and I would have been entirely OK with it. This was a match made in Idol heaven. As these two opened the show doing Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s newer “See You Again,” I was thinking I’d like to see these two again… in the Season 15 finale. This really looked like the final two up on that stage.

I wasn’t sure if this pair – the season’s two most dynamic and distinctive vocalists – would blend well, but they performed so awesomely together, this duet made me hope Fox will greenlight The La’Porsha & Trent Variety Hour for the spring 2017 television season. That would be a perfect replacement for Idol after it goes off the air! I would happily watch these two trade soulful runs and ANTM-worthy smize-stares every week.

“For me, when you’re doing a duet, you have to find the right song. It was the perfect song. It played to both of your strengths individually, and yet those two strengths worked really well together and you both stayed in your own lanes. It was collaborative. I loved it,” raved Keith Urban. “What a pair you guys make! The whole thing was just magical,” said Jennifer Lopez. “Your voices blended so well. Couldn’t ask for a better way to start the show,” said Harry Connick Jr. Hopefully it wouldn’t be all downhill from here. La’Porsha and Trent set the bar stratospherically high.

Avalon Young and Sonika Vaid

I was also worried about this seeming mismatch: the swaggy tomboy and the girly-girl pop diva. But this combo worked much better than I’d expected. “Rise Up” by modern soul starlet Andra Day was a smart song choice that bridged the gap between these two very different singers, tapping into Avalon’s hipster R&B vibe as well as Sonika’s more traditional belty balladry. I might not binge-watch an entire season of The Avalon & Sonika Variety Hour, if such a show existed – but I did enjoy watching this performance.

“Your voices are both so angelic. Together it was like you were pushing each other to be better in the moment,” said J.Lo. Harry thought Avalon fared a little because the rhythmic song was more in her wheelhouse, but he still called Sonika’s voice “breathtaking.”

Dalton Rapattoni and MacKenzie Bourg

I’m sure at least a couple generations of fangirls and fan-women swooned when this season’s resident heartthrobs teamed up for a boy-band classic, the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.” Of course, Dalton conveniently failed to mention his own boy-band past in IM5, instead promising to “excel at bringing the edge” to this performance. And of course, vocally this could in no way compare to the previous duets; Dalton and MacKenzie are two of Season 15’s smaller-voiced singers. But I figured this was kind of a genius, ironic-but-actually-serious song choice, and they’d do something interesting to change it up.

But disappointingly, Dalton and MacKenzie didn’t do much with the BSB hit, neither vocally nor creatively. Keith said it best: “Dalton, when you take a song, you dismantle it, make it your own. What you don’t do well is a song like a [straight] cover. It’s not your strong suit. MacKenzie, you do a similar thing. You take it to a singer-songwriter place. Attempting to do this together didn’t benefit either of you.” Clearly Dalton and MacKenzie should not form a boy band, or co-host a variety show, any time soon.

Tristan McIntosh and Lee Jean

Tristan and Lee were to only duo that got saddled with a moldy oldie, the above-mentioned Armageddon schmaltzfest. (Past Idols to cover this song: Josh Gracin, Lindsey Cardinale, Antonella Barba, David Cook, Allison Iraheta, Aaron Kelly, Jessica Sanchez, Caleb Johnson.) The Diane Warren-penned power ballad was way too big for these two very young, green, and inconsistent singers, but this duet wasn’t as terrible as I’d expected. Lee at least admirably pushed himself vocally like he never had before, and Tristan had some nice moments, even if her manic, exaggerated gesturing and arm-waving was distracting.

So yes, this could have been much worse, but this still was not a match. Lee and Tristan’s vocals did not blend, and the soft-spoken Lee, despite his best efforts, was easily drowned out by Tristan’s belting. “It’s really hard to find a song that fit both of y'all’s key. You’re in different registers and everything. You did as good as you could with that,” shrugged a diplomatic, sympathetic Keith. “Tristan, your voice really shined in that song. You hit the notes and showed us your strength. Lee, you were hanging in there, trying to give us the emotion… [but] I think it could have been a little bit stronger,” said Jennifer. “There was nothing special. It could have been special because you’re special talents. But it was very boring and very bland,” said Harry. That was definitely Ryan Seacrest’s cue to move on swiftly to the solos of the night.

SOLOS

La’Porsha Renae

The Beatles “Come Together” has been covered on Idol many times, with varying results – by Kris Allen, Carly Smithson, Candice Glover, Sam Woolf… and who could forget Qaasim Middleton’s over-the-top rendition, complete with magic-shop props, that controversially earned him the Judges’ Save last year? But La’Porsha’s version from this week may be the best of the Idol bunch. And after the previous two amateur, lackluster duets, seeing this dynamite diva strut out in her leather, chains, and massive closer-to-God hair was a very welcome and much-needed thrill.

Yes, La’Porsha was giving me some Acid Queen realness during this slinky, groovin’-up-slowly number. Impeccable vocals, fabulous show-woman-ship… La’Porsha owned the stage, and then when she left the stage and prowled the aisles, she even shared an awesome up-close-and-personal moment with Harry. This was just badass. It rocked. Even Dalton wishes he could rock this hard. Ex-judge Steve Tyler, whose Aerosmith recorded perhaps this song’s definitive cover version, would have totally dug this. He certainly would’ve appreciated it more than that Armageddon duet.

“Diva! Full diva every time you get up there! I love it. There’s certain performers that make you feel cool when you’re watching them. You do that. You have it,” gushed J.Lo. “You are absolutely incredible. You’ve been incredible since the first day we’ve seen you,” declared Harry. “At the end of the day, any song is a terrific song for you. You have it going on, baby,” cooed Keith. All three judges were all correct. Everyone come together and vote for La’Porsha now, please.

MacKenzie Bourg

Taylor Hicks, Danny Gokey, Jessica Sanchez, and last season’s Rayvon Owen have all done lovely jobs with Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful.” I had my doubts that the wispy-voiced MacKenzie could pull it off, especially after the night’s earlier throwaway BSB cover. But whatever Mac lacked in La’Porsha-level vocal dynamics, he made up for with heart. Setting aside his crutch-like acoustic guitar and sweetly crooning the earnest love song backed by a tasteful string section, he truly connected to the lyrics in a way I’d never witnessed from him before. This was a breakthrough moment for MacKenzie. It proved he’s more than just a cute Kris Allen clone.

“No matter who you were singing it to, I felt that you were really connected to it. Ultimately for me, that’s all that counts. Great job, young man,” said Harry. “You made it sound like you had just written it. You made it sound brand-new,” said Keith. “It’s like you’re kind of crooner-ish, but you are also indie-rock. It’s a beautiful mix of old and new with you… When you sing, it’s like you’re singing to every girl who wishes she was [your girlfriend],” said J.Lo. She was right. Surely MacKenzie made even more fangirls and fan-women swoon with this performance.

Trent Harmon

Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” has been performed on Idol by Bo Bice, David Archuleta, Danny Gokey, and Phillip Phillips. But none of those contestants started the song in stark, heart- and time-stopping a cappella mode before, the way Trent did. Trent had a “moment” right out of the gate, and he kept up the intensity once the string section and Allison Iraheta-led backup singers kicked in. His crazy ad-libs and runs were everything. I immediately forgot about every other Idol version of this song. It’s a moot point now, but if this weren’t the last season of Idol, I’d advocate that “Stand by Me” be retired from the show after Trent’s cool version.

“You’re a badass. I don’t know if the audience is getting how much of a badass you are… It gave me goosies,” said Jennifer. Keith and Harry weren’t quite as gushy or goosie-laden (the former advised Trent to choose his moments more carefully; the latter told Trent to “sink into the rhythm” more), but they agreed that this was “a fantastic job.” I’m standing by Trent. This was awesome.

Tristan McIntosh

Martina McBride’s “A Broken Wing” (previously performed on the show by Diana DeGarmo, Jessica Sierra, and Jordin Sparks) was a smart choice for this country balladeer, and while sometimes I doubt if Tristan is really cut out for the country music genre, but she was believably country here. If only she hadn’t gone so noticeably off the rails vocally at the end of this big number – she got a little too ambitious and went for huge power notes that were way out of her reach – this would have been really solid.

“You have a perfectly suited country voice. That was perfect song for you, as far as I’m concerned. Other than one little thing at the end that you went for – but I applaud you for [trying] – you did a really good job,” said J.Lo. “You are a country singer,” Harry asserted.

I don’t know how much farther Tristan can go in this competition – she is clearly out of her depth next to pitch-perfect power-belters like La’Porsha, Sonika, and Trent, or song stylists like MacKenzie and Dalton. But I do think a country career could be in this girl’s future.

Dalton Rapattoni

The late, great Sir George Martin’s presence was felt tonight, with the second cover of one of the Beatles’ more adventurous songs, the sweepingly dramatic “Eleanor Rigby.” Season 7’s David Cook and Season 9’s Michael Lynche both had major moments with this classic (Season 12’s Paul Jolley, not so much), and Dalton’s version continued and capped off that proud tradition. After a couple of underwhelming weeks of uninspired alt-rock covers (and this night’s earlier bland BSB duet), it was nice to see this fine return to emo form. Yes, sometimes the amped-up band nearly drowned out Dalton’s less powerful voice, but performance-wise, this was killer. This was theater.

“You pushed it about as high as you could,” said Harry. “That was a great song for you. You bring out the cinematical [editor’s note: NOT AN ACTUAL WORD] part of you. There’s a dark undercurrent in that song that you brought out really well,” said Keith. “I loved it because it was so you. It’s what we want from you. You bring us theatrical performances,” said Jennifer.

Whether you want to call him cinematical or theatrical, just call Dalton’s voting line already. He is back to doing what he does best – “Daltonizing” familiar tunes – and he needs to stick around.

So then, we had our bottom three. I was sad to see Avalon on the chopping block once again – after the judges were so wowed by her “Earned It” performance last week and opted to save her over Gianna Isabella and Olivia Rox, I really thought she’d earned enough goodwill to make it into the top six. I wondered if the judges would save her a second time. She’d have to earn it.

Avalon Young

Last Thursday, Olivia landed in the bottom three, and had to sing for her life doing the upbeat tune she’d already rehearsed for that week’s show, Pink’s “Trouble.” That unfortunate song choice did her in. This week, Avalon found herself in a similar predicament, singing Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).” Maybe contestants need to keep the new elimination format of this show in mind when choosing their weekly songs. Sure, everyone loves “P.Y.T.,” it’s a supercool jam off the top-selling album of all time – but it’s not exactly a “save me” song. Avalon gave a fun and sparkling performance (albeit one with a few pitch issues), but it was hard for her to slay with a song as lightweight and bubbly as this.

“I’m so confused how you end up in the bottom three. I can only conclude there’s a connection missing with you and everybody at home. If you get to sing next week, I hope you can make an emotional connection,” said Keith. “If you make it through to next week, I’d say to try to maybe go out of your comfort zone a little bit. Maybe do things that you haven’t done. Because we’ve seen this. This performance was very much like your other one,” said J.Lo. Sadly, it wasn’t looking like Avalon would get a chance to sing next week.

Lee Jean

Lee really tried. At least, unlike Avalon, he went with a heartfelt ballad, the Beatles’ “Let It Be,” that could connect with America. But like many songs Lee had done on this show, this one was too big for him. Yes, the emotion was there (he dedicated the performance to his late brother), but the pitch control was not. In a few years, I bet the still-developing Lee could do a great job with “Let It Be.” But not right now.

“You have so much going for you. You have an amazing style, a great personality, a beautiful voice. Is it enough? I’m not sure. I feel like there has to be a little bit more composure when it comes to the do-or-die moments. I felt like it was a tiny bit shaky,” said Jennifer. “You commit to the lyrics. That’s what I loved about it. But you were very sharp… On an emotional level, it was fine, but the pitch was a big issue,” said Harry.

Sonika Vaid

Obviously, this was Sonika’s battle to lose. But she hardly ran away with it. Aside from the fact that she reverted to her boring pageant-performance ways – and the song she did, Whitney Houston’s incredibly overdone “I Have Nothing” (previously performed on Idol by Trenyce, Leah Labelle, Jennifer Hudson, Vonzell Solomon, Katharine McPhee, LaKisha Jones, Shannon Magrane, and Jessica Sanchez) – this was, shockingly, the first time that Sonika didn’t give a flawless vocal. I don’t know if it was nerves, or if the song choice was just too ambitious, but she suffered from a lot of vocal problems here. I also felt a lack of connection. At least Lee had the emotional-connection thing down.

But bizarrely, all of the judges – even Harry, the chief of the Pitch Police – loved this. Keith called it “gorgeous” and “amazing.” Jennifer said Sonika did a “good job.” And then the judges decided to save Sonika, of course.

But who won’t be safe next week? Only one contestant will get the boot next Thursday, as the top six become the top five. I suspect the bottom two will be Sonika and Tristan, with Sonika going home. But with only six singers left, anything could happen. Parker out.

Follow Lyndsey on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+, Amazon, Tumblr, Vine, Spotify