And then there were 12.
“American Idol” broadcast live Monday night, revealing another savage cut to its talent pool that narrowed the top 20 down to the top 12.
Host Ryan Seacrest gradually announced the fate of each contestant. The top 10 vote-getters were safe and sang for votes for next week, while the bottom 10 also sang for their “Idol” lives hoping to earn one of two saves from judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, which were delivered at the end of the show.
Contestants who were safe included Colin Stough, Tyson Venegas, Haven Madison, Warren Peay, Wé Ani, Marybeth Byrd, Oliver Steele, Iam Tongi, Zachariah Smith and Megan Danielle.
In danger of going home were Matt Wilson, Paige Anne, Nailyah Serenity, Mariah Faith, Hannah Nicolaisen, Michael Williams, Kaeyra, Olivia Soli, Lucy Love and Nutsa.
Here are the highlights.
Paige Anne shows Lionel Riche ‘how you fight back’
Anne, a 16-year-old high school student from Idaho, has had a rocky journey, initially getting cut before the top 26, and then being asked to rejoin the show after someone dropped out.
After learning she had to sing for her “Idol” life, Anne once again proved the judges made a mistake letting her go in the first place. She belted out “I Am Here” by P!nk.
“That’s how you fight back and say to the naysayer, ‘You did what? You voted me where?’ ” Richie said. “That’s the way you come back.”
Anne reflected on her “Idol” journey after her performance.
“It’s just an honor to be here, and even if I don’t make it through, thank you for making me go this far,” she said. “I’ve had every rock thrown at me, but I’m just grateful to have this opportunity.”
“It’s not over yet,” Seacrest told her.
Olivia Soli has ‘one of the biggest voices’ Luke Bryan’s heard on ‘Idol’
Soli found herself in the bottom 10, despite her powerhouse performance of Céline Dion’s “I Surrender” on Sunday night. In a last-ditch effort to earn the judges’ pick, the 21-year-old college student from Los Angeles performed a groovy cover of Ariana Grande’s “God Is a Woman.”
Bryan was beside himself with shock after learning that Soli didn’t secure America’s vote.
“It’s just hard to believe,” he said. “You’re one of the biggest voices we’ve heard in my six years sitting behind this desk.”
Lucy Love brings her ‘game face’ for Lionel Richie
Love, who won over the judges with a performance of her original song “Boulders” on Sunday, failed to score a spot in the top 12. In a bid for “Idol” survival, the 28-year-old single mother from Arkansas sang an explosive cover of Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive.”
Richie was confident in Love’s ability to persist in the competition and admired her “game face.”
“If I have to bet on anybody, I’m going to bet on you,” he told her.
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Nutsa ‘knocked it out of the park’ for Luke Bryan
Nutsa, a 26-year-old performer from the country of Georgia, seized the stage with “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from “Dreamgirls.”
“I can’t imagine the pressure you were under, and you just knocked it out of the park,” Bryan marveled.
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Who did the judges save on ‘American Idol’?
Of the 10 contestants up for elimination, Love and Nutsa were the lucky pair to earn the judges’ pick and advance to the top 12.
“You’re No. 1 forever,” Richie told the bottom 10 contestants. “We love you all. You all have careers.”
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