Michael Becker / FOXLet's go to the movies!
American Idol's Top 11 tackled "Music From the Cinema," one of our favorite themes, on Wednesday, March 12 in their pursuit of making it to the national tour. (Only the Top 10 finalists get to go.) And the Fox hit's finalists definitely tackled some fan favorite songs, including the Oscar-winning "Let It Go" from Frozen and a hit rock song from Twilight. But some contestants struggled with the theme, including an early frontrunner.
Here are our picks for the five best performances of the night, the bottom three and our prediction for who will be eliminated on Thursday night's elimination show...
Our Top 5 Performances: After two less than stellar showings, CJ Harris finally proved why he's a finalist with his rendition of "Can't You See," which Jennifer Lopez said made him a frontrunner. (Pump the brakes there, girl.) And Caleb Johnson continued to impress us with his subtle take on Adele's "Skyfall," which showed off a softer side of the rocker.
And, of course, how could we resist frontrunner Majesty Rose's rendition of "Let It Go," aka our Frozen power anthem? Smart, smart song choice, though it definitely wasn't her best Idol outing. Plus, Alex Preston earned a spot in our Top 5 with his cover of "Falling Slowly," which we liked just as much as his BFFs Alex and Sierra's rendition from The X Factor. (Anyone else think Alex could be Season 13's dark horse?)
But the biggest surprise of the night? Jena Irene Asciutto absolutely nailing "Decode." Her performance was so good (even earning a standing ovation from the judges) that we'll even overlook the fact that the song is from Twilight! Honorable mention goes to Malaya Watson's "I Am Changing," though it's tough to take on a song Jennifer Hudson completely owned in Dreamgirls.
Who's In Trouble: Alright, we're going to need our early pick to win this season, Sam Woolf, to step it up. He should've owned his performance of "Come Together," but we have to agree with Harry Connick Jr., who called it "average." Sam may get by on his charm and good looks for now, but "average" won't cut it for much longer. And Ben Briley, what were you thinking tackling "Benny and the Jets," a song which Haley Reinhart absolutely owned in Season 10?! And we don't think "The Sound of Silence" was a good choice for Jessica Meuse, whose performance was kind of just...meh.
Bottom 3 Prediction: Though she delivered her best performance since the Top 13 began, we think MK Nobilette just isn't connecting with viewers (just as she isn't fully connecting with the songs) and will join Ben Briley, and Jessica Meuse in the bottom three.
Exit Prediction: MK Nobilette. After two trips to the bottom three, we think a third time could be the charm (or curse?) for MK.