‘American Idol’: Who Made the Top 8 After Ladies’ Night Performances?

The Sunday, May 4, episode of American Idol was ladies’ night, which meant that the remaining top 10 contestants hit the stage to perform songs by iconic women in music. Fittingly, they were mentored by Miranda Lambert for the occasion.

Once again, the viewers got to make the decisions by voting throughout the episode for their favorite artists. At the end of the night, host Ryan Seacrest read the results. However, judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie were still there to offer their notes and feedback.

The two singers with the lowest amount of viewer votes at the end of the night were headed home. Scroll down for a recap of all the performances and to find out the results.

John Foster

John Foster was the first to hit the stage with a performance of “Something to Talk About” by Bonnie Raitt. Although he was nervous to practice in front of his first crush, Lambert, he got some performance tips and even got to duet with the country superstar.

“I feel like you are the one that we have watched grow the most throughout this entire process. Every single time you step on the stage, you feel more comfortable, you’re working the stage more, you’re connecting with the audience more, and the audience at home, as well,” Underwood said. I saw you looking in that camera! Ilove that. I feel like you’ve just grown so much. Keep leaning into that. Keep getting loose. They love you!”

Bryan added that John’s “charisma meter is peaking off the charts right now” too.

Kolbi Jordan

Kolbi Jordan sang Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” as a way to shock people. Rather than do what was expected of her, like singing something by Whitney Houston or Patti LaBelle, she decided to pay tribute to Stevie Nicks for her ladies’ night set.

“I loved your attitude, your character, your mannerisms. I mean, taking the hat and tipping it and all that? It was just so well thought out, and I think what I want America to know about you is your personality is really, really amazing,” Bryan said. “We got to see a lot of your personality in that performance.”

Josh King

Josh King is a blues singer, and since Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” is rooted in blues, he felt it was a perfect song choice. Lambert noticed that Josh was “all over the place,” and urged him to “pull it back a little bit.”

Richie praised Josh for “going for the arsenal” by playing piano, playing harmonica, and running around the stage. Underwood added, “I can tell tonight, everyone is singing for their lives. Once you see a few of your super incredibly talented friends go home, that lights a fire. Everyone’s bringing their A-game tonight and you are no exception.”

Breanna Nix

Although Breanna Nix was originally between two songs, Lambert helped her decide on “Water Under the Bridge” by Adele.

“This was the right song choice for sure,” Underwood assured Breanna. “I feel like everybody’s trying things tonight that’s a little bit different, showing us a different side of themselves, and this was just a perfect moment for you. You looked and sounded and played the part of, like, a diva, and it was all working.”

Meanwhile, Bryan called the performance “just perfectly well done.”

Canaan James Hill

Canaan James Hill honored Underwood herself with a performance of “Love Wins,” which he was admittedly nervous for, especially since this was his first time not doing a gospel song on the show.

Of course, with his talent, it didn’t matter. “We’ve seen you in that comfort zone of your gospel comfort zone, so it was nice to see you challenge yourself. Man, I think it was a great job. We could tell you were still kind of second-guessing, but always continue to push yourself,” Bryan urged.

Underwood said, “Miranda hit the nail on the head. When we were writing that song, really, every time you say the word ‘love,’ you can say the word, ‘God,’ that’s how I think of it every time I sing it. You should also never worry about messing. up the words. You can just quit singing the words and riff all over it. You have that superpower in your back pocket which you can pull out whenever you want.”

Thunderstorm Artis

Thunderstorm Artis became the third artist of the night to honor Adele with his performance of “When We Were Young.”

Richie told Thunderstorm, “You make cool, cool. When I say that, you have a way of taking … by the way, we just discovered you play piano, what else do you do? … Listen, that way of taking us down to a solid viewer’s point of view where you can shrink it down to your voice, your sound, I’m so in love with what you just did.”

Bryan called it his “favorite performance” that Thunderstorm has ever done on the show.

Slater Nalley

Slater Nalley took on country queen Reba McEntire‘s “Whoever’s in New England.” He took it up a key after some advice from Lambert, but admitted that it’s “probably the hardest” song he’s done on the show so far.

“Great song choice, it’s got such a beautiful melody for it, and you went for it. I think it paid off,” Underwood told Slater, while Bryan said, “When people have you figured out, that’s when you show ’em you don’t have it figured out. I would’ve never pegged you to attempt that song, so as an artist, when you can keep the people guessing and surprise them with stuff they weren’t expecting, you can have a long career. What a cool move you just did by picking that song.”

Jamal Roberts

For the second Underwood tribute of the night, Jamal Roberts sang “Undo It.” Jamal was “struggling” at first, but said Lambert “helped [him out] a lot” before he took the stage. She helped him arranged the difficult chorus in a way that made it his own.

“All I’m gonna say is, throughout your presence here, you are mesmerizing and I love it,” Richie told Jamal. Underwood noted that her songs have been giving some “lyric problems” on the episode, but added, “WHO CARES? I loved it!”

Mattie Pruitt

Mattie Pruitt honored Lambert with her top 10 performance of “The House That Built Me.” Although Mattie hasn’t played her guitar in front of anybody before, Lambert urged her to do it for this performance to show the audience another side of herself.

Mattie got emotional after the performance, but Richie praised her for “holding [her] emotions perfectly.” Underwood added, “We were hanging on every single note. Every single word. That was really quite brilliant, I think. Toward the end I was trying to hold my own tears in. That was really great, Mattie.”

Gabby Samone

The final performance of the night was from Gabby Samone, who sang “I Was Here” by Beyoncé. She had Lambert in tears during rehearsals.

“I have two words. Wow. And vote,” Underwood concluded. Bryan said, “You’re why this show exists. Just to watch your growth from the girl we met at auditions to now is just amazing.”

Who made the top 8?

After the final commercial break, voting closed, and Seacrest revealed the eight artists who are moving on. The singers who will be performing in the judges’ song contest on Monday, May 5, are: Breanna Nix, Mattie Pruitt, Jamal Roberts, John Foster, Josh King, Gabby Samone, Slater Nalley, and Thunderstorm Artis.

Who was eliminated?

Unfortunately, Kolbi Jordan and Canaan James Hill had the lowest amount of votes, which meant they were eliminated and will not be moving on in the competition. Now, there are no platinum ticket holders left!

American Idol, Sundays and Mondays, 8/7c, ABC