‘American Idol’ Season 16 Episode 18 Recap: The Final Three – Maddie Poppe Shines

On Sunday’s episode of American Idol, we got the last night of performances. There are only three contestants left still in the running to be this season’s winner. Maddie Poppe, Gabby Barrett and Caleb Lee Hutchinson went to head to head in the most recent episode. They had to perform three songs each: one of their singles, one song from a past performance and one dedicated to their hometown.

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Hutchinson started the night off with his single “Johnny Cash Heart.” While it was a good song, it was arguably the easiest single to sing among the three. Barrett then took the stage with her song “River Deep.” While the song is not her strongest, she definitely showcases her chance to take this competition home. Poppe was the last to perform with her single “Going, Going Gone.” Poppe had great control while singing, which will help fans fall in love with her even more.

They then took the stage to perform one of their previous songs. Hutchinson sang “Don’t Close Your Eyes” by Keith Whitley, which allowed him to give a more heartfelt and romantic performance than usual.  Barrett sang “Little Red Wagon” by Miranda Lambert, while it was not as strong as the first time she performed, she still gave a lot of sass and excitement to the song. Poppe came to the stage and sang “Don’t Ever Let Your Children Grow Up.” The single allowed her to not only showcase her singing abilities, but her songwriting as well.

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The contestants then came for one more performance, a song dedicated to their hometown. Hutchinson sang “Folsom Prison Blues,” which definitely proved that he has what it takes to be the next American Idol. Barrett then sang “Don’t Stop Believin'” for her final performance, which got her a standing ovation from Steve Perry himself. Poppe ended off the night with her rendition of “Landslide,” which was a near pitch-perfect performance.

The next episode of American Idol airs tonight on ABC at 9pm EST.