‘American Idol’ Season 15 Episode, 13 Recap: Shelbie Z, Trent Harmon And Lee Jean Shine

American Idol is kicking off week two of the Idol star duets round. Last night, the remaining second group of 12 singers performed solos, tonight they will sing with Idol legends including: Jordin Sparks, Chris Daughtry and Kellie Pickler.

Five singers will be going home tonight and next week America will vote to get the contestants to the top 10.

Judge Jennifer Lopez told host Ryan Seacrest that the solo night is what counts the most.

“It’s the solo where we get to see them as their artist, their choices, what they decide to sing, how they perform, all of that,” Lopez said.

The judges’ complaint for most contestants was bad song choice. But some did get it right.

Shelbie Z picked “Work Harder, Play Harder” by Gretchen Wilson. It’s easy to envision her as this type of country artist. The song choice was perfect. She has the voice and she has the energy.

Jenn Blosil re-arranged Justin Bieber’s “Sorry.” Her voice is quirky but great. She chose to play the song slower on the piano. Judge Harry Connick Jr. complained that it was out of tune but judge Keith Urban applauded her originality.

CJ Johnson sang “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain. I thought the first half of the song lacked the connection to the song and lyrics, but Urban thought it was a perfect song choice and the rest of the judges enjoyed it as well.

Lee Jean nailed Ed Sheeran’s “Runaway.” There’s so much voice coming out of such a small young boy. At only 16-years-old, he makes it seem effortless when he strums his guitar on stage.

“Your voice is so real. When you tell a story, I believe it,” Urban said.

Trent Harmon was a standout performance of the night as he sang “What Are You Listening To” by Chris Stapleton. He already felt like an artist. Harmon was really feeling the song and the audience as well as the judges could feel the emotion. Connick called him “one of the most gifted vocalists here.”

https://youtu.be/ij_j1C9YbaU

Tristan McIntosh sang “Good Girl” by Carrie Underwood. It was just a weird song choice for her. From past performances, we can tell that her voice is amazing but this song choice was awkward. Lopez thought it looked like she was too busy thinking instead of performing.

Dalton Rapattoni created his own dramatic arrangement of “Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol. Urban referred to it as “Dalton-izing” the way he arranges songs to make it his own. It was an overall great performance and the judges loved every bit of it.

You can catch the second group of 12 contestants duet with past Idol stars tonight at 8/7c on FOX.