ABC The season 18 finale of "American Idol" airs on Sunday, May 17 at 8/7c on ABC.
Long-time American Idol host Ryan Seacrest announced the Top 10 contestants for the 2020 season during the episode that aired on May 3, 2020. The judges were also able to use their Save, meaning that if they agreed to keep a contestant who was voted off by the viewers in the competition, Idol would be down to the Top 11 instead of Top 10.
During last week’s episode, American Idol made history as the first U.S. competition show to film completely at the homes of judges and contestants. Judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie filmed from their respective homes, and they were joined by in-house mentor Bobby Bones and host Ryan Seacrest.
Each of the Top 11 contestants filmed their “home”-themed performances for this week from their homes as well after learning which of them made it through the first round of these remote episodes. Each of the songs was chosen by the contestants based on what reminded them of their hometowns.
WARNING: Spoilers for the Top 10 episode of American Idol follow.
Here’s who got eliminated from American Idol on May 3, 2020:
Kimmy Gabriela
For the first of the “live” episodes, Kimmy Gabriela performed “Leave me Lonely” by Ariana Grande from her home in Lakeland, Florida. Katy said she didn’t recognize Kimmy at first for her new style and character and admired that she was taking the competition more seriously.
Lionel and Luke also thought she did a good job; Luke mentioned that Kimmy was a “world-class singer” and said the performance was wonderful, while Lionel applauded her for pulling the audience in.
Franklin Boone
For his first from-home performance, Franklin performed “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears from Hillsborough, North Carolina.
The judges applauded him for the performance, and Katy even said she believed he had the “It factor” and said she had started tearing up during his performance.
Olivia Ximines
Olivia Ximines is one of the youngest from this round of American Idol hopefuls, and she performed from her home in Southern California last week. She chose to perform a rendition of Billie Eilish’s “bad guy.”
The judges said they liked hearing the parts of her voice they hadn’t been able to see yet, and Luke especially said he liked that she owned the stage even in her living room. Lionel said she had “everything you need to be a superstar.”
Aliana Jester
Last week, Aliana Jester sang “Run to You” by Whitney Houston. The judges loved the performance and commented on the difficulty of the song she chose. Katy said she didn’t think Aliana would have been able to do that song as well as she did and said she was glad she chose it.
Prior to Idol, Aliana had tried out for America’s Got Talent and The Voice. She stood out to the Idol judges during her audition, which she brought her service dog, Nova, to.
Faith Becnel
Faith performed from her garage last week, singing “River” by Bishop Briggs. Lionel told her that he thought she needed to look into the camera more often but said he loved her delivery, and Luke said that was his favorite rendition of that specific song he’d heard so far.
Becnel usually enjoys performing classics including songs from Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Amy Winehouse and Stevie Wonder. She is from Louisiana where she is the singer in a band and first performed on stage at 10 years old.
Nick Merico
Nick Merico started this season off on a sour note when Lionel straight-up told him he didn’t like him during his audition. Then, he made a comeback by the showcase round, proving Lionel wrong and making it through to the Top 20.
Last week, Merico performed from his apartment in Woodland Hills, California where he sang “Hey There, Delilah” by the Plain White T’s. The judges called his performance “amazing” and said they loved it “very much.”
Lauren Spencer-Smith
Lauren Spencer-Smith is another young contestant this year, and she performed “Mamma Knows Best” by Jessie J for her first Top 20 performance. Katy applauded her for the fact that she “somehow figured out how to grow during a quarantine.”
The 16-year-old singer previously appeared on TV when she was a guest on The Steve Harvey Show after a video of her singing in the car with her father went viral.
Cyniah Elise
18-year-old Cyniah Elise has been singing since she was two years old. For her from-home performance during the Top 20 episode, she sang “Warrior” by Demi Lovato.
Cyniah got a standing ovation from Lionel Richie, and Luke gave the performance what he called the “#LukeStankyFace,” adding that she was a strong singer but really needed people to connect more with what she was doing.
DeWayne Crocker Jr.
DeWayne Crocker Jr. performed “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown last week, and he delivered on the soul that the judges had come to expect from him. Luke asked for a little more “growl” in his voice but complimented the end run on the song, and Lionel echoed those thoughts.
DeWayne is a 23-year-old Gospel singer from Florida. His grandmother, the biggest Lionel Richie fan, accompanied him to his audition so she could meet her own Idol.
Tune into American Idol to view stunning performances from each of the Top Ten performers. American Idol airs on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC.
READ NEXT: American Idol 2020 Live Shows Schedule Change: How It Works