10 guys face off for five spots on American Idol

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10 guys faced off on the Beatles: LOVE stage at the Mirage in Las Vegas.

They would not only had to impress the judges: Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban and Mariah Carey but 1,500 people as well.

Who rose to the occasion and who was eliminated? Read on to find out….

Up first was Paul Jolley. The Homerville, Tennessee native took a risk and performed a Keith Urban song that sounded very screechy and the piano that accompanied Paul overpowered him. While the crowd liked the performance, he received some mixed feedback from the judges and he seemed very forgettable. C

Two-time Idol auditionee Johnny Keyser gave his most honest performance when he performed a cover of Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up.” While Keith stated it was good, Nicki asked him if he had a girlfriend and Johnny said: “No!” and the girls went wild. Hopefully, Johnny continues to have the opportunity to show growth in the next coming weeks. B

JDA’s performance was train wreck! While he wowed Nicki and expressed himself, his cover of Adele’s “Rumour Has It” was subpar. In addition, Randy stated the performance was very unoriginal. D-

Father of two Kevin Harris finally broke out of the pack when he covered Bryan Adams’s “Everything I Do (I Do It For You).” He brought a soulful twist to the song that showcased his lovely vibrato. However, he received mixed reactions from the judges as Nicki stated that it was a 100-percent vocal while Randy was bored by his performance. B+

Former New York City waiter Chris Watson delivered an above average cover of Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ On the Dockin’ Bay.” While he was a good showman, all of the judges stated that he needed another song choice. It seems like all of the guys have been holding back. B-

18-year-old Devin Velez stepped up to the pate and delivered an intriguing cover of Beyoncé’s “Listen” and also sang in Spanish as well. However, while he did a nice job with the song, it was not as good as Trevin Hunte and Melanie Amaro’s covers. Overall, he has a bright future ahead of him. B

Devin’s contemporary: Elijah Liu delivered a shaky and ugly cover of Bruno Mars’ “Talking to the Moon” that was pitchy all over the place. While Nicki overpraised him and told him that he was ready to become a super-duper star, Elijah should go back to college. D+

One of this season’s breakout stars of this season was Charlie Askew. This awkward contestant has stolen the hearts of viewers and Nicki Minaj. He delivered a great cover of Sir Elton John’s “Rocket Man” that showed off his strong showmanship and received a standing ovation from Nicki, who fawned over him all throughout her critique. Despite Randy thinking it was a bit stage school, Charlie delivered a great moment. A-

Frontrunner Country rocker Jimmy Smith delivered an interesting cover of Keith Urban’s “Raining on Sunday.” While it is a good vocal, the music was louder than Jimmy and the judges minus Keith stated it was boring. If Jimmy makes it to the Top 10 round, Jimmy needs to lay off the Keith Urban and try to do another artist. B

St. Louis native Curtis Finch, Jr. was the final contestant to hit the stage. His cover of the late Luther Vandross’ “Superstar” was the only A+ performance of the night that gave everyone goose bumps. Nicki stated that Curtis stepped to the challenge and brought the competition to another level while Randy added that Curtis needed to perform songs for his age.

After all of the performances, it was time for the judges to decide make their final judgment. If the panel was deadlock, Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine would cast the tiebreaker vote. For the first time in the season, Jimmy was brought into the picture. The contestant whose fate was in the balance was Paul Jolley. Jimmy stated that despite having the wrong song, he decided that Paul should go on in the competition.

Joining Paul in the Top 10 guys were Curtis Finch, Jr., Elijah Liu, Charlie Askew and Devin Velez while Johnny Keyser, Chris Watson, JDA, Kevin Harris and Chris Watson were eliminated from the competition.

Next week, the remaining 10 guys and 10 girls will compete for the last spots in the competition.