Near the end of a season that has included trips to Hawaii and Disneyland, and guest mentors like Josh Groban, James Taylor and Lin-Manuel Miranda, "American Idol” is now down to its final three singers.
During Monday night’s live episode, millions of votes from viewers at home eliminated another two singers from the competition and determined the top three contestants who will vie for the title of Season 23 champion during the season finale on Sunday.
Here’s a brief recap of the episode.
A look at the ‘American Idol’ top 5 episode
Monday night’s episode continued the Disney theme that started Sunday night.
During the episode, each of the top five singers performed twice from Disneyland Resort in an effort to claim a spot in the season finale, as the Deseret News reported.
Monday’s show featured a special appearance from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the Broadway sensation “Hamilton” who also wrote the music for a variety of Disney films, including “Moana,” “Encanto” and “Mufasa: The Lion King.” Miranda has been a mentor for the contestants during the Disney round.
“Idol” Season 21 winner Iam Tongi also performed “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” from the new “Lilo & Stitch” movie (Tongi lent his voice to the film’s soundtrack).
“He’s a real individual that I just really love,” top five contestant Thunderstorm Artis recently told the Deseret News. “He doesn’t let the whole stardom stuff go to his head. He’s just so down to earth, and I really love that.”
Performances from the show’s top five Monday night included:
- Slater Nalley — “You’ve Got A Friend In Me,” from “Toy Story”; and “Born to Be Wild,” from “D3: The Mighty Ducks”
- John Foster — “The Bare Necessities” from “The Jungle Book”; and “Rainbow Connection,” from “The Muppets”
- Thunderstorm Artis — “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” from “Cinderella”; and “Find Yourself,” from “Cars”
- Breanna Nix — “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love),” from “The Parent Trap”; and “You’ll Be in My Heart,” from “Tarzan”
- Jamal Roberts — “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” from “Remember the Titans”; and “Beauty and the Beast,” from “Beauty and the Beast”
“Idol” host Ryan Seacrest revealed the show’s final three at the end of the two-hour episode.
Who’s still competing on ‘American Idol’?
After Monday night’s episode, the following three contestants are still in the “American Idol” competition:
John Foster
Jamal Roberts
Who went home on ‘American Idol’?
The following two singers got eliminated from the “American Idol” competition Monday night:
- Slater Nalley
- Thunderstorm Artis
When is the ‘American Idol’ Season 23 finale?
The “American Idol” Season 23 finale airs Sunday, May 18, at 6 p.m. MDT.
The live, three-hour episode will feature performances from the season’s top three contestants and from a wide variety of guest artists — including Groban, Salt-N-Pepa, Patti LaBelle, Jessica Simpson, Goo Goo Dolls and Good Charlotte.
“American Idol” will reveal the Season 23 winner at the end of the episode.