American Idol's Top 9 thirteenth-season performance show was dubbed "I'm with the Band" and the two rockers in the lineup conquered the competition.

ADVERTISEMENT

Caleb Johnson, a 22-year-old from Asheville, NC, performed "Dazed & Confused" by Led Zeppelin and got judges Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban on their feet clapping.

"Yes Papi! That's my papi right there. You did your thing on that. That was something that I haven't seen from you before. That was very sexy -- not that you're not sexy -- but the performance itself was sexy. That takes it to another level as far as rock. If you want to be the frontman of a rockband, you have to have that. You have that!" Jennifer told Caleb.

"Holy crap!" Caleb said in flattery.

"You were the frontman all the way. It was crazy!" Jennifer added.

"These are such lofty goals and targets for you to try to reach, and Caleb, I just don't know how you could have sung that tune any better. I mean, it was really strong," Harry Connick Jr. told him. "Nice job. It's tough to follow that. It's really tough to follow that, and the other competitors are going to have a hard time with that."

"You're such a good frontman that that was like the band was saying, 'I'm with the singer!' That's what it was like. That's a good sign of a frontman, when you pulled the band out like that. The band has never played like that until tonight, at that moment," Keith explained.

"They sounded killer. You really led the thing. Your whole performance came at me like an airbag in slow motion. It was crazy, man! So there you go."

"You sexy airbag, you," Idol host Ryan Seacrest joked with Caleb after his panel critiques.


Jena Irene, a 17-year-old from Farmington Hills, MI, had to be the contestant to unfortunately follow Caleb, however, she measured up to his success and reached his level. Jena sang "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence.

"I told [Caleb] it's hard to follow that. You just followed it!" Harry told Jena.

"When you started singing, I got this wave of nice familiarity when I heard your voice. I'm like, 'Oh, I know that voice.' This is a voice that can be heard on the radio. I like the way you use the stage, I like the way you work with the other band members, I like the way you work with the audience. It was really, really strong and I hope you're happy."

"Jena, I love that you deliver. Every time you do a performance, you just deliver," Keith explained. "You looked great, you sound great, you always deliver, and you've got your own lane baby. No one's doing what you're doing. You're like Caleb. You've got your own thing going on, so good job."

"Jena, you sound phenomenal," Jennifer added. "The minute we hear your voice, it's like soothing. It's like, 'Oh my God, she's going to sing it great and it's going to be great... [But] I just wish it would've been even more messy... to take us even further."


One Top 9 finalist will either be eliminated from the competition or saved by the judges during tonight's live Idol results show at 9PM ET/PT on Fox.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON GOOGLE NEWS