American Idol Top 8 finalists Caleb Johnson and Dexter Roberts came close to not being able to perform during Wednesday night's show although they sounded great in the end.

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"In rehearsal today, my voice totally went out," Johnson told People following his performance. "There was so much crud in my throat. I couldn't breathe. We had to lower the key just so I could get through it tonight."

Johnson, 22, had been suffering from bronchitis this past week and didn't begin to feel better until he had visited a doctor three times. However, he still wasn't 100% for last night's performance broadcast.

"It was awful," the rocker allegedly told reporters. "My voice kind of went out towards the end of the song. I just thought, 'Oh, Jesus. Just let me get through it.'"

Likewise, Roberts, 22, was also battling illness this week.

"I'm glad they didn't show the whole clip of me at rehearsal because it was bad," Roberts told People. "I got in there and started singing in the bathroom just to warm myself up, and I cracked. It was bad."

But luckily for Roberts, the country singer was feeling much better heading into Wednesday night's show unlike Johnson.

"That doctor had the magic touch," Roberts explained. "I don't know what I would have done without him. They would have had to play my iTunes track, and I would just have had to lip-sync or something, I guess."

Johnson and Roberts both received great reviews from American Idol judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. for their performances. Johnson sang "Faithfully" by Journey, while Roberts took the stage with "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" by the Georgia Satellites for the 80s night theme.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.