American Idol's judges have decided to use their one "Save" of the fourteenth season during the second live show Thursday night on Fox.

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When the Top 10 was determined based on last week's nationwide vote,  Qaasim Middleton, an 18-year-old student from Brooklyn, NY, didn't make the cut. As a result, he was required to sing for "The Judges' Save," which expires at the Top 5. Last week was the first time the "Save" was implemented.

Qaasim therefore took the stage with "Come Together" from Across The Universe by The Beatles for "Movie Night," and he got the crowd roaring with applause.

Idol judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. then had to make the tough decision of whether to keep him in the competition when it's still so early on in the elimination process. In what turned out to be a shocking announcement, Harry told Qaasim he arguably delivered the best performance of the night.

"But unfortunately, we have to talk about the issue of the 'Save.' We've got one 'Save.' And one thing we've been talking to you a lot about is it's all performance, it's all performance -- and the vocals are sometimes lacking. So what did we decide? We've come to the conclusion that you deserve the 'Save,'" Harry told Qaasim.

The rest of Idol's contestants then ran onstage to congratulate him. Qaasim was beaming with happiness.

Only three other finalists stood out in what Harry dubbed a subpar night of performances at best. Those artists were Clark Beckham, a 22-year-old street performer from Whitehouse, TN; Jax, an 18-year-old musician from East Brunswick, NJ; and Joey Cook, a 23-year-old server from Woodbridge, VA.

Clark sang "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5 from the movie Cheaper By the Dozen 2. He created his own arrangement and was told he knocked it out of the park.

Jax performed her own take on Adam Sandler's "I Wanna Grow Old with You" from The Wedding Singer. The judges told her it was beautiful and the song played to the quirks in her voice everyone has come to admire.

Joey took the stage with "Mad World" from Donnie Darko. She showed a different, darker side of herself and the judges said it was beautiful. She looked like a serious artist onstage.

The rest of the Top 11 artists struggled.

Tyanna Jones, a 16-year-old student from Jacksonville, FL, sang "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King. She got her first bad reviews of the season because it looked like she was trying really hard and she had intonation issues. Harry said she overshot the mark and yelled the whole way through.

Rayvon Owen, a 23-year-old singer and vocal coach from Richmond, VA, sang "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees from Saturday Night Live. He was instructed to interpret lyrics better and do more than hit impressive falsetto notes. The judges suggested he needs to find a way to excite the audience because there wasn't much substance there.

Maddie Walker, a 16-year-old student from Ankeny, IA, performed "Let's Hear it for the Boy" from Footloose. While it was sweet and she's adorable, Harry explained he didn't like it at all and the performance felt "pageanty." He has yet to figure out what type of artist she is or wants to be.  

Adanna Duru, an 18-year-old student from Diamond Bar, CA, sang "I Love You I Do" by Jennifer Hudson from Dreamgirls. Her vocal was strong but she was advised to sing from a real place of heart and emotion. She looked like a movie star though onstage.

Daniel Seavey, a 15-year-old student from Portland, OR, sang "Lost Stars" by Adam Levine from Begin Again. It wasn't his best performance and he needs to dig deeper into the songs he selects.

Quentin Alexander, a 21-year-old retail associate from New Orleans, LA, performed a stripped down version of "You're The One That I Want" from Grease. It was haunting and beautiful, but he was told he sang out of tune and can loosen up more. Quentin's emotional performance didn't translate as much as he felt it.

Nick Fradiani, a 29-year-old musician from Guilford, CT, sang "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins from Top Gun. Jennifer complimented him by telling him to "own his hotness." Keith thought he picked the wrong song and is still a little uptight in his performances.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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