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American Idol 11

'American Idol's Top 10 eleventh-season finalists take the stage, sing

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/22/2012

American Idol's Top 10 eleventh-season finalists took to the stage and sang Billy Joel songs during Wednesday night's live performance show.

After the finalists performed, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest asked judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler to reveal who they believed had been the night's strongest performers and deserved to remain in the competition another week.

The judges all seemed to agree that Colton Dixon, a 20-year-old from Murfreesboro, TN; Phillip Phillips, a 21-year-old from Leesburg, GA; Jessica Sanchez, a 16-year-old from San Diego, CA; and Elise Testone, a 28-year-old from Charleston, SC, were the standouts of the night.

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"Judges, quickly, who stood out tonight? Randy?" Seacrest asked.

"Jessica, Elise, Phil Phillips, Colton -- God," a flustered Jackson said.

"Yeah, Elise for me and Colton. [Also] Jessica," Lopez noted.

"Jessica, Colton, Elise, and Phillip," Tyler added.

Sanchez sang Billy Joel's "Everybody has a Dream, while Testone performed "Vienna." Phillips performed "Movin' Out" and Dixon sang a rendition of "Piano Man" while playing the piano onstage.

In addition, Wednesday night's episode featured the debut of fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger as American Idol's new stylist, resulting in a dramatic makeover for Erika Van Pelt -- a 26-year-old from South Kingstown, RI who was originally a blonde with medium-length hair -- in which she had dyed her hair black and sported a short edgy cut.

In addition to Dixon Phillips, Sanchez, Testone, and Van Pelt, American Idol's other remaining eleventh-season finalists are Deandre Brackensick, a 17-year-old from San Jose, CA; Hollie Cavanagh, an 18-year-old from McKinney, TX; Heejun Han, a 22-year-old from Flushing, NY; Skylar Laine, an 18-year-old from Brandon, MS; and Joshua Ledet, a 19-year-old from Westlake, LA.

Assuming the judges do not opt to use "The Judges' Save," the Idol finalist who received the fewest home-viewer votes following last night's broadcast will be eliminated from the competition during Thursday night's live results show.

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