American Idol finalist Candice Glover received two standing ovations for her performances Wednesday night, setting the bar high for the remaining contestants.

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Last night's performance show featured the Top 6 finalists taking the stage and performing two songs -- one of which was from the catalog of Burt Bacharach and Hal David and the other being a song the contestants wish they had written themselves.

Candice blew American Idol judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban, and Randy Jackson away with her rendition of "Lovesong."

"Let me just say on behalf of all my judges up here, one of the greatest performances in the history of 12 years of American Idol! Right there! You show them how to do it baby, that's what's up!" Randy exclaimed.

In addition to Randy's raving review, Keith bowed down to Candice, Mariah went up onstage and threw glitter on her, and Nicki stood up and cheered while the audience went wild.

Candice also received excellent feedback for her first performance of the night, "Don't Make Me Over."

"Oh goodness gracious, I mean, obviously you just got a standing ovation, right? So soak that in, hunny... You committed so whole heartedly... This is what you were born to do. You didn't learn how to do this. You were born to do this. I mean, there's nothing else I can say. That was exquisite," Nicki said.

"This is what this show is all about. This girl is in it to win it for sure ya'll... This to me, right now, is the best vocal of the night. And I love that you started it so simple and you saved all of the 'candi' stuff for later, but it was emotional. This was one of your best performances ever! So good, so crazy good!" Randy exclaimed.

"I 100% percent agree... You took a classic, you kept it current, but you kept it you. And it showed yet another side of who you are. It was just simplistic, beautiful. Loved it," Mariah said.

"You set the bar really high, Candice. All I can say is that performance alone, you just completely became in my Top 3 tonight, baby. Beautiful!" Keith added.
 
And at the opposite end of the spectrum was Lazaro Arbos, whose performances -- once again -- got panned by the judges. His first song of the night, "(They Long to Be) Close to You," was even worse than his second.

"Ugh, wow. I'm actually kind of speechless. Um, you know that I love you the person. I think you're an amazing guy. Your story inspires us all, but all I can say is no, no, no, no. That was horrible! Dude, listen. I felt like we were sitting back in the auditions in some city and we're about to say, 'Okay, no, next...' You haven't been my favorite all season, but I don't know what's going on with you right now. That's the worst performance you've ever had on the show... Wow, I got to be real," Randy said.

"In terms of your struggle, there's no denying that you are beyond courageous to be doing this, okay? But at this point in the competition... We can't go into another key and you stay in the old key... If you stay in the previous key, that's just the end of the song... If you're not aware of that, this is kind of a big deal," Mariah explained.

"You've got millions of fans out there in America who vote for you every week and they're going to love you no matter what, and they'll still love you after tonight... You didn't quite catch the key change until later in the song... I just think you've got to have an ear for that brother," Keith said.

Lazaro's "Angels" song was better but still didn't compare to what the female contestants were bringing to the table vocally. 

"The hard part I'm finding tonight is the way that the girls are singing, it's so crazy good. And I think we're getting to that point now where we're finding the difference between the ones who seem like they're in some kind of talent quest and the ones who are really artists and in this to make a career," Keith explained.

"Okay, yeah, what he said," Nicki noted without any further elaboration. 

"I will say slightly better than the last time. There's something there, but Keith is right. The girls are just so crazy good. I mean, I don't know. It's a girls' race right now to me," Randy said.

"Of all your fellow comrades, you're the only remaining guy here. So it's difficult... You did redeem [yourself] somewhat from your last performance... That's more in the direction of a performance that would be preferable," Mariah said.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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