MANILA, Philippines – Filipina-Mexican singer Jessica Sanchez got her groove on for the Top 5 performance round of American Idol Thursday (Manila time), with a tribute to a rock legend and a mellowed down performance that wowed the judges.
For her first song, Sanchez chose “Proud Mary”, which was originally done by Creedence Clearwater and made popular in the 1970s by Ike and Tina Turner.
Her rendition drew praises from Jennifer Lopez who was wowed by her powerhouse vocals.
“You’re so grown-up there, it’s crazy! You were a little bit of Tina, a little Beyonce,” Lopez said.
Steve Tyler was equally impressed with Sanchez’s song choice.
“I’m hearing the blues come out of you,” he said.
But Randy Jackson was not feeling it. ”You took on probably the biggest dragon of the night. … It didn’t really quite sit with me,” he said.
Lopez, however, countered Jackson: “You can’t compare a 16-year-old with Tina Turner performing ‘Proud Mary’ in her heyday.”
During Sanchez’s performance, “Proud Mary” became a top trending topic on Twitter with most fans raving about the Filipina-Mexican’s rendition.
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For her next song, Sanchez decided to mellow it down with the British Song “You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker. The piano-driven song was praised by all three judges.
“You, once again, showed America just how beautiful your voice is. You’re going to be Number One, girl,” Tyler said.
Meanwhile, Lopez said Sanchez’s performance was reminiscent of the Idol singer’s “I Will Always Love You” performance, which was welcomed with a standing ovation.
“How could we have let this girl go home?” Lopez said.
Jackson also congratulated Sanchez: “This girl’s in the top of the leaderboard right now.”
Here are the song choices of the rest of the Top 5:
- Hollie Cavanagh- “River Deep Mountain High” (by Ike and Tina Turner) and “Bleeding Love” (Leona Lewis)
- Philip Phillips- “The Letter” (The Box Tops) and “Time of the Season” (The Zombies)
- Skylar Laine- “Fortunate Son” (Creedence Clearwater Revival) and “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” (Dusty Springfield)
- Joshua Ledet- “Ain’t too Proud to Beg” (The Temptations) and “To Love Somebody” (Bee Gees)
