We’ve reached our next to last American Idol 2014 recap of the year! Top 2 finalists Caleb Johnson and Jena Irene Ascuitto will give their final American Idol performances for your votes tonight. Then it will be up to you to decide who will win in the American Idol results tomorrow night. Join us for for our American Idol recap and live chat for the Top 2 performances show and watch part one of the finale with us!
American Idol Top 2 finalists Jena Irene and Caleb Johnson are running neck in neck in most of the fan polls and are only separated by a thin margin in the betting odds. We’ve been watching them all season long and we can’t even make a solid guess who will win American Idol season 13 at this point. Our latest reader’s poll says it will be Caleb Johnson, but the Las Vegas odds and our Power Rankings give it to Jena Irene.
In other words, it could all very well come down to their final American Idol 2014 performances for your votes tonight. Caleb and Jena will have three performances to wow the voters with this evening. They will be singing their hopeful future ‘coronation’ song, a song they chose as their best performance of the season, and a tune picked out by American Idol creator Simon Fuller.
Jena Irene won the coin toss for this week and has chosen to sing first, which we find very interesting as the singers usually like to grab the ‘pimp spot’ to close out the show.
And here we go! Host Ryan Seacrest is wearing a very fancy white suit jacket this evening. Keith Urban is not. We don’t think they are going to get him back in a tux this season. However, he is looking fine anyway, as are American Idol judges Harry Connick Jr. and Jennifer Lopez.
It’s the night of the Rocker versus the Wild Card, or as Ryan Seacrest says, The Sleeper versus the Rock n’ Roll Viking (so named by Keith Urban). Caleb says this is absolutely amazing and the fans are awesome. Jena says she never thought she would be here and thank you to the fans.
We break away for a brief humorous bit about Jena Irene asking Caleb Johnson to prom (which really did happen). He agrees and we get a cute montage of them at a pretend prom that suddenly goes awry when they find out they will be competing against each other in the American Idol finale.
American Idol Top 2 Performances: Simon Fuller’s Choice
Jena Irene: “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + the Machine
Judges: Keith Urban says it was fantastic and gives her a “wooooo!” He says it was a great song choice from Simon Fuller. The way that she owned the stage was so good and a sign of a real pro. A few little issues with breath control because the adrenaline was through the roof, but she took it home like a Kentucky Derby winner. JLo says it is electric in the room and that can be overwhelming for a performer and she could hear that, but she did fine and it was really good. Harry, who is wearing an adorable bow tie, says Jena has a great internal tempo and she shows she really loves being on stage. He could hear that song on her record.
Vote for Jena Irene:
- Text 8 to 83676
- Call 1-855-4-IDOL-08 (1-855-443-6508)
- SuperVote online at AmericanIdol.com or via app
Caleb Johnson: “Dream On” by Aerosmith
Judges: JLo says that’s what you gotta do! This is the finale, this is it! You gotta come on, you gotta deliver, and that is what Caleb just did. The right song and he should thank Simon Fuller for that one. That may have did it right there. Harry says as powerful as the ending was, that when he sings in the low register, he’s like a GT that has so much power. Don’t forget to be powerful throughout. It was phenomenal, but he wants to see it even when it’s low and intense. Keith says Caleb literally had him at the opening register of the song. He disagrees with Harry because he loves how he arched the song from beginning to end.
Vote for Caleb Johnson:
- Text 13 to 83676
- Call 1-855-4-IDOL-13 (1-855-443-6513)
- SuperVote online at AmericanIdol.com or via app
American Idol Top 2 Performances: Finalist’s Choice
Jena Irene: “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” by Elvis Presley
Judges: Harry says he can very clearly hear the influence on this song, that she probably studied others and how they sang this song, but what separates her is that she can take all those influences and come up with a performance that is very unique. It was absolutely beautiful. Keith Urban says this song was so good two weeks ago that she inspired someone else to do it (on The Voice) and that’s the true mark of a great performer. JLo says she got the goosies again and Jena’s soul comes through when she sings that song on that piano. It’s overwhelming she’s so good.
Caleb Johnson: “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney
Judges: Keith gives Caleb a “woooo” and says it’s a real, deep, emotional song and be careful not to get caught up in the gymnastic aspect of the song and lose the feeling on it. JLo says she agrees and Caleb’s power is so undeniable and it’s kind of like holding back the engine on a race car, but that’s what it requires on this song. More heart and less of the power. But he was amazing. Keith and Harry think Caleb won the first round, Jena won the second round. (JLo says it’s all a tie.)
American Idol Top 2 Performances: Winner’s Singles
Jena Irene: “We Are One”
Judges: Jennifer says she thought the song was very good, it suited her, and it was a nice finish to the show. Harry says he was wondering how the song would sound live and it was just as strong as it was in the studio. Keith loves the song and it was perfect for her. He loved it.
Caleb Johnson: “As Long As You Love Me”
Judges: Harry says the way he looks at it, Caleb is going to have a nice long sleep tonight. Caleb is like Joe Frazier, Jena is like Muhammad Ali. This is a puncher against a boxer, all he can say is good luck America. Keith Urban says it is insane and he is dying to see what happens tomorrow night. It’s been an amazing night and congrats to both of them. JLo says Caleb put it all out there and gave it everything. He went for it and he sounded good. It’s going to be a tough night for everyone, good luck America!
That’s it! Time to go and vote right now! See you tomorrow night for the star-studded two-hour finale!