Abi Carter Closes American Idol with Adele and Says “Hello” to the Top 5
It’s crazy to think American Idol Season 22 is in its final three episodes. We truly are in the home stretch, and the past few weeks we have seen some of the season’s best moments including one on Sunday night’s show (May 5). The Top 7 took on a theme of Songs That Make You Want to Dance and performed songs from the Adele songbook for a spot in the Top 5. Abi Carter, a 21-year-old singer-songwriter is one to watch out for. She is revealing new sides to herself each week, but it was a performance where she was in her comfort zone where she created a moment for herself this week. She closed the show with one of Adele’s biggest hits “Hello.” (Read our Recap)
Abi sat at the piano as she took on “Hello.” She started the song simplistically, hitting the low notes with ease before soaring into her head voice and hitting some very angelic notes. The arrangement was fairly by the numbers, but Abi made it her own with the phrasing and runs she added to the song. A few of her performances, she has missed a run or two, but this performance was as close to perfection that I have seen from her. I got chills several times during it. Abi’s tone has a nice cry to it that simply cuts through, and that led to a very compelling performance. Vocally, this may have been her best performance to date even if it was last week’s “Bring Me to Life” that was a breakout moment that went viral across social media platforms.
Katy Perry called what Abi did “angelic frequency”
Lionel Richie told Abi that was the “best” he’s heard from her, adding, “it was so delicate, it was so soulful. I mean it was personal.” Katy Perry called what Abi did, “angelic frequency,” saying “it was on another level”. Luke Bryan joked, “I think you made Lionel Richie forget that he wrote the original Hello”. He added, “you just gave that magic thing in your voice the whole performance. It was tremendous,”
Abi’s “Hello” was one of the best tonight, but the singer also did a great job of showing off more sides to herself with her first song, “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark” by Fall Out Boy. She took mentor Ciara’s advice and built off of it, and she recovered nicely when she lost her mic pack for a second early in the performance. Jack Blocker also had a moment by exuding energy with his dance song, “Long Tall Sally” by Little Richard. Additionally, Julia Gagnon’s “Set Fire to The Rain” highlighted her impressive technique, and McKenna Faith Breinholt’s heartfelt take on Adele’s cover of “Make You Feel My Love” by Bob Dylan stood out.. Sadly, it was too little too late for both of these singers, as viewers voted them off the show.
Abi advanced to the Top 5 along with Emmy Russell, Jack Blocker, Triston Harper, and Will Moseley. The last few weeks we have seen some great vocalists go in favor of the singers we typically see go far which are country adjacent. Abi is on a hot streak, however. Let’s see if she is able to carry this momentum into the final two episodes.
