'American Idol' eliminates Julia Gagnon and McKenna Faith Breinholt on "Adele Night"

American Idol eliminated Julia Gagnon and McKenna Faith Breinholt on "Adele Night," which determined the Top 5 contestants for Season 22 during Sunday night's episode on ABC.


Julia, a 22-year-old college student from Cumberland, ME, and McKenna, a 25-year-old esthetician from Gilbert, AZ, were ousted from the American Idol competition based on nearly 19 million votes that poured in live while the Top 7 contestants each performed two songs -- one dance song and one Adele hit -- for Idol judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest therefore announced the Top 5 contestants for this season: Abi Carter, a 21-year-old musician from Indio, CA; Emmy Russell, a 25-year-old songwriter from Nashville, TN; Jack Blocker, a 25-year-old graphic designer from Dallas, TX; Triston Harper, a 15-year-old high school student from McIntosh, AL; and Will Moseley, a 23-year-old musician from Hazlehurst, GA.

For Round 1 of the two-hour performance show, the Top 7 contestants were tasked with choosing songs people would want to dance to. Round 2 featured the contestants singing songs from Adele's songbook.

Julia belted out "Roam" by the B-52s for her dance song.


Katy thought it was a really "cool" song choice and Julia brought the looks, the energy and the vocals. Luke said it was refreshing to see Julia challenge her confidence level, which results in growth.

Julia then performed "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele for Round 2.

Lionel called Julia a "superstar," and Luke noted how she looked free on the stage. Katy pointed out how Julia was in her lane.

"It was all you, it was incredible, it was A+. That was exactly what Adele wants on her birthday," Katy gushed.

McKenna initially took the stage with "E.T." by Katy Perry.


Lionel thought McKenna's performance was "very cool" and that she had made the song her own, and Luke complimented the singer on looking like "a big star." He advised her to keep digging in to discover what her voice can do.

McKenna then followed that up with "Make You Feel My Love" by Bob Dylan/Adele.

Katy said McKenna has shown people how to transform and keep listeners on the edge of their seat. Luke said that was her kind of song and she had performed it "perfectly."

Representing the Top 5 going forward, Abi impressed with "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" by Fall Out Boy for Round 1.

"Where has all this energy been? Where has all this physicality been? If you did that the whole time on American Idol, there would be no question," Katy declared.


"Why were you saving that for the last show? You can do that?!... That performance made me scared for my job."

For Round 2, Abi sang "Hello" by Adele.

Katy's eyes welled up in tears, and Lionel could be heard whispering to Katy, "Wow."

The judges agreed Abi's performance was "amazing," arguably her best performance yet, and Katy said she heard "angelic frequency" in Abi's voice and that her vocals were "beyond."

Emmy's first song selection was a stripped-down version of "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon that she played on the piano.


Katy admitted she was waiting for Emmy to get up from the piano and move around the stage, but Emmy said her nerves were getting the best of her.

Katy, however, thought Emmy sounded confident and the best she's ever sounded. Luke said she brought her signature sound, and Lionel noted how she's close to being a superstar.

Emmy followed that up with a performance of Adele's "Water Under the Bridge," which she sang standing up at the microphone.

Katy said she looked and sounded great and that she's excited about her future.

Luke was excited to hear Emmy add little "sparkles" to the song, and Lionel congratulated Emmy on making eye contact with the judges and conquering her demons.


Jack sang "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard for the first round of competition.

Luke called the performance "a 10 out of 10," and Lionel joked, "I don't know what I just saw, but it wasn't the kid who showed up to the show a while ago... You were amazing. Give me more of that."

Jack then chose "One and Only" for his Adele song.

Luke gushed about how Jack has "a thing" and his own authentic kind of charisma. Lionel praised Jack for performing through this "relaxed period" that's "infectious."

Triston selected "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" by Travis Tritt for his dance song.

Luke told Triston to keep smiling, singing, dancing and having fun because it's working for him, and Katy noticed his "lightness of being" and how he brought his performing to a whole new level.


And for his Adele hit, Triston delivered "Easy On Me."

Lionel said Triston was doing "some really grown up things" on the stage, and Katy shared how she could feel the words of the song as if Triston had written it from his heart.

Will's dance song for Round 1 was "Gimme Three Steps" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Katy praised Will for having fun and being casual like a real rock star, and Luke appreciated that Will was trying new things and never seemed to hit a bad note.

And Round 2 featured Will performing "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele.

Luke said Will "nailed it," and Lionel praised him for bringing some drama. Katy told Will that his performance was "fantastic" and he stayed true to himself.


Ryan announced during the American Idol broadcast that the Season 22 finale will air in two weeks on ABC.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski