American Idol eliminated Kayko and Mia Matthews, which determined the Top 8 contestants for Season 22 during the two-hour episode that aired Sunday night on ABC.

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Kayko, a 23-year-old songwriter and producer from Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Mia, a 19-year-old singer from Centre, AL, were eliminated from the American Idol competition based on roughly 21 million home viewer votes that poured in live while the Top 10 contestants performed songs from the year they were born for American Idol judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.

Country icon Shania Twain served as the mentor for the week.

Kayko's ouster was surprising given he had brought the house down with "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus, which was released in 2000.

"Who the hell is this new person?!" Luke joked, praising Kayko for rocking out and showing a new side of himself. "Way to channel a different thing!... Keep people guessing."

Lionel added, "You are looking and acting like you're having the greatest time, and you are... If you keep feeling fooling around here, man, you're going to win this thing!"

Mia also impressed with the 2004 hit "No One Needs To Know" by Shania.

Luke complimented how commercial Mia can be, but he called her out for forgetting the lyrics a couple of times. Katy said she looked great, sounded great and moved around the stage.

As for the Top 8 contestants' performances, Jack Blocker, a 25-year-old graphic designer from Dallas, TX, performed his own version of the 1998 hit, "Believe" by Cher.

Lionel called him "Mr. Magic Man" because he keeps reinventing himself and was able to carve out his own song. Lionel said doing Cher was "a stretch" but he pulled it off.

Katy and Luke suggested he should move around and bring a little more energy onstage.

McKenna Faith Breinholt, a 25-year-old esthetician from Gilbert, AZ, took the stage with the 1998 tune "Iris" by GooGoo Dolls.

Katy said that was her "absolute favorite" performance and it transported her back to a magical time when she was a teenager. Luke could hear Miley Cyrus in her voice and thought she sounded like a professional.

Emmy Russell, a 25-year-old songwriter from Nashville, TN, sang a slower version of "All the Small Things" by Blink-182, which was released in 1999.

Lionel said Emmy has a purity in her voice and she's a real storyteller, and Katy thought the song was a great choice and Emmy sounded completely solid from start to finish. Luke agreed it was one of Emmy's best vocals to date.

Triston Harper, a 15-year-old high school student from McIntosh, AL, showed off some of his dance moves with the 2008 song "She's Country" by Jason Aldean.

Katy called it "a big, big star performance," and Lionel gushed about how Triston strutted onstage and he did an "excellent" job with the song.

Abi Carter, a 21-year-old musician from Indio, CA, then graced the stage with "Clocks" by Coldplay, which came out in 2002.

Luke loved how Abi connected with fans and got out from behind the piano, and Lionel said Abi is "on fire."

"I agree with Luke... You can't do an entire performance behind the piano. You were still authentic to yourself, and you were still angelic," Katy shared.

Julia Gagnon, a 22-year-old college student from Cumberland, ME, belted out the 2002 song "Here I Am" by Bryan Adams.

Lionel thanked Julia for building up the song, and Katy asked for more "intimate stuff" because Julia can belt all day long.

Katy said Julia reminded her of Kelly Clarkson, and Luke added how Julia really owned the moment.

Will Moseley, a 23-year-old musician from Hazlehurst, GA, performed "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde" by Travis Tritt from 2000.

"Perfect song, perfect delivery -- and the big note at the end was probably the best thing I've heard you do all year," Luke declared.

Lionel also called Will's performance "fantastic."

And Kaibrienne, a 20-year-old B&B host from Henefer, UT, closed out the show with the 2003 hit "Here Without You" by 3 Doors Down.

Luke said that was a great song choice and her emotional in it was great. It was one of his favorite performances that Kaibrienne has done.

Katy gushed about how there's "a pot of gold" in Kaibrienne's voice.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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