American Idol's Top 7 Revealed! Did The Judges Save The Right Singer?

Monday's American Idol featured the return of the Judge's Song Contest, marking Carrie Underwood's first time competing against Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. But which judge(s) won? And which singer became the latest casualty of America's fickle voting habits? Let's find out.

In keeping with Idol tradition, the season's remaining contestants — Breanna Nix, Mattie Pruitt, John Foster, Josh King, Gabby Samone, Jamal Roberts, Thunderstorm Artis and Slater Nalley — were all given three songs to choose from, each chosen by one of the judges. If a contestant chose a judge's song, that judge would earn a point. The winning judge, which turned out to be a tie between Luke and Lionel, had the one-time-only ability to save one of the bottom two contestants from elimination.

The two-hour broadcast also featured special tributes to the judges' own songs, beginning with a three-way performance of Lionel's "Dancing on the Ceiling," courtesy of Jamal, Gabby and Josh. In the second hour, Slater, Thunderstorm and John teamed up to perform Luke's "Huntin', Fishin' and Lovin' Every Day"; while Breanna and Mattie closed out the night with a duet of Carrie's "Something in the Water."

Read on for a breakdown of Monday's results, including which singers will return to compete in next week's two Disney nights. (That's right, we're getting two of 'em this season!) When you're done, vote for the singers you hope to keep in the competition. And let's be real: Did Luke and Lionel save the right singer?

Inspired by her mother's own experiences overcoming a period of domestic abuse, Breanna chose to sing Martina McBride's "Independence Day," and boy did she ever sing it. The confidence, the soaring vocals, the energy — Breanna really gave us the whole package with this one, even if she missed a few lyrics along the way. (I wouldn't have even noticed if the judges didn't point that out, to be honest.) Her gut told her that Luke picked this particular track for her, and she was right on the money.

Andy's Grade: "A-"

Coming off last night's stand-out performance (a capital-M moment), Mattie returned to the stage on Monday with Jessie Murph's "Always Been You," a sassier tune that gave her the opportunity to show off more of the vocal tricks she's been stashing away all season. I didn't feel like she connected to the song as closely as she could have, something the judges echoed in their critiques, but it was still a solid performance. And guess who got to take credit for Mattie's latest win? Why, Luke again, of course!

Andy's Grade: "B+"

For John, it was a no-brainer picking George Strait's "I Cross My Heart," as this is the first time he can perform a love song and actually mean it. (Shout-out to John's girlfriend Brooklyn!) There was a comforting ease to this performance; it wasn't vocally jaw-dropping, but he was fully locked in and connected to the message, and sometimes that counts for a lot more. John also correctly deduced that Carrie chose this particular song for him.

Andy's Grade: "A-"

Josh followed his heart, choosing to perform Michael Bublé's "Home," a song with lyrics he says he can believe in. Ironically, he appeared to get a little tripped up by those lyrics at the start, but he rebounded before reaching the chorus, nailing the high notes and redeeming the performance's rocky start. I might be totally off about this one, because the judges all seemed to think the performance was "perfect," but hey, we've all got opinions. Either way, congratulations are in order to Lionel, whose song choice finally got him on the board.

Andy's Grade: "B+"

Oh, the judges had some fun with Gabby's picks this week. With three power ballads to choose from, she decided to go with Lionel's selection of Mariah Carey's "Hero." I'm not sure I agree with Lionel that Gabby "made it her own," as it definitely still felt like Mariah, but she definitely made a moment out of it, effortlessly navigating high notes that would make lesser contestants want to crawl into a hole and die.

Andy's Grade: "A-"

Channeling all the love and support he's been receiving from his family and fans, Jamal chose to sing Fantasia's "I Believe," delivering a performance even more stunning and sparkly than the clothes on his back. You could feel the emotion in every note as he essentially celebrated how far he's come in the competition, sending so much love into the audience and getting it all back in spades. Lionel knew exactly what he was doing when he picked this song for Jamal, letting his inner light shine bright.

Andy's Grade: "A"

Thunderstorm, who was apparently not born in a thunderstorm and just has a "crazy name," followed his heart with a performance of Journey's "Faithfully," which he used as a love letter to his wife (named Faith!) and their children. Powerful, stunning and devastatingly real, this was one of the stand-out moments of the night for me. True to his name, he really has been the quiet storm throughout this competition, and it's not done raining yet! (Also, when he told Faith that the world has his gift but she has his heart, I just about melted into a puddle. I love this guy.) Hats off to Carrie for picking this one.

Andy's Grade: "A"

Slater was the last singer to take the stage on Monday, putting a country spin on Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City." Guitar in hand, Slater was totally in his element, confidently strumming and crooning his way through the upbeat tune. And like the artist he is, Slater wisely inserted several surprises along the way to keep things interesting. The only thing less surprising than Slater's slam-dunk performance was the reveal that Luke chose the song for him. ("I love gambling in Atlantic City!")

Andy's Grade: "A-"

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