Soap Opera Digest

With a spot in the Top 3 and a trip back home on the line, the Top 4 knew they had to step up their game. Each had a chance to do so with one song of the theme "California Dreamin'", and another they wish they had written. 

This past week, the Top 5 each took on one song from the '60s and one British pop song.

Last week, the Top 6 took on one song by the legendary rock band, Queen, and one song of their choice.

Coming off an extremely drama-packed week, the contestants knew they really had to bring their "A-game".

With the Top 7 taking on songs from this decade, and the "Judges' Save" still unused, there were bound to be some killer performances…and major drama.

Singing music from the '80s, the Top 8 needed to take these songs, contemporize them, and make them their own.

This past week, the Top 9 truly pushed each other to the max. DeAndre wooed the entire population of young ladies with his soulful falsetto, Joshua showed his huge range and incredible power taking on Mariah Carey's "Without You", Jessica changed up and slayed Beyoncé's "Sweet Dreams", and both Phillip and Elise rocked out like true stars.

So the Top 10 took on the classics of prolific songwriter Billy Joel this past week, and it seemed as though some of these songs were custom-made for the contestants. 

Singing songs from the year they were born, the Top 11 Idols (Jermaine was disqualified after failing to disclose his previous run-ins with the law) really brought it.

Taking on the songs of Stevie Wonder and the late great Whitney Houston is not an easy task.