'American Idol:' Triston Harper tackles an Adele tune in fight for Top 5

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Sunday brought a fresh round of challenges for Triston Harper and the other six contenders left on "American Idol," and at the end of the night two of them went home.

Before voters had their final say on who would advance to the Top 5, each singer got two solo performances: One song had to be suitable for dancing, and Ciara provided some guidance for the singers on how to get themselves (and the audience) moving. The other song had to come from the catalog of superstar Adele.

For stand-and-deliver country-oriented singers such as Harper, 15-year-old from McIntosh, Ala., and Will Moseley, a 23-year-old from Georgia, it seemed like a lot to ask.

Here's how the night went for Harper:

What Triston Harper sang (first): "T.R.O.U.B.L.E." Given that this song was a Top 20 country hit for Elvis Presley that later became a Top 20 country hit for Travis Tritt, it was right in Harper's wheelhouse. He has sung Elvis on "Idol," but went with the Tritt version and continued to improve his showmanship.

What Ciara said: "I can relate, I was 15 years old when I started my career" she said. Later, as she coached Harper on his stage moves, she said: "I love when you looked up at me. Connection is everything. … You've got to commit, you've got to connect. The moment he did that with me, instantaneously something special happened."

What Luke Bryan said: "You know what, man, you just keep smiling and dancing and having fun and it's all going to be okay. And keep singing and being you. That's why we just smile the whole time you step up here."

What Lionel Richie said: "We used to call that move you did 'gyration.'"

What Katy Perry said: "I just love watching your mother watch you, because she is just having so much fun. … You're just a whole different energy now and there's a lightness of being. I'm just so happy for you. I thought you were just, like, another level, Triston."

What he sang (second): Adele's "Easy on Me," a wrenching torch song about her divorce that became a global hit in 2021-2022. Harper took the stage after Will Moseley covered "Rolling in the Deep," and the approach was similar: The songs were given country arrangements, but the singers still had to stretch.

What Luke Bryan said: "It was, gosh, really real, really you, really well done, a lot of reallys, and you're really here up on this stage making it happen."

What Lionel Richie said: "I still want to make sure I check your birth certificate before you leave outta here, because you're doing some real grownup things up there."

What Katy Perry said: "It doesn't matter if it's a pop song, it's a rock song, it's a country song, it's about how you sell the story. And I feel like those words are also your words. I could feel you singing them from your heart, like you wrote them, and I believed it."

The vote: As host Ryan Seacrest read off the results of "just under 19 million votes," Harper didn't have to wait long to learn that he had indeed made it to the Top 5. So had Abi Carter, Jack Blocker, Emmy Russell and Moseley. But McKenna Faith Breinholt, saved by Katy Perry after last week's vote, did not. Nor did Julia Gagnon.

What comes next: There's no show on Monday, May 6: "Idol" has switched to Sundays-only as the season approaches its end. On Sunday, May 12, each singer in the Top 5 will perform "two beloved favorites from the Disney Songbook" before voters determine who moves on to the Top 3. The episode will air at 7 p.m. Central time on ABC. Those without basic cable can still live stream new episodes of American Idol on Sundays with Fubo and DirecTV Stream. New episodes become available for streaming on Hulu the day after they premiere.

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