The final three are in it to win it! American Idol aired its penultimate episode on Wednesday, April 6, giving season 15’s Trent Harmon, La’Porsha Renae and Dalton Rapattoni one last opportunity to earn votes from viewers. Get a recap of their final moments in the spotlight before Thursday’s epic series finale.
Also, can we all agree that the clear winner of this show is Ryan Seacrest? He’s the biggest American Idol of all time, tbh.
The Singles
The final three kicked things off by singing their debut singles, all of which slayed. Trent straight-up serenaded the crowd with “Falling,” a Marvin Gaye-esque power balled brimming with soul. Tragically, he wasn’t wearing a giant hat during the performance (where is your hat, Trent?!), but it still ruled.
Meanwhile, Dalton sang his single, “Strike a Match” (which was just about as emo and pop-punk as you’d expect), and La’Porsha dropped “Battles,” which was basically the most inspiring thing that’s happened ever. La’Porsha for president, to be honest.
The Final Two
Only two people can head into American Idol’s finale, which means one of the final three was sent packing. La’Porsha’s name was called first (uh-duh) followed by Trent’s, which means poor Dalton was sent home. His simple parting words? “It’s been amazing.”
Simon Fuller’s Choice
American Idol creator Simon Fuller picked songs for the final two contestants to belt out, and — as expected — they both killed it. Trent gave a solid performance of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, which Jennifer Lopez called “amazing” and Keith Urban pretty much couldn’t stop fan-boying over. But stop everything because La’Porsha’s rendition of “A House Is Not a Home” by Luther Vandross was simply gorgeous — even more gorgeous than Seacrest’s hair. “Emotionally, I loved it,” Harry Connick Jr. gushed, while Jennifer Lopez readily admitted that La’Porsha won the round.
Contestant’s Choice
The contestants are taking the reins! Trent sang “Chandelier” by Sia as his final song of the night, and it was even better than the first time he performed it. “That was really, really strong, and you should be very proud of yourself,” Connick said, while Lopez mused, “It is up to America now, but honestly you could not have sang that more beautifully, better. You deserve to win. You do.” It should be noted that Trent wasn’t wearing a black-and-white wig during his performance, but we’ll forgive him.
So, what did La’Porsha bring to the table? “Diamonds” by Rihanna (which was cowritten by Sia!), and yes — it was insanely good, and she got a standing ovation. Of course, it helped that La’Porsha revealed that she was singing to her baby while saying “you and I.”
Is it lame to say La’Porsha and Trent both shine bright like diamonds? ‘Cause they do.
Tell Us: Who do you think will be the 15th American Idol winner?
The American Idol series finale airs on Fox Thursday, April 7, at 8 p.m. ET.
