American Idol season 22 episode 14: Recap and more details explored

The top 10 American Idol season 22 contestants were reduced to 8 in episode 14, which dropped on April 28, on ABC. Mia Matthews and KAYKO were sent home after a tough battle to secure a place in the top 8.

When Jayna Elise and Roman Collins went home in the previous episode, fans witnessed a rise in the level of competitiveness, which was mutually related to the rise in fans' anticipation level. As expected, episode 14 got even more excitingly intense as the pool of contestants got smaller.

Episode 14 also saw Shania Twain, the legendary singer-songwriter, as guest mentor. The episode also reminded fans of the magical voices of 2011 winner Scotty McCreery and 2020 winner Just Sam, with their nostalgic guest performances.

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What went down on episode 14 of American Idol season 22?

With the voting lines open, viewers were encouraged to vote for their favorite contestants to help them reach the finale. The show opened with clips of all the contestants as children, making fans appreciate their journeys even more.

The first performance came from Mia Matthews, who chose to sing Shania's song, No One Needs To Know. Even though she bagged a standing ovation from the judges, her vocals weren't at par with the others, so she was eliminated.

Second in line was Jack Blocker, whose performance was highly enjoyed by the crowd on the last episode of American Idol. He kept his record by perfectly delivering to Believe by Cher. Jack also got a standing ovation and some praise from all four judges.

Then came McKenna Faith Breinholt, who was loved for her performance of Iris by Goo Goo Dolls. Her impressive vocals matched her piano skills made Katy announce this one as her favorite performance from McKenna.

KAYKO went with Oops! I Did It Again by Britney Spears at first, but during the rehearsals, Shania suggested he sang a different song. KAYKO went for Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus instead, but despite that, wasn't able to keep up with the growing competition in American Idol 22, which is why he was eliminated.

Emmy Russell sang All the Small Things by Blink 182 and left the judges smiling. Lionel said that she kept him smiling while Katy said that it was her best performance to date on American Idol.

Then came Triston Harper, who chose She's Country by Jason Aldean. His performance left the judges spellbound as Luke asked, "Are you trying to out-gyrate me?" while Lionel said, "Did I just see the Triston strut?".

The fan-favorite Abi Carter, opted for Coldplay's song Clocks. She didn't play the piano in this episode because Luke had asked her to connect more with the audience in the last episode, and he was thankful for her decision. He said that without the piano she still sounded "authentic".

Then came the song Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde by Travis Tritt, which was sung by none other than Will Moseley. While Luke thought it was the perfect song, Will was met by a "Way to go" from Lionel.

Kaibrienne was the last performer of the episode, but certainly not the least. She performed Here Without You by 3 Doors Down leaving the listeners emotional.

She tapped into the advice given to her by Shania in the rehearsals, to deliver a clean final performance. While Lionel said that he could listen to her cry all night, Katy said that she has a "pot of gold" in her voice and that she just needs to learn to use it to perfection.

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New episodes of American Idol season 22 drop every Sunday and Monday, on ABC, at 8 pm ET.