American Idol season 23 returned to screens with another Disney Night special this week on Monday, May 12, 2025. The episode saw the Top 5 — Breanna Nix, Thunderstorm Artis, John Foster, Slater Nalley, and Jamal Roberts take to the stage once again with songs from Disney movies.
One of the songs that the only remaining female contestant, Breanna Nix, sang was This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) from The Parent Trap. The audience cheered her on, but the judges had mixed critiques of her performance.
However, fans online were upset with Carrie Underwood telling the singer to have fun in her next performance. One person wrote on X:
"Getting sick of the judges not giving Breanna enough credit, biased garbage..her voice is one of the best ever on #AmericanIdol."
"BREANNA GETS ALL MY VOTES! Only woman left up against a lot of mediocre men, and the judges want to criticize her and not the ones who actually need the criticism. F*ck right off," a fan commented.
"why are we criticizing Breanna but praising Thunderstorm every time??? she’s the only woman in the top 5 & in an industry that’s focused on men artists, give her the credit she deserves. She’s incredible!!!!" a tweet read.
Fans of American Idol season 23 disagreed with the judges' criticism of Brenna's performance:
"What are these judges talking about? Breanna was great. They say this to her and praise some of the ones they do. Please," a person wrote.
"Breanna sang my favorite song so far tonight! And she absolutely killed it that high note at the end!!!" a fan commented.
"Why do they hate Breanna? When she got in to top Luke so obviously gave the raised eyebrow 2 Carrie. Her voice is great! Even Amer Idol keeps daily tweeting bout John & pushing him.They've been trying 2 get rid of her from start. Stop trying 2 throw competition," a tweet read.
Fans of American Idol season 23 further said:
"very nite the judges try 2 criticize Breanna. U need 2 stop being nervous, U need 2 do this or that. Carrie will talk about generic stuff rather than Breanna.Did same thing 2 “Adele” singer who started song on floor but shuda won. They want John & its so obvious," a person wrote.
"Sick of Carrie & her sh*t with Breanna..always trying to claim she could do better when she was great, the subtle sabatoge is obvious Carrie, give it a rest.." a fan commented.
"Just have fun"— Carrie Underwood urges Breanna Nix not to let the pressure get to her after her rendition of This Will Be during American Idol season 23 episode 18
In American Idol season 23 episode 18, the Top 5 contestants sang more Disney songs as the audience voted for the Top 3, the results of which were set to be announced at the end of the episode.
As part of her first performance of the night, Breanna Nix sang This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) from The Parent Trap and impressed the studio audience. While the judges also seemingly enjoyed her performance, they also had negative criticism to share with the singer.
Carrie Underwood told the American Idol season 23 contestant that people watching didn't understand how much went on with the contestants while on the show. She noted that they performed back-to-back on Sunday and Monday and were simultaneously preparing for the finale.
"There's just a lot going on so just, your next performance, just have fun," Carrie added.
Luke Bryan agreed with the female judge's feedback but that he loved her "vibe." Lionel Richie said that it was a "perfect" song because it didn't give away her being nervous if that was the case.
Fans online reacted to the judge's criticism of Breanna's performance and disagreed with them.
Keep watching to see who makes it to the Top 3 of American Idol season 23 on ABC.