HOLLYWOOD--It was "hometown visit" week on "American Idol," as many of you know after turning out to see Nick Fradiani on the Guilford Town Green last Friday. And the local "Idol" didn't disappoint, as you'll see from the judges comments on his songs.
Nick started off the night singing Bruce Springsteen's "Because the Night," which was Scott Borchetta's choice, the judges thought the singer knocked it out of the park.
Harry Connick Jr. said"I thought it was fantastic, man." He also commented on Nick's progression, saying "Every week I'm seeing more and more of you."
Keith Urban was even more excited for Nick to sing a song by The Boss: "When I hear your tone I'm excited, I know that voice immediately, and I look forward to hearing it every week."
On the other hand, while Jennifer Lopez thought the song was "perfect" for Nick, she said he needed to better connect to the lyrics, a problem she said he has consistently.
Next up, after playing a video of highlights from Nick's journey home to Connecticut, the Guilford-native sang "Back Home" by Andy Grammer for his "hometown dedication" song.
Here were the judges thoughts on Nick's cover of "Back Home":
Harry Connick Jr. "Sometimes I don't think a critique is really warranted, and this is one of these cases. All I could really think about was how you almost didn't audition that day, and I'm just sure glad you did because that was very strong, again."
Jennifer Lopez "And that was another great song by you. Let me say, each week we've seen you get better and better and better...And I just feel like, gosh, I don't even know how people are going to choose between all of you. That was a really great performance."
While Nick made sure to tell Keith how big of a fan his parents were of his music, and that Nick Sr. even gave Nick Jr. Keith's first CD when he was in high school.
And last up, the judges got to pick the songs for the artists, and Nick was given "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain to sing.
Harry kicked it off with his praise, saying, "Aside from the great vocal--I think that was a great vocal--what I really liked the most about that song was you sounded like you were singing the underbelly with those lyrics."
Keith echoed Harry, saying that in general Nick is "a good lyric singer." He went further to say "I really thought you nailed that song."
But Keith's most special comment was his sum up: "I always pictured you as a rock singer-songwriter...If you cut that song, if it was your original song, it would be a hit."
And while Jennifer Lopez has had some criticisms for Nick on past performances, she was out of negative things to say at the end of the night. "It was so perfect. It was like the band sounded amazing, it was like the mix was beautiful, you just sat in it--it was amazing." She also said that she thinks he really got in his head in the game a few weeks ago and decided, "Yo, I can win this."
Meanwhile, after each round each judge had a chance to pick the winner of that theme. On the first song, Scott Borchetta's choice, Jennifer picked Jax as the lead with her take on The Who's "My Generation." Next up, on the hometown songs, Keith said he thought Rayvon was the winner by just a little bit.
But the biggest consensus among the judges appeared to come on the last round, during which the judges picked the contestants' songs. Harry Connick Jr. was up, and he picked Nick as the winner of the round with his take on "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain. After he said his choice, the other two judges nodded their heads in agreement.
The finale next week is a two-parter: the field will be narrowed from three to two on Tuesday, followed by the crowning of the season 14 "American Idol" on Wednesday. Tuesday is a shorter night, starting at 9, and then on Wednesday the two-hour finale starting at 8 p.m. will feature performances from stars like Fall Out Boy and Pitbull, among others.