Season 24 Recap — Voting For Top 5

The most magical night of “American Idol” arrived once again on April 20, with the Top 9 of Season 24 — Brooks, Hannah Harper, Kyndal Inskeep, Lucas Leon, Jordan McCullough, Keyla Richardson, Braden Rumfelt, Daniel Stallworth, and Chris Tungseth — performing beloved classics from the Disney songbook.

In keeping with Disney Night tradition, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie gave us nothing in the costuming department, forcing Carrie Underwood to pick up the slack in a full Belle gown from “Beauty and the Beast.” (And that thing is heavy. It’s like two costumes in one!)

“Idol” vet Jennifer Hudson also had a hand in this week’s episode, serving as both a mentor to the contestants and as a guest judge alongside Bryan, Richie, and Underwood.

This being Disney Night, there were also moments of pure cringe, like when the Top 9 sang “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from “Toy Story” in what felt like nine different keys, or when Ryan Seacrest awkwardly brought eliminated contestant Rae back out to reveal that she’s now in a relationship with Brooks.

So, who made magic this week, and which singers have reached the end of the road? Read on for a breakdown of Disney Night results, including which two “Idol” contestants were sent packing.

After risking his life on Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, Daniel Stallworth returned to earth for a performance of “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin.” Jennifer Hudson encouraged him to slow things down a bit, like he was speaking to the audience, and her advice was well-received. The iconic duet worked surprisingly well as a solo, and Stallworth’s soaring vocals were definitely well-suited to the high-flying song. Was it the most exciting way to start the night? No. But there was an authenticity to Stallworth’s performance that we appreciated. And Hudson also appreciated what Stallworth brought to the stage, telling him, “You sang from your shindo. Y’all may not know what that means, but he does.” (As Stallworth later explained, “Shindo is the holy ghost on the inside.”)

vTVLine’s grade: A-

Screaming on a bunch of rollercoasters probably wasn’t the smartest move before having to perform on live television, but that didn’t stop Rumfelt from enjoying the best of both worlds. Missing his family led Rumfelt to choose “Remember Me” from “Coco,” and Jennifer Hudson had just one assignment for him: “Remember. Your. Lyrics.” Those concerns took flight once Rumfelt appeared on stage, where he delivered a soft, simple, intimate rendition of the musical lullaby. We second Carrie Underwood’s comment that Rumfelt really embodies the songs her sings; he was giving so much character in that performance.

TVLine’s grade: A-

Disney Night is a double-edged sword. There are hundreds of beloved, timeless songs these contestants could potentially choose from — songs that won Grammys and Academy Awards — yet someone always selects the Rascal Flatts cover of “Life is a Highway” from the movie “Cars.” This year, it was Lucas Leon who fell victim to the “Cars” curse, and the result was just as fine as we expected. Leon’s natural growl and beyond-his-years voice fit perfectly on the song, but are we crazy for questioning Jennifer Hudson’s advice that he should look at the audience more often? We’ve never minded him going inward during his performances; he gets into it, we say let him!

TVLine’s grade: A-

After getting some nasty feedback on social media from her “Heads Carolina, Tails California” performance, Hannah Harper was determined to improve her stage presence this week with “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog.” And who better to help Harper get in touch with her inner Dreamgirl than Jennifer Hudson? After a quick lesson in at-ti-tude, Harper took to the stage — and we’re sorry to say that this was not her best work. The vocals were fine, with no real stand-out moments, but we’re more focused on the whole “choreography” thing. Why are the judges pushing this on her? Why can’t she just keep doing what got her to this point? We’d rather let her focus on the music, rather than forcing her to awkwardly move around to meet some arbitrary expectation. Even Lionel Richie clocked how Harper struggled with those platform shoes, which begs the question: Why are we stuffing this poor woman in platform heels in the first place?

TVLine’s grade: B+

One of the most unexpected song choices of the night was “Let It Go” from “Frozen,” which got a rock-country twist courtesy of Chris Tungseth. But what sounded like a fun idea on paper turned into quite the opposite on stage. This was all over the place, an unmitigated vocal nightmare. Absolutely no part of this worked, not even that soaring riff he attempted to give us towards the end. Actually, that’s not entirely true. The icy blue shirt worked. We loved the shirt. How could Lionel Richie just sit there and lie to him, calling this a “fantastic” performance? We understand Tungseth wanting to step outside of his comfort zone, but there were plenty of other Disney songs he could have chosen that would have gotten the job done.

TVLine’s grade: C-

Given that Keyla Richardson just spent the day at Disneyland with her son, “The Circle of Life” from “The Lion King” felt like a natural song choice — not to mention she got great advice from Jennifer Hudson, who famously performed the song back in “American Idol” Season 3. Looking absolutely radiant against the movie’s iconic sunrise backdrop, Richardson belted her face off with this one, all while an incredibly emotional Hudson sobbed at the judges’ table. This was the first truly great performance of the night, one that not only captured the heart of the song but also cemented Richardson’s place in the competition. Plus, Richardson is the first contestant that Hudson literally threw her shoe at.

TVLine’s grade: A+

We won’t lie, when we heard that Brooks was going to perform a song from “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” we were really hoping for a little “Hoedown Throwdown.” We knew in our hearts that it would be “The Climb,” but you can’t fault us for dreaming big. Come on, it’s Disney Night! Anyway, Brooks slathered the song in his signature blend of softness and sentimentality, and it really worked. Well, it mostly worked. There were some tempo changes we could have done without, and he flubbed a few big moments, but this still felt like an important step in Brooks’ “Idol” journey. That said, how awkward was the reveal that he’s dating former contestant Rae? Like, good for them, but did the show really need to bring her out on stage for that?

TVLine’s grade: B+

Eight years after she commented on one of his singing videos on Instagram, Jennifer Hudson coached Jordan McCullough through his performance of “Colors of the Wind” from “Pocahontas,” and her shoe was ready to come off. This movie may be one of Disney’s more controversial offerings, but its music is outstanding, and McCullough more than did it justice on stage tonight. Calm and collected one moment, then powerful and explosive the next, McCullough took us on a journey with this one. Sure enough, he earned Hudson’s second shoe throw of the night. Actually, he got both of her shoes. And if Carrie Underwood was willing to lend one of her own, McCullough would have gotten three.

TVLine’s grade: A+

The last performance of Disney Night came courtesy of Kyndal Inskeep, who was determined to make up for last week’s vocal snafu. With her voice back to full strength, Inskeep put her own spin on “Butterfly Fly Away,” an emotional ballad from “Hannah Montana: The Movie.” (Again, it was no “Hoedown Throwdown,” but we’ll allow it.) This was perfectly lovely, but it felt like more of a spoken-word performance, save for the few moments when Inskeep really let the song have it. Carrie Underwood called this Inskeep’s “redemption” moment, and she even earned a shoe throw from Jennifer Hudson, so this was a solid way to end the night.

TVLine’s grade: A

OK, let’s talk: Who delivered your favorite performances of the night? Were the right two singers eliminated? (Hudson looked shocked!) Vote for your dream Top 5 in our poll below, then drop a comment with your overall thoughts on Season 24 thus far.