‘American Idol': Zachariah Smith Tones Things Down With Alanis Morissette’s ‘Ironic’ [Watch]
American Idol returned on Sunday Night (May 7) with a jam-packed show. Not only was it a live voting episode, but the contestants had a special treat with two guest judges: Alanis Morissette and Ed Sheeran.
Morissette and Sheeran were filling in for regular judges Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, who are currently oversees attending coronation festivities in the United Kingdom. Before taking a seat behind the judge's table, Morissette met with the contestants to mentor them through perfecting a song out of her catalog.
When it was time to meet with Morissette, Zachariah Smith laid out his goals for the upcoming performance. Instead of hitting the stage at energy level 10, the hopeful said he wanted to work on building up the movements by starting out slow. During their workshopping session, Morissette encouraged Smith to loosen up and change how he’s holding in tension.
Clearly not intimidated by one of Morissette’s most well-known tracks, Smith chose to cover “Ironic.”
Making sure to take things slower, Smith first appeared on stage looking relaxed behind a standing microphone. While the song was winding up, he let his body flow with the beat instead of immediately pushing his energy to the max. He waited until the driving beat of the chorus entered before unleashing his expected zesty stage presence.
After the song concluded, Morissette offered up some feedback to Smith, letting him know that he was successful in slowing things down and she loved the “liquidity” that he brought to the stage.
Sheeran was equally as impressed, saying that he was captivated during Smith’s time on stage and acknowledged the power that the contestant’s voice holds.
Resident judge Luke Bryan applauded Smith’s decision to pull things back for this performance and allow for some more “tender” moments than we’ve seen from him in the past weeks. He called it a great performance and ended things off with a final “good job.”
After living voting concluded, it was announced that Smith would be advancing to the Top 5. American Idol airs on Sunday and Monday nights at 8PM ET on ABC.