It was Wé Ani’s “imperfect” performance of Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited” that secured her Top 5 spot Sunday night (May 7) on American Idol.
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The night saw Morissette pull double duty as guest judge and mentor to the Idol hopefuls as they pulled songs from her catalog to perform solo. With regular judges Katy Perry and Lionel Richie performing at the coronation of King Charles III, Ed Sheeran also took up his place as guest judge alongside Luke Bryan.
In her mentoring session with young Ani, Morissette suggested the 24-year-old Harlem, New York, native be “less perfect” in order to pull in more emotion. “Because you have perfect vibrato, maybe use it at 70 percent,” the singer/songwriter advised. “What that would sound like is a little bit of an imperfection.”
The result was an “imperfect” performance pulled off perfectly. Her take on the 1998 hit was spellbinding with a breathlessly introduction into an earth-shattering vocal feat. “It was chilling to behold you,” Morissette told her at the close of her performance. Sheeran too was impressed with Ani, calling her display “very powerful.”
Watch her perfectly “imperfect” cover of “Uninvited” below.
Earlier in the night, Ani teamed up with another Idol favorite, Warren Peay, ironically for a duet of Sheeran’s “Perfect.” The pair delivered an intimate performance of the ballad, leaving the song’s original singer fumbling for his words.
“I’m just really happy to be here,” he ultimately told the two hopefuls. Morissette also enjoyed their movement in the song from the more intimate into this powerful showcase.
The performance forced Bryan to reflect on their individual audition days and how far they’ve each come in the competition. “It’s just so fun watching you both blossom individually and then come together and really do something pretty special,” he told them.
In the end, Peay’s performances during the night did not move him on in the competition along with Ani. See their duet of “Perfect” below.
Phot by Eric McCandless/ABC
