American Idol contestant Nicolina Bozzo is going to the top 24. The 18-year-old singer put her own spin on Adele‘s hit breakup anthem, “Rolling in the Deep,” during Sunday night’s episode (April 3) and her boldness paid off.
The judges were impressed with her choice of singing the first chorus in a soft falsetto and ultimately building up to a powerful vocal delivery that would surely make Adele proud. “What a choice,” Katy Perry said to her fellow judges during the performance. “I got chill bumps all over me,” added Luke Bryan.
Bozzo’s infectious stage presence had the entire crowd on their feet and clapping along to her performance.
The singer’s meeting with the judges afterward was swift. “No need for you to even sit down,” Perry said to the contestant, who nervously awaited her fate. Perry then reached out to shake her hand and said: “Welcome to the top 24.”
“You had me for a second,” Bozzo admitted with relief.
Bozzo, a university student from Toronto, first impressed the judges during her audition, delivering a rendition of Sara Bareilles‘ “She Used To Be Mine” that got her a standing ovation from the judges. Bozzo’s audition gave Perry shivers and prompted Lionel Richie to say she was “what [the judges] have been looking for.”
“You’re amazing. You navigate everything wonderfully … You go into a place in your mind right before you sing and that’s what big-time singers do,” Bryan said.
Bozzo joins Ava Maybee, Huntergirl, Noah Thompson, Jay Copeland, Emyrson Flora, and more in the top 24.
Watch her stunning performance below.