Carrie Underwood admits judges made ‘concessions’ choosing ‘American Idol’ Top 14 saves

LOS ANGELES — After host Ryan Seacrest revealed the 10 singers who received the most fan votes and entered the Top 14, the judges had the length of a commercial break to agree on four contestants to save – and six to send home.

Right after taping the April 21 episode, the judges stepped out of the sound stage to give USA TODAY insight into what those precious few minutes of negotiation were like.

“My brain was almost like: ‘Six! I can’t do it!’” Carrie Underwood says. “We were pretty much aligned; there were a couple of concessions that had to be made, but all in all I think we’re happy with how it turned out, other than six people had to go home, which is a huge jump.”

Her strategy during the episode, which marked Season 23’s first live show, was “putting my favorites in order,” she reveals, adding, “I told Luke (Bryan), put ’em in order; it helps.”

Music teacher Desmond Roberts, airport pianist Josh King, British singer/songwriter Ché and powerhouse vocalist Amanda Barise ultimately were saved from the “danger zone” and received a second chance at becoming the next “American Idol.”

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“I was convinced I was going home, and that’s why I did ‘Never Gonna Give You Up,’” King admits. “I’m like, ‘You know what? If I’m going down with this ship, I’m going down in a blaze of glory.’ If I got eliminated today, it would be almost poetic that I did that song.”

Luke Bryan is ‘really happy’ with who the judges saved

Lionel Richie, who along with Bryan has been at the judges’ table for eight seasons, also clocked that Underwood was loathe to make cuts.

“The 2½ minutes was: ‘Come on, Carrie. Give us the answer,’” Richie recalls. “(Underwood said) ‘I don’t want any of them to leave!’ ‘Carrie, we’ve got a minute left. What is the answer?’”

He adds, “This is her first time around, and she’s on this side of the judges’ table” after winning Season 4 of “Idol” in 2005.

“You’ve got to figure it out really quick,” Bryan says. “There were two that we all – me, Carrie and Lionel – were really focused on, and we knew that they ought to go through.”

The trio considered the contestants’ “whole body of work,” not just their showings in Episodes 10 and 11, when plucking out their four saves.

“We have to take a lot of our knowledge and info through the whole season and try to pick the right ones,” he says. “I’m really happy with who we gave a second chance to, and hopefully they can proceed to further rounds.”

Top 14 recap: Which singers went home — and who was saved from elimination

Episode 11 was the end of the road for Isaiah Misailegalu, Drew Ryn, Olivier Bergeron, Baylee Littrell, Zaylie Windsor and Victor Solomon.

“I think I’ve come to terms with it as much as I can currently,” Misailegalu says. “I’m just looking forward to the rest of the journey. The ‘American Idol’ journey isn’t over yet. … We’re ready to start putting out music. We’re equipped with the right tools now thanks to ‘Idol’, and I just can’t wait to put those tools to use.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to break this to my grandfather; he doesn’t know,” Littrell says.