10:11 pm, March 13th, 2013
VIDEOAmber Holcomb received a standing ovation for her Kelly Clarkson cover on Wednesday’s ”American Idol.”
The contestant took on the first-ever “Idol” winner’s coronation song, “A Moment Like This,” and Nicki Minaj said it was the “best performance of the night.”
“Your voice and your aura reminds me of Whitney Houston’s first album. That last note was giving me Whitney, baby,” said the rapper, an interesting observation since Holcomb performed “I Will Always Love You” last week.
Keith Urban told the singer, “Wow, Amber, that was beautiful. I loved that song for you. I love how effortless you sing.”
And Randy Jackson started out by saying, point-blank, “I love you.”
“First of all, the greatest ‘American Idol’ song ever for a finale, [one of the] greatest ‘American Idol’ winners, and you blew it out of the box tonight,” said the judge.
He added, “I feel like you have arrived and you now feel like you belong there.”
And Mariah Carey, who said she would’ve participated in the ovation along with the other judges if her skirt wasn’t so tight, told Holcomb, “#Pow, that’s all I can say.”
“To critique it is almost unnecessary, because you give us goosebumps,” said Carey.
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