'American Idol' Recap: Las Vegas Sudden Death, 10 Female Contestants Perform, 5 Sent Home

The latest episode of American Idol (February 20) featured ten female contestants going at it in a sudden death round in Las Vegas. The show was taped in the Beatles 'Love' theater at the Mirage Hotel and was the first time the sudden death feature was used on the hit reality series.

Ten female contestants performed live, with five of them getting cut by the end of the two hour episode. The standout performer seemed to be Kree Harrison, after she performed Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain." She even got a standing ovation from Keith Urban and Nicki Minaj. Maybe even more impressive; however, was Mariah Carey's response, "you sang the hell out of that song."

Mariah went on to say, "You're lost in the song and that is a beautiful thing to watch."

Amber Holcomb also managed to impress the judges on American Idol's sudden death night. Holcomb sang "My Funny Valentine", again to the delight of the judges. Mariah Carey remarked, "I wanted to smack you...it was that good."

Nicki Minaj added to the praise of Holcomb's performance, "I'm proud that you've come back and made an effort to come out of your shell...The vocal is at the top of the class."

Harrison and Holcomb both made it on to the next round along with Angela Miller, Adriana Latonio, and Tenna Torres. Shubha Vedula, Jenny Beth Willis, Brandy Hotard, Kamaria Ousley and Isabelle were all eliminated Wednesday after their performances failed to thoroughly impress the judges.

Hotard got flack from the judges because she was smiling throughout her rendition of a somber song, "Anymore." Meanwhile, Ousley and Willis seemed to just miss the mark in their performances. Vedula performed Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" to the chagrin of Nicki Minaj. Nicki likened the performance to, "a mash-up of Christina Aguilera and the 'Gangnam Style' guy." Isabelle earned solid reviews for her performance of Billie Holliday's "God Bless the Child", but was criticized by Randy Jackson for choosing an older song.

"It was a bit old-fashioned for me...I did feel like I was at a pageant for a second."

You can check out the Idol performances from Wednesday night here.

American Idol continues Thursday with ten of the top 20 male contestants performing. Like Wednesday night, five of those guys will be sent home.

What did you think of the judges decisions? Do you agree with the five contestants they sent home Wednesday night?