Only eight remain on "American Idol" after the show executed a new voting twist that involved fans' immediate reactions.
For the first time in "Idol" history, the people of Twitter decided which of the bottom two contestants would be saved after their final performances. Daniel Seavey and Rayvon Owen anxiously awaited to hear their fates at the allotted five-minute voting period drew to a close.
Seavey was recovering from a case of severe laryngitis and put up a tough fight, but the fans ultimately saved Owen for another round.
"I felt really good about my performance," Owen told Headlines & Global News. "But at the same time I know how popular Daniel is on Twitter with the younger crowd, so it could've been my farewell."
The Virginia native sang Kelly Clarkson's "Since You've Been Gone" for the save. Despite his strong performance, Owen didn't feel secure until he heard Ryan Seacrest call his name out.
"It's really hard," he explained. "Even if you're in the best of voice, having to deal with the pressure and the results and everything, so much is going through your mind, that it can stunt a great performance. There's a lot of extra pressure on the show now."
Owen has immense gratitude for the thousands of Twitter users who voted for him and had him trending during the broadcast.
"It makes me feel grateful, honestly," he revealed. "It's cool to know that people are supportive. I just got a message saying that I was trending on Twitter; it was something like 104.3 thousand tweets in that five minutes, and that was just for me."
He continued, "I'm kind of shell-shocked and really don't know how to process it. I'm going to miss Daniel to death because he was like a little brother and besides his character, musically his instincts are amazing, I couldn't hold a candle to him when I was 15. He's incredible."
The Twitter save was not only a hit with viewers, but "Idol" mentor Scott Borchetta also enjoyed the new system. He and Qassim Middleton, who judges recently saved, thought it was the fairest way to handle the weekly eliminations.
"I didn't like the way we'd been doing it," Borchetta told Headlines & Global News. "I think this is great because why work all week and then not even get your name called to sing? This week in particular it was unfortunate that Daniel didn't have a good performance because of laryngitis, but it's a live show and if someone gets injured at the Olympics they don't stop them until they heal. Daniel didn't have the ability to sing well tonight, it's not anyone's fault."
Middleton added, "I think the new save is great because it allows people to perform. Daniel had laryngitis and could only do so much but he did the best he possibly could. Rayvon really killed it."
The Top 8 contestants will welcome Florida Georgia Line and Jason Derulo as next week mentors. Derulo also will perform along with a performance by Iggy Azalea, featuring Jennifer Hudson.
"America Idol" airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox.
