The tide was high, but Leah Marlene was more than holding on when American Idol witnessed its final round of Hawaii performances.
The quirky Canada-born, Illinois-based singer performed a Blondie classic, a song with a deep connection to New York’s clubbing scene at the turn of the ’80s and hot, early Richard Gere films.
On Monday night (April 11), Marlene made Blondie’s “Call Me” her very own, with an unrecognizable, chilled-out, acoustic rendition, retrofitted for the beach.
The judges loved it. “You’re in a lane, all of your own, in this competition,” Lionel Richie enthused afterwards. “It’s endless where you can go.”
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Katy Perry remarked, “you’re definitely one of a kind, from your song choices to your onesies, to your personality. You’re just a bunch of fun.”
Luke Bryan suggested she try “crush it” from the very start, Perry disagreed. There was a whiff of a fight, but it didn’t kick off. In the second half of the performance, Marlene “totally won me over, yet again,” he admitted.
Watch below.
