'You're one of the best singers on this show ever'! Joshua Ledet wows American Idol judges with a stunning Bee Gees cover, as competition heats up

By Eleanor Gower

Published: 02:25 EDT, 3 May 2012 | Updated: 02:57 EDT, 3 May 2012

With just five contestants left and the competition hotting up, Joshua Ledet emerged as the clear leader of the pack after tonight's American Idol.

An incredible performance of the Bee Gees classic To Love Somebody, earned the 20-year-old from Louisiana a standing ovation from the judges, with Randy Jackson labelling him one of the best singers to ever appear on the contest.

'I've been doing this 11 years and you're one of the best singers on this show. Ever. Ever,' he told him. 'And that's a big feat. That was incredible. Nobody can do that better,' he said.

One of the best ever: The judges showered Joshua Ledet with praise after his performance of Bee Gees song To Love Somebody on tonight's American Idol

Joshua earned similar praise from Steven Tyler who said: 'You've gotta be one of the top two best Idols of all time. You sing so fine. You're such a talent. You're so on fire.'

Jennifer Lopez added: 'I think you're one of the best singers I've seen in 50 years, I mean, it's crazy, baby. Honestly.

'People since James Brown and all those people, the greatest soul singers and performers ever,' she added. 'That made me want to cry I swear.'

Thrilled: Judges Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson gave Joshua a standing ovation after his second thrilling performance of the night

Amazed: Joshua's performance of the Bee Gees song left the three  judges speechless

Passionate: Joshua closed the show and brought down the house, leaving him one of the frontrunners for the Idol crown

The performance was perhaps made even more special given that Joshua had not heard the song before performing it and only took 15 minutes to perfect his version, sung initially in the rehearsal room for Idol mentor Jimmy Iovine and guest mentor, Bruce Springsteen guitarist Steven Van Zandt.

'He walked away and did this incredible version of this song he hadn't heard before,' marvelled Van Zandt. 'That was one of the greatest performances I've ever heard in my life.'

Earlier, the wannabe also earned praise from the judges for his performance of The Temptations' classic Ain't Too Proud To Beg, in a night which saw the five finalists sing songs both from the 1960s and British popular music.

Soul to soul: The 20-year-old Louisiana native first performed The Temptations hit Ain't Too Proud to Beg in the 1960s portion of the show

Final five: The singer will be hoping to make it to the last four next week, with voting revealed tomorrow

Platitudes: Joshua's two performances earned him a double round of standing ovations from the judges 

Randy compared him to British soul singer Terence Trent D'Arby: 'To me, you can actually bring R& B music back in a different type of way,' he said.

Earlier, after several weeks finding herself in the bottom three, Hollie Cavanagh made something of a comeback with her two performances tonight.

The judges named her version of the vocally demanding Tina Turner number River Deep Mountain High a stand out of the first half.  

Impressed: Idol mentor Jimmy Iovine and Bruce Springsteen guitarist Steven Van Zandt were wowed with Joshua's performance in rehearsal

Lopez told her: 'It was a different type of Hollie out there tonight. I really felt the energy. Really good job.'

Tyler added: 'It's the first time I've really heard you step out and use your blues. You showed me you got it in you. Thank you lord.'

And in the British portion of the show, Hollie also impressed with her subdued, intimate version of Leona Lewis song Bleeding Love.

Impressive: Hollie Cavanagh wowed the judges by her opening number, River Deep Mountain High

Comeback: The judges told Hollie she is 'peaking at the right moment' after finding herself in the bottom three for the previous few weeks

She's got the X Factor: Hollie sang Leona Lewis number Bleeding Love from atop a piano

Lopez: 'It had a very beautiful and intimate quality. I felt like you surprised yourself towards the end.'

Meanwhile, Jackson was impressed with both performances: 'To me, you're two for two tonight,' he said. 'You're peaking at the right time. This is perfect timing'

Skylar Laine also gave a strong performance of Creedence Clearwater Revival song Fortunate Son, which left the judges declaring the country music fan is 'ready' for the big time.

Channelling Dusty: Skylar's rendition of You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, hit the right note with the judges

'Skylar was in the bottom three last week - she need to put a jetpack on,' Iovine had earlier declared.

Lopez remained impressed with the 18-year-old Mississippi native: 'You give us all this energy. You attack every single song.

'Each week we're seeing how much more comfortable you're getting and how much more you're willing to be fearless out there,' she said.

Steven added that the song 'was just fabulous, your dress, your voice. Everything. I love it.'

Delighted: Lopez had nothing but praise for both of Skylar's performances on tonight's show

Randy said: 'You are born to be on the stage so America get ready. Another great performance from you.'

Skylar's British song choice was Dusty Springfield's You Don't Have To Say You Love Me,' which also went down well.

Jackson called her efforts 'flawless and amazing,' while Lopez said she is 'winning over the hearts of America as we speak.'

Rocketing performance: Skylar won praise for her 1960s Creedence Clearwater number in the first half of tonight's show

Wide praise: Lopez was impressed with Skylar's 'energetic' performance of Fortunate Son

Phillip Phillips also impressed, although his performance was more mellow, putting his own individual bluesy spin on it Box Tops song The Letter,

Randy said: 'We've got five people yet. We're down to the wire. You came out and changed it. But you made it new for me. I loved it dude. What I'm happy about with this guy is he strives to be original.

Lopez didn't know the original song but said it lacked 'a bit of melody. However, she told Phillip: 'You are so compelling to watch, I just want to applaud you because you really are a compelling performer.'

Guitar hero:  Fan favourite Phillip Phillps took on the Box Tops song The Letter in his 1960s performance

Step back in time: Phillip's second charismatic performance of Zombie's song Time of the Season pleased the judges, despite his struggle with some high notes

Steven added: 'The bad news is, I missed the melody, But the good news is, You got away with it.'

Phillip selected Zombies' song Time of the Season for his second performance, where he sat on a stool and played guitar, although appeared to struggle with the song's high notes.

Lopez called it 'very mellow and good. It sounded like it could be your song. You did a good job with it.'

Top of the pops:The judges' stand out performers from the first round were Skylar, Joshua and Hollie

The remaining youngest contestant Jessica Sanchez, 16, put in her usual powerhouse performance of Proud Mary.

'The song's got the notes, it''s got the range. Jessica's just got to come to the party,' said Iovine before she took the stage.

Lopez said her rendition was 'grown up,' adding: 'This is crazy - I keep forgetting you're 16-years-old. You're a little bit of Tina. A little bit of Beyonce.'

Iconic: Lopez declared Jessica Sanchez 'had a little bit of Tina, a little bit of Beyonce' after her rendition of Tina Turner hit Proud Mary

A thing of beauty: Jessica, 16, took on the Joe Cocker song You Are So Beautiful, which suited the singer's lilting voice

Steven said: 'The only thing that gives experience a run for its money is a 16-year-old.'

Randy wasn't quite sure, saying: 'This performance was barely okay for me. You took on the biggest dragon of the night. It didn't really quite sit with me.'

Jessica went on to sing Joe Cocker hit You Are So Beautiful, after which Tyler told her: 'You're going to be number one girl.'

Boys to men: The remaining male contestants Joshua and Phillip sung You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling together

Three's a charm: Jessica, Hollie and Skylar teamed up to sing Jackie Wilson hit song Higher

Lopez called the performance 'beautiful,' while Jackson said: 'Your talent level is unbelievable.'

Other highlights of the show included Jessica, Skylar and Hollie performing Jackie Wilson's Higher and Phillip and Joshua pairing up for You've Lost That Loving Feeling, although Joshua seemed a little uncomfortable with the intimate number.

The contest will be whittled down to four on tomorrow's results show which will feature former Idol winner Carrie Underwood and British rockers Coldplay.

Then there were five: Joshua, Hollie, Skylar, Jessica and Phillip will be whittled down to four on tomorrow night's show