Singer: Crystal Bowersox
Song: "People Get Ready"
Monkeys As Critics' Take: Thank you, Crystal. If one people can salvage 59 minutes of mediocrity, that would be Crystal. Working entirely instrument-free tonight, she also starts off a cappella. The point is clear: Crystal isn't just the best musician in the competition this season. She's also the best pure singer and the gap is wider than it has ever been between the best and second best in any season since Fantasia's win. The amazing thing is that it's clear from early on that Crystal's voice is raw tonight, that she's too joked up to hit the notes as purely as she otherwise might. But despite being audibly choked up, she sells the performance 100 percent on pure and anguished emotion, even ending the performance in tears. You want to know what emotional and inspiration sound like? They sound like this. 
Randy, Ellen, Kara and Simon Say: Randy gives Crystal a standing ovation. Ellen begins by praising how great Crystal looks and praises the whole performance. Kara tells Crystal that she's on another level and tells her she just schooled all of the other contestants. "That was inspirational," Simon tells her.