'We came from nothing!' Nicki Minaj bonds with Liberian refugee... as American Idol's final ten women are revealed

Trinidadian-born rapper Nicki Minaj wasn’t born with much, and she fought tooth and nail to gain her stardom.
That could be why the Pink Friday singer got so emotional on American Idol this week, when a Liberian refugee, Zoanette Johnson, brought the house down with Circle of Life.
Always one of the most riotous contestants Zoannette, 20, has been in the US since she was two - after escaping from her war torn motherland.

Blockbuster performance: Liberian refugee Zoanette Johnson brought the house down and romped through to the next round on American Idol on Wednesday

‘I want to do this for my country,’ she said backstage
Last week the buxom performer impressed judges with an insanely rambunctious tune she wrote for them on a whim.
But on Wednesday Zoanette whipped the crowd to into frenzy with a blisteringly powerful version of The Lion King classic Circle of Life.
Sporting a huge blonde afro the larger-than-life 'Habilitation Specialist' cried unashamedly when the whole panel, and most of the 1,500 audience members, leapt to their feet to applaud.

Connecting with her audience: Nicki Minaj lathered 'her baby' with praise and likened herself to Zoanette

‘Praise be to god,’ sobbed the health worker who now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The judges were thrilled, especially Nicki, who launched into a monologue:  ‘Zoanette, who gonna check you Boo? You just served it,” said the ecstatic Starships singer, 30.
‘Listen Zoanette, you make me so emotional, you came from Liberia, all those siblings, they are going to get a chance to see you on this show.  I am so proud of you. So proud of you,’ she enthused.
‘I don’t care what people say about you. You are the person we are going to remember after tonight,’ she added, while also applauding her for losing weight.

Letting rip: Zoanette was not afraid to hit the big notes as she gave her unforgettable performance

Big voice: The vocalist showed she has massive range as she effortlessly went through all the gears

Getting into it: Nicki and Randy were swaying in their seats as they enjoyed the spectacular rendition

Likening her own underprivileged background to Zoanette’s the Young Money entertainer continued: 'I’m so proud that this place gives people like you and people like me, who came from absolutely nothing, a place that we didn’t think we’d make it out alive from, it gives us the chance. Thank you,’ she shouted pointing vigorously with her finger.
The other judges agreed, if not quite so vehemently.
‘Forget the king of the jungle, kudos to the queen of the jungle right there,’ said Keith Urban.
‘Listen America! This is why Zoanette is here tonight. That spirit is infectious,’ bellowed Randy Jackson.

Standing ovation: The four judges clambered to their feet to salute the her jaw-dropping performance

Lip service: The vocalist could not resist kissing her hand as she received the biggest applause of the night

Caught up in the moment: She then blew her smooch into the heavens as she drunk in the atmosphere

‘We’re all feeling something here right now,’ roared the veteran music mogul.
Mariah Carey said she loved Zoanette’s unique, quirky personality and the fact she ‘won’t fit into a cookie cutter.’
‘Your spirit is too big to contain,’ she breathed.
The Liberian bombshell sailed through to the next round but others – who performed earlier in the Las Vegas show - were not so lucky.
First to hit the stage in the second round of the sudden death eliminations was 19-year-old New Yorker Melinda Ademi, a music student at Hunter College.

Panel beater: It did not take the fantastic four long to tell Zoanette she had made it through

Knee bother: She yelped with delight and fell to the floor when she was finally told she was through

The Kosovo-born teen, who was rejected from Idol Season 10, sang a fairly wobbly rendition of Jessie J’s Nobody’s Perfect.
‘I felt like nerves were trying to get on top of you but half way through you got into your stride,’ said Keith Urban.
In harsh mood again was Nicki Minaj who compared Melinda’s performance to that of Angela Miller, who sang the same song last week.
‘Angela was so much more connected with the song… Lady Bug,’ she said using her favourite pet name for the girls.

The smell of success: Lucky Zoanette got a whiff of Randy Jackson's aftershave as she hugged him after learning of her success

‘All I could think of was Angela’s performance.’
Randy wasn’t impressed either: ‘You could be in a little bit of trouble tonight I think,’ he said, and he was right – Melinda was voted out at the end.
‘I know what you’re capable of but it’s a tough night,’ consoled Mariah.
Candice Glover, 23-year-old Excursions Coordinator from South Carolina was especially keen to impress the judges after getting cut from last year’s Idol in the Vegas round.
Clad in white, studded leather and black stilettos she sang Carole King’s (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman.

Larking around: The usual verbal jousting ensued as the judges hammed it up for the cameras

Bone of contention: Even mild-mannered Keith Urban clashed with excitable Nicki Minaj

Suave: Ryan Seacrest brought some much needed testosterone to the show by donning a manly suit

‘Baby that was beautiful,” said Keith, before breaking into song.
‘You are a natural singer.’
‘It boggles my brain that you didn’t make it past Vegas last year,’ said Nicki.
‘You have one of the strongest voices in the competition.’
‘I agree that you are a bonafide singer,’ said Mariah, who looked sultry with caramel curls and a scarlet manicure.

Through to sing another day: Aubrey Cleland also managed to impress the judges and escaped elimination

Not-so-dumb blonde: Dolly Parton obsessed Janelle Arthur made it through along with warbler Candice Glover

Candice was voted in as one of the top ten.
Next was baby of the group Juliana Chahayed, a 15-year-old high school student from California who writes songs with dad and her five siblings.
She played guitar while performing the mournful Demi Lovato love song Skyscraper.
Keith said Juliana was ‘struggling with pitch’ but praised her on her tone.
‘You seem very, very timid,’ said Nicki.

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands: Breanna Steer was overjoyed after making it through