American Idol

Last night's third round of semifinal auditions was highlighted by a number of impressive performance.

None was more powerful, however, than Lil Rounds' rendition of Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You." Simon Cowell said it was the best audition of the season so far... and we agree!

Take a look and judge for yourself:

To recap the rest of the night:

• Von Smith sang  “You’re All I Need to Get By” by Marvin Gay and was compared to Clay Aiken. By Simon, no less!

• The judges told Taylor Vaifanua she has little personality, but a great voice on “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys.

• The panel agreed: Alex Wagner-Trugman's “I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues” was fun to watch, not enjoyable to listen to.

• Bad song choice, Arianna Afsar. The judges didn't approve of “The Winner Takes it All” by Abba.

• Ju’Not Joyner showed impressive range on “Hey There Delilah” by The Plain White Ts. But he's overmatched by fellow competitors.

• Kristen McNamara may have chosen a boring song - “Give Me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman - but everyone agreed she had major vocal chops.

• Nate Marshall had fun, his admitted goal with his performance, singing “I Would Do Anything for Love” by Meatloaf. But fun won't be enough to get him through to the finals.

• Felicia Barton is a definite sleeper. We loved her rendition of “No One” by Alicia Keys.

• How can you not root for Scott MacIntyre? The legally blind singer oozed emotion during “Mandolin Rain” by Bruce Hornsby.

• Kendall Beard came through for the show's country fans. Solid performance of “This One’s for the Girls” by Martina McBride.

• Jorge Nunez sang “Don’t Let the Sun go Down on Me” by Elton John... and was reduced to tears after universal approval from the judges.