Lionel Richie's Hello: Brandon Diaz Does It On American Idol

ASHBURN, VA—Brave guy, that Brandon Diaz. That's what Katy Petty says. Lionel Richie agrees. Ditto for Luke Bryan. That's what happens when you're one of the 24 finalists on ABC's American Idol and decide your solo song Sunday night will be "Hello," a staple of none other than one Lionel Richie. "That was SO brave," Perry said.

So Diaz sang the song, and the alumnus of Briar Woods High School received mixed but mostly positives reviews from the aforementioned judges (more on that later). And then things got a little weird.

While chit-chatting with Diaz to end the segment, host Ryan Seacrest suddenly called Richie to the stage for a short duet—ostensibly with Diaz, inasmuch as the latter's next performance will be of that mode. But when Richie came up on stage, he kind of took it over, leaving Diaz and Seacrest to watch as he began performing the song solo.

Then Richie inexplicably had Seacrest accompany him, leaving Diaz standing there in the background, smiling and playing along. Diaz finally got in on the act toward the tail end of the mini-rendition, after which there were hugs all around. Did that just happen?

As for Diaz actual performance, the judges were blunt.

Richie said he was "nervous for you while you were singing," and wanted Diaz to own it, and that "you owned it at the end." Perry said singing such a known song can be "a blessing and a curse," and that Diaz landed "somewhere right in the middle." Bryan noted he's seen almost flawless vocals before from Diaz and that, "I wouldn't say that was a flawless vocal performance from you."

Monday night's show will narrow the field to 12 and leave the contestants' fates up to public voting. Diaz' segment will be with Puerto Rico's Luis Fonsi.

Photo: ABC