Nancy says that she will call out the names in of the contestants in no certain order, however those called are safe this week and two of them will go home.
The first name read is Lance Miller. He will perform first, however before that happens they cut to some footage of the contestants sitting in the Country Music Hall of Fame discussing their feelings for Willie Nelson and their excitement at getting to meet him.
After the commercial Nancy says that the contestants will sing songs made popular by Willie Nelson. Next the judges are announced.
Lance is first to sing, and he chooses "On The Road Again."
Tracy: Alright Lance, good job. Listen Lance, one of the things that I look for is somebody that can perform under pressure. You just sang a Willie song with Willie in the audience. Baby, you just proved yourself. You did a great job.
Billy: Lance, I hope you'll like being on the road. I'll tell you, in all honesty, the first couple of episodes, I really didn't think you would be around 'til the end. Tonight you definitely proved me wrong. I think you're gonna be here for a while. That was great.
Brett: Lance, Brad and I have loved you from the beginning, and we were hoping you would pull it out. Last week you killed it, and this week.. man, you're a country star, and I would buy your record, and I think America's gonna buy you too. I love you.
Brad: Dude, Willie Nelson just opened for you.
My thoughts: Lance is back with a black hat this week, as well as black pants and black shirt, and I think it really looks good on him. He seems much more at ease on stage and does a good job. This is also the first week where I haven't thought he sounded like someone else.
Nancy reads off the name of the second performer. It's Matt Lindahl.
Matt chooses to sing "Uncloudy Day."
Billy: Matt, I've asked you week after week to show us what you can do, and you just did it. And I wanna thank you for it.
Brad: Yeah, man, you're kind of like the funny guy, and everyone thinks it's kind of a novelty thing./ I think you showed America that you can really sing.
Brett: That hat looks good on you.
Tracy: I love the fact that you have the dark overalls on this week. It shows your versatility. But you know what? It's a tough vocal race right now. This is the final stretch and you've got some tough competition.
My thoughts: Matt's wearing black overalls and a black jacket with sparkly trim, along with his red ball cap. Like Lance, I think that he did a really good job. Neither of them blew me away, but they were both good.
Nancy says the contestants will sing in front of 160,000 people at a Nascar race at Bristol Speedway. After last week's show they are taken to a room with a speaker phone where Nascar driver Jimmy Johnson calls to invite them to come sing at Bristol Speedway the following week. We're shown the contestants taking the bus to Bristol and arriving to fans wanting autographs. They ride around the track waving at the huge crowd and are starting to get goosebumps at having to sing in front of so many. We cut to a commercial and will find out how things go later on.
Nancy goes back into the Green Room to read the next name. Everyone is nervous. The next person to sing is Brad Cotter. He chooses "The Last Thing I Needed."
Brett: Hey Brad, I gotta symphathize with you a little bit... When we were growing up as kids. We weren't allowed to listen to anything but Christian music as well, and I've gotta tell you. That performance was awesome, and if there's a jukebox in heaven, I'm pretty sure Willie Nelson is on it, my friend.
Brad: But he wasn't wearing that shirt. Is that from the prom or what?
Tracy: Listen, what I love about this contest is you really see people emerge. Last week, I think you stole the show. You are really becoming a front runner. If I were you, I'd watch the coffee in the morning, 'cause if I was another contestant, I might poison it. So, be careful.
Billy: Don't ever touch a guitar. Stick with that keyboard, cuz you're phenomenal when you're on it.
My thoughts: Love Brad at the keyboard. I think he did a real good job as well. Not as awesome as last week, but like Billy said, he is a natural at the keyboard and seems very calm and confident.