"Jessica doesn't deserve to be in the bottom three if she sang 'Yankee Doodle Dandee," mentor Jimmy Iovine said of Jessica Sanchez on 'American Idol' tonight. Sanchez was nearly booted from the competition last week -- she got a second chance after she was saved by the judges -- but she made a triumphant comeback with covers of Alicia Keys' 'Fallin'' and Otis Redding's 'Try a Little Tenderness.'

We were floored when she was supposed to be sent packing, however, Sanchez proved herself more than worthy of becoming the next 'American Idol' tonight, blowing us away yet again with her performances. First up was her cover of Alicia Keys' Grammy-winning song 'Fallin',' and Sanchez delivered a confident and mind-blowing rendition of the song that would've made Keys herself proud. Randy Jackson summed it up, saying, "Your talent is so otherworldly on this show. I don't even know that you know how great you really are and how great you can be."

For her second round of solos, Sanchez took on the Otis Redding soul classic 'Try a Little Tenderness.' The 16-year-old looked and sounded well beyond her years. She absolutely nailed the raspy hook as she growled, "You've got to / Hold her / Squeeze her / Never leave her / Now get to her / Got got got to try a little tenderness," with passion, soul and a little bit of anger. Can someone remind us again why she was almost kicked off last week? This girl is unbelievable!

Steven Tyler had his jaw practically dropping over Sanchez's performance, praising her and saying, "I like that you're stepping out... It's about stepping out and winning these people's hearts." Jennifer Lopez added, "I think with this performance we got a little out of your alter ego Bebe Chez," and Randy Jackson continued, "Where you should grow now is really connecting with the emotion of the lyrics. You can sing like nobody's business, but it's about growing now with just that emotion."

Did you connect more with Jessica Sanchez this time around? Leave us a comment below and let us know what you thought of her Alicia Keys and Otis Redding covers on 'American Idol' tonight.

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