Jermaine Jones and Erika Van Pelt pushed through strong performances of Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston songs on American Idol Wednesday. Mentored by Mary J. Blige and Jimmy Iovine, both received glowing reviews from judges.”That song fit you like an Armani suit,” Steven Tyler praised following Jones’ performance of “Knocks Me Off My Feet.”The towering balladeer, dubbed the “gentle giant,” did however falter a bit, swaying Randy Jackson.”I loved the verses. Mary (J. Blige) was spot on. When you hit the chorus you kind of changed. Jennifer(Lopez) brought up a great point. Just relax in it, the sound of your voice,” Jackson advised, letting Jones know his vocal register does more than enough to set him apart from other acts. “The register is enough.”Proclaiming “I got fire inside,” Erika Van Pelt delivered a soulful performance of Whitney Houston’s hit “I Believe In You and Me” following Jones. Her tone went a long way with Randy Jackson. Advertisement “You have an amazing voice and an incredible tone,” Jackson acknowledged. “That was amazing by the end. Amazing.”While Van Pelt’s performance was strong, perhaps stronger than Jones, she still appeared to be playing it safe.”The way you interpret the songs really makes the songs come alive,” Lopez said before lamenting “I still feel you are playing it safe. When you stop thinking, you let loose on this audience…”Watch Erika Van Pelt’s performance via link to the left.Jermaine Jones and Erika Van Pelt will learn their fate on Thursday’s results show. In a twist, one girl and one guy, each with the lowest amount of votes, will be placed in the bottom two. The judges will then decide who gets sent home.American Idol returns Thursday night at 8pm on Fox.