Colin Stough Rocks ‘American Idol’ Stage With High-Energy Staind Cover [Watch]

Colin Stough was the last contestant to take the stage during Monday night’s (May 1) American Idol episode, delivering a scorching rock cover that really brought the energy.

The latest installment of the singing competition centered around the Judge’s Song Contest, in which contestants are faced with picking a mystery song out of selections anonymously submitted by the judges. For each one of their songs picked, judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie get a point.

Stough got to pick between Cody Johnson’s “‘Till You Can’t,” Chris Stapleton’s “Starting Over” and “It’s Been Awhile” by Staind. Stepping out of the country box, Stough decided to go with “It’s Been Awhile” because it was a song that he used to listen to while working back home.

For this performance, Stough really leaned into the rock side of the 2001 song. Opting to leave his guitar behind, the hopeful singer incorporated a lot more movement into his performance than viewers have seen in previous weeks. While he didn't completely leave the safety of the standing microphone, Stough did offer up some light head banging and lifted the stand from the ground for longer, more powerful notes.

Perry was clearly loving it; she was out of her seat for the majority of the time, and Idol host Ryan Seacrest quipped that Stough got her into concert mode. Her enthusiasm for the performance helped Stough identify Perry as the judge responsible for adding “It’s Been Awhile” to the list of available songs.

Bryan applauded Stough’s efforts to add more movement into his stage time and said it was something he’ll get used to as time goes on.

At the end of the show, it was revealed that Stough would be advancing to the next round of the competition as part of the Top 8. American Idol airs on Sunday and Monday nights at 8PM ET on ABC.