American Idol Judges Like Alex Preston, But Does America?

Souhegan High School graduate Alex Preston received positive reviews from the American Idol judges again this week, but now he has to wait to see if the viewers agree.

The 20-year-old Mont Vernon resident performed the song "A Beautiful Mess" by Jason Mraz. Two of the judges said they loved it, and one said he liked it, but felt it was a bit too introspective.

[Video of Preston's performance is embedded above.]

"I like that tune, I think it was a good tune for you," said Harry Connick Jr. "I think it's brave. I would just caution you about one technical thing. Make sure you try to sing in tune. Sometimes singing out of tune is OK, but I know you can hear better than that. And also man, I thought it was so inward I didn't really feel what you were trying to sing about."

Keith Urban disagreed, saying the song did the opposite for him. "That pulled me into you, because you were so inside, in this little world."

"I was very caught up in the mood that you created," added Jennifer Lopez. "For me it was just, I was caught up in the emotion and the mood of it and I thought you did a really nice job. I loved it. I thought it was really good."

Preston will find out on Thursday night's show if he moves on. American Idol airs at 8 p.m. on Fox.