Mattie Pruitt Sings House That Built Me

American Idol finalist Mattie Pruitt got some pretty good advice before she sang Miranda Lambert‘s “The House That Built Me” on Sunday night (May 4).

Lambert was there to coach her through rehearsals, and the result was a cover song packed with truth and emotion.

Fans were asked to vote to keep her on the show and with just 10 finalists remaining, that was no sure thing.

• Mattie Pruitt is a 16-year-old singer from Eagleville, Tenn. who auditioned on American Idol with singer Craig Campbell accompanying.
• Despite her country connections, this is the first true country song she’s performed during Season 23.
• Lambert was the guest mentor.

Related: Who’s Left on American Idol? Season 23’s Finalists

Pruitt was the only American Idol finalist to sing a Lambert song, choosing one that’s perhaps most important to the country icon’s career. Allen Shamblin and Tom Douglas wrote the lyrics to “The House That Built Me,” but Lambert found herself in the story.

The young Idol hopeful did, too, which made for an especially emotional performance.

Taking Lambert’s suggestion, Pruitt performed with an acoustic guitar. That’s the way she learned the song at home, so it seemed more natural. The young singer played with the melody some and toyed with the phrasing, but the tempo was the same as the original hit, and the lyrics still stood front and center.

Lambert seemed to be moved by a performance that looked to well emotions up for Pruitt.

Did Mattie Pruitt Go Home on American Idol?

Two singers were eliminated on American Idol on Sunday night, but Pruitt was not one of them. Instead, Canaan James Hill and Kolbi Jordan received the lowest fan votes and were eliminated from competition.

This brings the total number of finalists to eight ahead of Monday night’s (May 5) episode.