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Victory sometimes comes with a heavy price to pay. That\u2019s what American Idol<\/a><\/em> judge Lionel Richie<\/a> learned on April 6 when, as the winner of the Judges\u2019 Song Contest<\/a>, he was tasked with choosing either Jesse Findling or Rae<\/a> to continue on in the competition after the pair found themselves in the bottom two<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jesse sang \u201cWonderwall,\u201d the song made famous by Oasis, which was selected for him, ironically, by Richie in the \u201990s-themed competition. Rae performed the Taylor Dane hit \u201cLove Will Lead You Back,\u201d chosen\u00a0for her by judge Carrie Underwood<\/a>.<\/p>\n TV Insider and a small group of reporters chatted with Richie after the show. The \u201cTruly\u201d singer explained why he saved Rae for the Top 11, which ultimately led to Jesse\u2019s elimination.<\/p>\n First, he addressed how his songs were selected by more than half of the show\u2019s Top 12 contestants. \u201cI feel so good about winning,\u201d he says. \u201cAt one point, I was doing so well, it became embarrassing because it was like, \u2018What about the rest of [the] judges?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Richie says it felt kind of strange that he was the one who had to make the call between Jesse and Rae. While Richie raved about Rae\u2019s rendition of \u201cLove Will Lead You Back,\u201d noting that the singer \u201cknew every inch\u201d of where she was going with the song and that it was \u201cso well done,\u201d that wasn\u2019t the only reason he selected her.<\/p>\n \u201cI picked \u2018vibe,\u2019\u201d he shares. \u201cI picked attitude. I picked stage presence, not so much performance, but which one had the better stage vibe. That\u2019s my big word tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Richie sees in Rae a staying power that will keep audiences entertained when she\u2019s doing two-hour long concerts. \u201cYou better hope you\u2019ve got a couple of \u2018vibes\u2019 in there because of one of those songs has to be interpreted by you, your attitude,\u201d he remarks. \u201cSo, I chose vibe over everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n