Country singer Paul Jolley has captured the hearts of the American viewing public, earning enough votes to land in the Top 10 finalists on Season 12 of 'American Idol' despite a couple of performances in a row that didn't seem to sell the judges completely.

Jolley sang Keith Urban's 'Tonight I Wanna Cry' on Feb. 21, and the judges felt that his performance was just too theatrical. Producer Jimmy Iovine had to step in to break a tie between the judges, sending Jolley on but warning him about his theatrical tendencies.

Wednesday night (March 6) Jolley sang the Christina Aguilera/Blake Shelton duet 'Just a Fool,' and the judges once again called him out for his tendency to over-perform. But it didn't matter, as last night marked the first time viewers got to vote for their favorites. After the votes were tallied, Jolley became the first male contestant sent through to the Top 10 on Thursday night (March 7).

He sang Heart's 'Alone' as his victory song, and Urban congratulated the singer, saying, "That for me was better than last night." He also noted that Jolley seemed to have taken the judges' critiques into consideration, channeling his theatricality into passion.

Jolley will not only continue in the competition, he will also land a spot on the American Idols tour later this year.

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