Video: Contestant Elise Testone Rocks 'American Idol' with Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love'

Sagging ratings? Trot out the Led Zeppelin!

American Idol, which has been catching some flack this season -- its 11th -- for its lower-than-usual ratings and a panel of judges (including Aerosmith's Steven Tyler) who refuse to say anything even remotely useful, critical or mean to the contestants, got slightly more interesting last night when contestant Elise Testone belted out Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love."

She actually did an awesome job -- although, was she supposed to sing over the guitar solo? People should never sing over guitar solos ...

Testone got a standing ovation from the panel, which also includes Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson.

“I wasn’t sure if you were going to pull that off,” Tyler said. “Nobody can pull that song off. You made Robert Plant proud tonight, girl.”

Check it out below.

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Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.