[citation needed] She sang "Change" by Carrie Underwood in the Sing for Your Life Round and was given nice feedback by the judges.
[9] Amy Sciaretto from PopCrush wrote that "She's a frontrunner, and she attempted to slay a pretty big dragon, since Xtina is so difficult to emulate due to her range.
"[9] Cavanagh was advanced to the following week by voters, and during the Top 13 performance show, she sang Whitney Houston's version of "All the Man That I Need".
"[10] For the Top 11 performance show, Cavanagh once again earned praise singing Celine Dion's "The Power of Love".
[13] Prior to the performance, Iovine and the show's stylist Tommy Hilfiger had changed the way Cavanagh dressed, pointing out fashion as her only weakness.
The performance, which began in a cappella, received praise from the judges, who highlighted improvement compared to previous weeks, but didn't say it was perfect.
[21] For her second performance, she sang "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield which earned even more positive feedback from the judges than her first.
Her rendition of Miley Cyrus' "The Climb" (which was her initial audition song in season 10) earned her a standing ovation from the judges.
On the Top 5 performance show, Cavanagh sang Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep – Mountain High" and earned a standing ovation from two thirds of the judges.
TVLine.com's Michael Slezak also thought positively of the performance saying, "[...] "River Deep, Mountain High" was a study in sublime power vocals, without any unnecessary embellishments.
[...] Hollie held back on the melisma and the vibrato and the riffing, delivering a classic melody with heart and soul, [...] The "I love you, baby" breakdown was one of my favorite musical moments of the season, and you can't really argue with a little flirty interplay with the bongo drummer, either.
On the season eleven finale, Cavanagh performed "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical Carousel alongside Jordin Sparks.
[29] Cavanagh performed two solo songs, "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele and "Give Your Heart a Break" by Demi Lovato.
[citation needed] Cavanagh's musical influences include Adele, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston.