Oh wow doesn’t even begin to cover it. Jennifer Hudson and Adam Lambert took the stage on The Jennifer Hudson Show and completely shut the room down with a jaw-dropping duet of “Nessun Dorma.” From the very first note, the air changed. People stopped breathing. You could feel the emotion hanging in every corner of the studio. Lambert soared with that unreal range of his, while Hudson answered with pure power and control, proving—again—why her voice hits straight to the soul. By the final note, the audience exploded, cheering like they’d just witnessed history. And then came the moment that made it even better: Hudson laughed and said, “Neither of us won American Idol — but look at us now!” It was funny, real, and powerful—a reminder that sometimes losing is just the beginning of something legendary.

Two of the strongest vocalists in American Idol history have joined forces for an impressive duet!

In a clip from Wednesday’s episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show, Adam Lambert and host Jennifer Hudson bonded over their shared love for “Nessun dorma,” a well-known song from Giacomo Puccini’s classic opera Turandot, before performing the song alongside a pianist they both worked with on Idol.

During Lambert’s interview with Hudson, the “Whataya Want from Me” musician, 40, spoke about his opera background. “I took opera in high school for like a year. It’s like for a dancer to take ballet — it’s really good training. It was very educational, and that was there, and I left it there,” he said.

He then recalled performing “Nessun dorma” alongside Queen during one of their tour stops in Italy last summer: “I don’t know why, but the song just popped into my head because I was in Italy, and I was singing it to myself.”

Lambert continued, “Brian [May] heard me, and he goes, ‘Oh, you know that song?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know that song!’ So, I just started singing it impromptu in rehearsal, and he just started playing and accompanying me. It was this moment that happened, and we all said, ‘Let’s just do it tonight.'”

Hudson, 41, proposed a duet performance, and the two vocalists walked over to a piano — where Michael Orland, former American Idol pianist, arranger, vocal coach and associate musical director was seated.

“He taught us a lot of the music and the songs we got to sing,” said the EGOT holder. “We share a lot of the same experiences, so since we’ve got Michael here, and Adam, and we both know ‘Nessun dorma,’ we gotta give you a little bit of something.”

After Lambert joked that he “should’ve warmed up,” the pair began crooning the song’s intricate melody, which later prompted him to exclaim, “This key is really high!”

The Respect actress and talk show host praised Lambert’s singing skills following the performance: “The range on this man is insane.”

Hudson explained, “When you do opera songs — any song — and you’ve got two ranges, a male vocalist and a female vocalist, it’s almost impossible to sing the song in the same key. But the way you got up there, only you could do something like that. Y’all need to give this man some credit.”

Finally, she joked about how the song’s notes were more comfortable for her: “He says, ‘Jennifer, this key is so high!’ I’m sorry, but this show is for me, baby.”

While both stars rose to fame following stints on American Idol, Hudson competed in the show’s 2004 third season and placed seventh, while Lambert was the runner-up on season 8 of the series. Elsewhere in the interview, they reflected on their respective journeys.

“Neither of us won American Idol, and look at us now. Do you see where we are?” said Hudson. “We’re doing alright!”