Allison Iraheta was eliminated by "American Idol" viewers on Wednesday in a season-high tally of 64 million votes that ousted the last surviving woman singer and left three finalists standing.
Iraheta, 17, wiped here eyes moments after host Ryan Seacrest announced her name, but tears streamed down as she sang the Janis Joplin song "Cry Baby" in her final performance on the top-rated U.S. television talent show.
The red-haired singer's swan song had the two women judges standing and cheering, and afterward Seacrest, who also hosts a radio show, made a prediction about Iraheta.
"I know I'm going to be playing you on the radio real soon," Seacrest told her.
She was not asked how she felt about the elimination and she barely spoke, but she hugged her former rivals.
The gravelly-voiced singer often received high praise from the judges, with panelist Kara DioGuardi telling her: "You sing like you've been singing for 400 years."
Iraheta's elimination on "Idol's" Rock Week, with former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash as the guest mentor, was somewhat surprising because the judges have described her and presumed frontrunner Adam Lambert as rockers, while fellow contestants Kris Allen and Danny Gokey had been told that rock was not their style.
In contrast to previous weeks when the bottom three vote-getters were grouped together, Seacrest announced the top three finalists in random order, so it was impossible to know who had received the most votes.
Q and A session
Ryan asked the four what it feels like to make it this far. Kris Allen said he is amazed to be here, and he feels blessed to still be around. Simon told him to cut the humble act.
Ryan asked Adam Lambert how he felt about this week’s theme. Adam said it was his favorite theme so far. He loved sing Led Zepplin, and he loved his outfit.
Danny Gokey was asked about his previous night’s high note. He said he thought he did well at the moment, but he listened to it after the show and couldn’t stop laughing. He felt it was his funniest moment on American Idol, and he told the audience his aunt had paused the scream and joked people were already making ring tones of it.
Ryan asked Allison Iraheta how she felt about the judges comments the night before. She said she didn’t want to disrespect anyone, but she couldn’t hold in her feisty side any longer.
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