The judges were right -- American Idol's eighth season is all about the boys.

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Allison Iraheta was revealed to be the tenth finalist eliminated from Idol's eighth season during last night's live results show broadcast on Fox, ensuring an all-male Top 3 for the first time in the show's history.

"You know I'm going to be playing you on the radio real soon," American Idol host Ryan Searest told Iraheta after announcing her elimination, generating a nervous laugh from the teenager.

"Noooo!" Iraheta jokingly shouted after Seacrest noted her departure would leave the competition with a "boys' club Top 3."

Kris Allen, a 23-year-old from Jacksonville, AR who currently resides in Conway, AR , Adam Lambert, a 26-year-old from San Diego, CA who currently resides in Los Angeles, CA, and Danny Gokey, a 28-year-old from Milwaukee, WI were revealed to have made the season's Top 3 in random order earlier in the broadcast.

Iraheta, a 17-year-old from Los Angeles, CA who currently resides in Downey, CA, was ousted from Idol's eighth season based on the more than 64 million  home viewer votes that were cast immediately following Tuesday night's live performance episode that featured the Top 4 finalists singing rock songs.

Iraheta had sung Janis Joplin's "Cry Baby" during Tuesday night's performance episode.

"You can sing your face off.  You can sing anything," said judge Randy Jackson after the performance.  "I did not love the song choice for you... I didn't love this.  This wasn't that great for me."

Fellow judge Kara DioGuardi disagreed, calling Joplin the right choice for Iraheta because she's "bluesy rock" but instead suggested "Piece of My Heart" as a better song selection because of the melody.

"Were you a little nervous tonight?" asked DioGuardi.

"Nervous!?  I'm always nervous," responded Iraheta.  "But I think it helps me."

"Here's the thing.  With your personality -- you've taken some hits, that you don't have enough personality," said DioGuardi.  "The thing is, I think you transform when you go on that stage like many other artists and you become larger than life.  So I see your personality in your performances.  I just want to give you that prop."

Paula Abdul agreed.

"I think you're downright fearless," she said.  "I think if they ever do a biopic on Janis Joplin, you've got the role.  You did a great job."

Simon Cowell credited Iraheta's growth over the last eight weeks of the competition.

"It's literally staggering.  You've got to remember, you're 17-years-old," he told her. 

"I thought you had complete confidence up there.  I thought it was a terrific vocal.  My only criticism is that you try to hard obviously to sound like the original, so I didn't see the originality.  You can't compare [Adam Lambert's rendition of 'Whole Lotta Love']] -- which was more original -- to what I just heard here, because it was, a compliment, sound-alike.  I wouldn't have chosen that song.  I actually would have chosen the Queen song."

"It was a Jefferson Airplane song," said Iraheta.  "And the only reason I didn't choose that one was because I just felt like I was playing it safe.  I really felt this song."

Cowell then suggested Queen's "Somebody to Love," which Iraheta questioned, before he echoed DioGuardi's suggestion of "Piece of My Heart."

"It's been done so many times on the show, you know?" she replied.

"Allison, at this point, just beg," Cowell told her.  "Beg."

"I'm not!" she shot back.  "And you're always saying I don't talk enough, so maybe I should just talk a lot."

"There you go!  The feistiness comes out," Seacrest said as studio audience cheered.

In addition to the results being revealed, last night's live Idol broadcast also featured former fifth-season finalist Chris Daughtry's band Daughtry performing "No Surprise" -- the first single from their upcoming second album "Leave this Town," which is slated to drop July 14. 

Abdul also performed "[I'm Just] Here For The Music," the first single from her upcoming new album.  It represented the first time she has taken the Idol stage as a performer.

"It's the most undeniable, happy place to be is onstage and there's nothing like it in the world," said Abdul after the performance.

American Idol's Top 3 eighth-season finalists will all make their hometown visits before taking the stage live during next week's performance episode on Tuesday, May 12 at 8PM ET/PT.

On Wednesday beginning at 9PM ET/PT, another finalist will be eliminated from the competition based on home viewer votes, revealing the season's Top 2 finalists.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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