American Idol eliminated Laci Kaye Booth and Wade Cota and therefore determined the Top 3 finale contenders during Sunday night's two-hour performance show on ABC.
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After a night of impressive and emotional performances, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest announced Laci Kaye and Wade had received the fewest number of home viewer votes, which had been cast live throughout the broadcast, and were therefore automatically ousted from the Season 17 competition.
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Wade's departure was the surprise of the night given Laci Kaye had been saved by American Idol judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan during a previous episode of the series.
The night's results advanced Laine Hardy, Madison Vandenburg, and Alejandro Aranda to next week's epic finale showdown that will air on Sunday, May 19.
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Sunday night's broadcast of American Idol featured the Top 5 contestants each performing three songs live to hopefully win America's votes so they could receive exciting hometown visits as well as a spot in the final performance show.
The Top 5 contestants each took the stage with a tune from Elton John's songbook, a hit dedicated to his or her own personal hero, and a song selected by American Idol's in-house mentor Bobby Bones.
For the songs selected by Bobby, Wade, a 27-year-old musician from Phoenix, AZ, performed "You Are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne, and Laci Kaye, a 23-year-old college student from Livingston, TX, took the stage with "The House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert.
Bobby Bones picked "No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley & The Wailers for Alejandro, a 24-year-old dishwasher from Pomona, CA, and Laine, an 18-year-old musician from Livingston, LA, was given "Can't You See" by The Marshall Tucker Band to perform.
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As for Madison, a 17-year-old high school student from Cohoes, NY, she belted out "What About Us" by P!nk.
The round of Elton John hits featured Wade singing "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)", Laci Kaye performing "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)", and Alejandro playing piano to "Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word."
Madison was shown taking the stage with "Your Song," and Laine chose to sing "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" by the musical legend.
The last round of the night featured each contestant paying tribute to his or her own personal hero.
Wade belted out "Hard Luck Woman" by KISS in honor of his mother and stepfather, Laci Kaye sang "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac for her grandmother, and Madison performed "Make You Feel My Love" by Bob Dylan to celebrate her mother.
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Laine paid tribute to his brother by singing "Hey Jude" by The Beatles, and finally Alejandro dedicated his original song "Blesser" to his musical mentor, an artist called Twin Shadow.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski