Bucky Covington the fifth 'American Idol 5' finalist eliminated

American Idol voted out the fifth of its fifth season finalists during last night's live results show, with Bucky Covington, a 28-year-old from Rockingham, NC, being eliminated from the Fox reality talent competition as a result of receiving the fewest home viewer votes.


Bucky had entertained the show's audience by singing "Fat Bottomed Girls" during Tuesday's Queens-themed performance show. Although Simon Cowell had deemed the countrified performance "quite mediocre," fellow judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson had liked it. "You stayed true to who you are, and you made 'Fat Bottomed Girls' a country song," Paula had gushed on Tuesday.

Joining Bucky in the week's bottom three vote-getters were Elliott Yamin and Ace Young. Both had previously ranked among the competition's bottom three, with Elliott also ranking as a member of last week's threesome and Ace being a part of Week 2 and 3's bottom three.

Elliott, a 27-year-old from Richmond, VA, had performed Queen's "Somebody to Love" during Tuesday night's show. All three judges had made positive comments about the performance. "All in all, I loved you man, I thought it was really, really good," Randy had remarked during Idol's performance show.

Ace, a 25-year-old from Denver, CO, had sung "We Will Rock You" -- a shaky performance that had even Paula struggling to offer positive feedback. While Randy and Paula attempted to remain more diplomatic, Simon was -- as usual -- more blunt. "It was 'We Will Rock You Gently,' I really, really, really hated that, I'm Sorry" said Simon. "It was a complete and utter mess."


After dragging out the special even more padded than usual one-hour results show by having each of the bottom three vote-getters re-perform their song after learning they were in the bottom three, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest revealed that Bucky would be going home.

Bucky took his elimination well. "Somebody's got to go," he told Ryan after his fate was revealed.

Next week will see another of Idol's finalists eliminated, with the seven remaining contestants once again taking to the stage during Tuesday's 8PM ET/PT performance show and later learning their fate during Wednesday's 9:00-9:30PM ET/PT live results show.

The seven contestants still competing in American Idol 5's finals are:

Paris Bennett, a 17-year-old from Fayetteville, GA (Auditioned in Greensboro) Paris began singing at the age of 4. She has performed in numerous concerts and has opened for many groups, including Bow Wow. Paris is a skilled dancer in hip-hop, jazz and modern African dance.

Chris Daughtry, a 26-year-old from McLeansville, NC (Auditioned in Denver) Chris discovered his singing ability in algebra class. A gifted guitar player and songwriter, Chris has already recorded a CD with his band Absent Element. For the past three years, Chris has been a service advisor for a car dealership in Greensboro, NC. In 2000, Chris married his wife Deanna and became a stepfather of two.

Taylor Hicks, a 29-year-old from Birmingham, AL (Auditioned in Las Vegas) Taylor is a blue-eyed soul singer who has played every honky-tonk imaginable. A talented writer and harmonica player, Taylor enters the competition with almost 29 years of singing experience, as he has been singing since he could crawl.

Katharine McPhee, a 21-year-old from Sherman Oaks, CA (Auditioned in San Francisco) Katharine was born and raised in Los Angeles. She was exposed at an early age to the joy of singing by her mother, a vocal coach. After high school, Katharine attended the prestigious Boston Conservatory for one semester and majored in musical theater.

Kellie Pickler, a 19-year-old from Albemarle, NC (Auditioned in Greensboro) Kellie is a waitress who currently lives in Albemarle, NC, and enjoys singing, dancing and shopping for shoes. Kellie has been singing for as long as she can remember, but only began performing for crowds four years ago.

Elliott Yamin, a 27-year-old from Richmond, VA (Auditioned in Boston) Elliott began singing at the ripe age of 5. His mother, who was a professional singer, is his inspiration and biggest fan. For Elliott, being on AMERICAN IDOL has allowed him to pursue his dream of singing professionally.

Ace Young, a 25-year-old from Los Angeles, CA (Auditioned in Denver) Ace is the youngest of five brothers. Ace grew up in Boulder, CO, and began his singing career at age 9. He started performing at 11 in local malls and recreation centers. Ace lives in Los Angeles and works in sales and home remodeling.