American Idol voted out the third of its fifth season finalists during last night's live results show, with Lisa Tucker, a 16-year-old from Anaheim, CA, being eliminated from the Fox reality talent competition as a result of receiving the fewest home viewer votes.
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Lisa had entertained the show's audience by singing original American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" ballad during Tuesday's "Song of the 21st Century" themed performance show. Idol judge Simon Cowell wasn't a fan of the performance. "The truth is Lisa that the song was too big for your voice," Simon had told Lisa on Tuesday. "There were parts during the performance where it was actually painful."
Unlike's last week's results show which had featured no major surprises among the week's bottom three vote-getters, this week's threesome featured two. While Lisa's inclusion in the bottom three was widely expected given she had also ranked in the bottom three during each of the finals' first two weeks, the inclusions of Ace Young, a 25-year-old Los Angeles resident that had oddsmakers had initially deemed the competition's favorite, and Katharine McPhee, a 21-year-old from nearby Sherman Oaks, CA, were surprising.
Ace had performed Train's "Drops Of Jupiter" during Tuesday night's show. Like Lisa, Ace's song choice also disappointed Idol's judges. In addition, the judges were also unimpressed with his off-pitch performance, "Once again, completely the wrong song for you and you didn't sing it well," Randy Jackson had remarked after Ace's Tuesday performance.
However unlike Lisa and Ace, the judges had enjoyed Katharine's performance of Christina Aguilera's "The Voice Within," making her inclusion in the week's bottom three the night's biggest surprise. "It was almost -- almost -- as good as Christina's," Simon had gushed after Katharine sang, terming it the best performance of the night.
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After keeping all three contestants in suspense through a commercial break, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest revealed that Ace had finished as the week's third lowest vote-getter, leaving Lisa and Katharine to face elimination alone.
Having already been part of the two previous weeks' bottom three, Lisa seemed resigned to her fate. "It's OK... whatever happens, happens, I'm happy with the decision," she told Ryan seconds before her elimination was announced. "This has been the experience of a lifetime and I wouldn't change it for anything," the 16-year-old added after her fate was revealed.
Next week will see another of Idol's finalists eliminated, with the nine 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 nine 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. |
 Bucky Covington, a 28-year-old from Rockingham, NC (Auditioned in Greensboro)
Bucky lives in his hometown of Rockingham, NC. At the age of 19, he picked up a guitar for the first time and soon after joined his first band. About two years ago, Bucky switched to a country/beach/rock band and realized that his talent crosses many types of music. |
 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. |
 Mandisa Hundley, a 29-year-old from Antioch, TN (Auditioned in Chicago)
Born and raised in Citrus Heights, CA, Mandisa moved to Nashville to study singing at Fisk University. She has performed with such artists as Shania Twain, Trisha Yearwood, Faith Hill and Charlie Daniels. |
 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. |
