The Top 8 have lost one of their members …
Ryan Seacrest announced at the top of the American Idol elimination show on Thursday, April 14, that a staggering 53 million votes were received from viewers following Wednesday night’s competition.
Hitting the stage on the popular FOX reality show were Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson to perform Don’t You Wanna Stay.
The Top 8 remaining contestants: Paul McDonald, Lauren Alaina, Stefano Langone, Scotty McCreery, Casey Abrams, Haley Reinhart, Jacob Lusk and James Durbin.
The bottom three were: Haley Reinhart, Paul McDonald and Stefano Langone.
Haley and Casey performed a jazzy rendition of Moanin’ – and word is … they’re suddenly doing the romance dance behind the scenes.
The eliminated contestant turned out to be Paul McDonald. The Alabama singer-songwriter is 26. He finished 8th and will go on Summer Tour with the rest of the Idol Top 11. Since 2005, he has been the lead singer of the band Hightide Blues, renamed The Grand Magnolias in 2010.
Check out a photo and view Paul’s elimination and last performance videos below:
Photos: ABC, WENN