'American Idol' Top Three Revealed: Who Was Eliminated? (VIDEO)

By AOL TV Editors Posted May 13th 2011 01:15AM

Top Four has been an odd time in 'American Idol' history. As Ryan Seacrest pointed out at the close of the performance episode, it was at this point in the competition that Chris Daughtry was eliminated back in season five.

Other fourth place finishers include Tamyra Gray, Josh Gracin, LaToya London, Jason Castro and Allison Iraheta, so it doesn't mean the end of the road. Sure, only Daughtry came out of it with a monster career so far, but many of these people have been able to go on and make music their career in some way.

Girls were the first five eliminated, but since then Lauren and Haley have outlasted four guys in a row. Could they continue their streak and send Scotty or James home, or would the boys make a comeback. It's such a tight field this season, it was difficult to predict what might happen.

!!SPOILER ALERT!!

Lauren was the first sent to safety, leaving Haley to sweat it out next to the boys who've never even seen the Bottom Two or Three. Haley's been there four times.

But then Ryan Seacrest declared that there would be two girls in the Top Three, sending Haley to safety and America torn. Are we to lose the metal rocker or the country prodigy?

It turns out being young and adorable still holds some weight, along with his almost flawless country vocals. Scotty made it in there and America had to say goodbye to James Durbin.

"I did so much stuff that's never been done on this show before," he said of his metal and hard rock stage performances. Truly, James left his mark on 'American Idol.' Now, he can move on to leave his mark on the music industry.

Maybe he'll found a band and name it his last name and we'll all watch as Durbin shoots to the top of the charts.

Get more at TV Squad >>

Tags: James Durbin

Comments

(61)

Friday 13 May

By mikey

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AI gets it wrong once again. What were the viewers thinking sending James packing?
And am I the only one who thinks Lauren is barely a step above average, nothing special, nothing distinctive about her voice or performances. I get the sinking feeling that she's going to win it, making it what, 4 in a row of inconsequential Idols.

By Sue

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Thank you. I thought I was the only one who doesn't think Lauren is anything special. The judges were always talking about Scotty & Lauren's limited range. Neither one would even attempt higher notes because they were fearful that they couldn't pull it off ! I have also noticed that Lauren is quite immature for 16 & she's not the sharpest tool in the shed; I imagine this may affect her future career. I never anticipated that the finale would be a majority of country music !... highly disappointed.

By david sipe

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Thank you America for eliminating James, nothing but a poser and fake rocker, he's a joke.

By cooper

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WOW......

By Brooke

Really? You're obviously tone deaf. IDIOT.

By ptrcbonn3

You think this way only because your a jealous little man...Tee Hee Hee...........

By DEE

exactly!!!!!!! jimmy iovine said it best.. he doesn't buy the 80's metal rocker james tries to be he is more believable singing putting a modern rock spin on otherwise "unrocklike" songs.. his voice is better than i thought it was going to be in the softer moments but a rock star he is not!! TEAM SCOTTY!!

By mw

You are a fan of Haley, I'm guessing. James was the best this year. He will be fine and land a huge contract. God bless you James.

By Nadjia

I absolutely agree with you David. I never liked him . I am glad that I am not going to hear that screaming again. For me Pia was the best one that season but the voters decided otherwise. So I hope Haily will go next and the battle will be between Scotty and Lauren but I predict that Scotty will win because Laureen can't hit high notes. We will see.

By Shelia

America seriously got it wrong this week and I seriously may not ever watch again. Somehow the show seems to be rigged. Even the look on the judges faces was absolute shock. Of these four James Durbin was the most talented . It seems to be another Adam Lambert year of Idol. I am from Arkansas and the boy from Conway was okay but anyone in their right mind knows that Adam Lambert and now James Durbin were born to be stars. Good luck James and I wish you all the success of Daughtry. You are truly a superstar and hey Randy Jackson how about producing this kid? He is gonna be worth millions.

By DAVID SHANNON

James was great. But JLo and Randy screwed him. When they came down so hard on Haley, it drew off fans of James to support her. If they had let it go, Lauren would be gone and James still there. But JLo is jealous of Haley and Randy hates anyone who does Michael Jackson songs. The judges need to stay out of the final 6.

DITTO!!!!!

By SheilaC

I can't believe that James was sent home! He has been one of my favorites since the start. I'm sure he already has a deal waiting for him.

I really think they need to change the voting format. Instead of voting to keep someone, it should be vote for the person you think should go. Plus, they need to limit the calls from any one number. Other shows, where the public vote, have limited the amount of calls from any one number so AI should be able to do the same. I doubt either change will happen, but it would at least make things a little more even.

I totally agree. The voting definitely HAS to change. There have been too many seasons of contestants winning that don't deserve to be the "American Idol" if you consider actual talent and not popularity. The voting process HAS to change to restore it's integrity. A lot of A.I. fans will be lost for the duration.

By chick4change

I wanted to see the final Vampire Diaries tonight instead of
Idol,and I'm glad I did. When I heard James Durbin got voted
off I couldn't believe it. He was the only really talented one
out of the whole bunch. Hayley, hope she marries the other
growler Casey and they sail off into the sunset together--neither
deserved to be there. And Scotty sounds like a country clone that I've heard before. Lauren is cute and needs a few years to blossom. It's another Adam Lambert year--what are the voters
afraid of, real talent? Why always pick the "just ok" as winner?
So sad. Good luck to you James, you will go far--keep the faith,
baby!

By Pam

James was never in the bottom unlike Haley. Don't know what happened but it was wrong. Durbin has a voice, stage presence and personality, everything it takes to make it and he can without the idol title.

By Ted

I was almost as shocked as the judges. What in the heck was the voting public thinking. James could really sing. I wish nothing but success for him.

By Jean

I BLAME THE JUDGES.THEY HAD ONE SAVE FOR THE WHOLE SEASON AND THEY GAMBLED ON CASEY! TO EARLY IN THE GAME TO HAVE DONE THAT SHAME MIND THE JUDGES....JAMES WAS THE BEST AND I CERTAINLEY AS WELL AS MY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS WILL NOT CONTINUE TO WATCH OR VOTE THE FOR THE FINAL THREE. HALEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN OFF AFTER HER SNOTTY REMARKS AND HER HORRIABLE SIGNING....I KNOW JAMES WILL BE A BIGGER STAR IN THE END ....AMERICAN IDOL NEEDS TO CHANGE THERE LIMITS OF VOTES ITS AND OUTRAGE ....WHAT A SHAME THAT PEOPLE ARE AS UPSET IAM BECAUSE IT TAKES AWAY FROM THE TALANTED PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE SHOW...SHAME MIND NETWORK AND JUDGES...IAM GLAD SIMON IS ON WITH XFACTOR...I HOPE AMERICAN IDOL GETS THERE ACT TOGETHER WITH VOTING SYSTEM OR BYE BYE FOR NEXT YEAR THE RATINGS WILL DROP FOR REST OF THIS SEASON AND IF NOTHING HAS CHANGED WITH THE VOTING SYSTEM I KNOW NEXT SEASONS RATING WILL DROP AS WELL....SHAME MIND THE JUDGES AND THE ALL THE SO CALLED PRODUCERS OF THAT SHOW....DONE WITH IT............

Really America?? Of the 4 left James is the ONLY one NEVER in the bottom 3. This is absolutely the last time I ever watch A.I. unless the voting rules change. James will go on to rock the world....other than possibly Scotty the rest will go onto obscurity. The only reason Haley is in the finals is due to sympathy votes.

By Crystal

Actually, that is incorrect. Scotty has never been in the bottom two. Yes, he was standing with Casey the week he was voted off, but it was announced the following week that he was not and never had been in the bottom two. Even this week, nothing was ever stated that the last two standing were the "bottom two".

While I don't think James should have gone before Haley, he wasn't quite as solid as everyone wants to make him out to be. Is he good...yes. Great...not until he learns how to stay on pitch. When he's singing more of a low-key song, he's great, but once he starts the screaming, he loses it all-together.

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