Weepy Brooke White Exits "American Idol"
"I am, I cried," were the words a tearful Brooke White sang in her last performance as an "American Idol" contestant.
"I just want to say thank you. It's going to be terrible for me right now," White said before singing "I Am, I Said" by this week's guest mentor, Neil Diamond.
The 24-year-old from Mesa, Arizona had received good feedback when she sang the song the night before, even earning a "well done" from cranky judge Simon Cowell. It was an improvement over the previous week when she forgot the lyrics and had to start her song over from the beginning.
Syesha Mercado received the second lowest amount of votes, almost fulfilling judge Simon Cowell's prediction that she'd be the one leaving. She'll be back next week along with Jason Castro, David Cook and David Archuleta.
Photos: "American Idol" Season 7
During the show, host Ryan Seacrest addressed the controversy over judge Paula Abdul's gaffe the night before.
Because of time constraints, producers had the judges save their critiques of each singer until the first round of songs was completed. When it was Abdul's turn, she critiqued Jason Castro on two songs - even though he had only sung one.
The story quickly spread through the blogosphere, with speculation over what caused Abdul's behavior.
"Last night the judges were thrown a curveball on the air which is just part of a live show," Seacrest said. "But it sparked a lot of gossip about Paula. Just for the record, the rumors - they're not true. She's part of our family and we love her."
Cowell and judge Randy Jackson each gave a smiling Abdul a kiss.
"And I think Simon still wants to hook up with her," Seacrest joked.
Wednesday's show opened with the contestants singing a medley of Diamond's songs. Diamond also performed on the show, along with pop singer Natasha Bedingfield.
By Judy Rosen