Judging by this picture, you might think that Michael Sarver went home on tonight's American Idol elimination episode.  That would make a lot of sense, right?  After all, though he had some great moments in Hollywood, and was voted into the Top 13 by America, he had two shaky weeks in a row.  Never underestimate the power of country fans, though.  They've kept contestants from previous seasons alive much longer than they deserved.  I'm talking to you, Bucky Covington.  A few contestants managed to squeak by tonight into the Top 10 and onto the tour (cough cough, Megan, cough cough) and they should most definitely kiss the ground Idol fans walk on.  How Alexis Grace ended up going out this early, I'll never know.

After last night's performance episode, I predicted that Michael, Megan, and Anoop would all find themselves in the bottom 3.  I could not have been more wrong... with the exception of Michael.  Not only did Alexis end up in the bottom, but Allison Iraheta did as well.  I'm no fan of Allison but with several pop culture sites ranking her high on their list, I figured America might keep her around for a while.  Looks like her days are numbered. 

As you know, the judges  have the power to save somebody this season.  When Seacrest revealed that Alexis received the lowest number of votes, Simon told her that their decision would be solely based on her performance.  Hopefully, you were paying attention because I was.  At no point during Alexis's rendition of "Jolene" did the judges look like they were deliberating and when she finished, Simon declared that it was a unanimous decision not to keep her around.  That was some of the biggest BS I have ever seen in my life.

Idol paraded a few great country stars last night to perform, from Brad Paisley (download his new song "Then") to their very own Carrie Underwood.  I'll keep trying to predict who's staying and who's going each week but it's starting to looking like season 8 may be very hard to call.

American Idol returns next Tuesday at 8pm ET on FOX.

(Image courtesy of FOX)

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