Idol Moves Melinda Along

And then there were two, and even Simon didn't see this one coming. Let alone Homer Simpson, who—promoting The Simpsons' upcoming 400th episode, perhaps?—did the "This is American Idol!" honors for Ryan Seacrest.

Melinda Doolittle was eliminated from American Idol Wednesday, a night after Simon Cowell told her and 30 million viewers that he hoped to see "my Melinda" in the finals next week.

The 29-year-old Tennessean certainly reaped the most praise from the judges Tuesday, turning in three solid performances, including the first Whitney Houston tune voluntarily commissioned by Randy Jackson for a contestant to sing.

"You blew it out of the box!" Jackson exclaimed after Doolittle took on Whitney.

But Doolittle's near-flawless renditions of "I Believe in You and Me," Ike and Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits" and Peggy Lee's "I'm a Woman" were not enough to keep 17-year-old phenom Jordin Sparks and beat-boxin' original Blake Lewis out of next Tuesday's season finale.

"Congratulations to you two. My commiserations, Melinda, 'cause you are one heck of a singer," a bummed-out Cowell told her after hearing that the more than 60 million votes had tipped the scales in favor of Sparks and Lewis, giving Idol its third he sang-she sang finale in a row and overriding Jackson's prediction that, based on singing, it was going to be an all-girl final this year.

The consummate professional already, Doolittle—who as the third-place finisher will almost surely be getting a mainstream record deal, anyway—smiled resignedly when she heard the bad news. (Not until after many commercial breaks and performances by Maroon 5 and a now bushy-haired Elliott Yamin, of course.)

"I don't know about being surprised, I was oddly a little bit relieved," Doolittle told Seacrest in a post-show interview. "It was the first time I'd taken a breath in a long time. I'm thankful for the votes and everything like that, but for one moment there it was a relief. Now, I'm getting ready to sing just because I love it. I wasn't tired of the process, but it was a hard process.

"The greatest part about it was that I had one of my most favorite nights of the season on Tuesday night, so if there was any night to go out on, I could go out on a night I was proud of and excited about."

Doolittle, Sparks and Lewis all sang three songs last night, one picked by the judges (who then have to fax it to the mayors of the finalists' hometowns to complete the process), one by the producers and one of their own choosing, always a risky endeavor with this pack of picky judges. Er, judge.

Sparks, who was a favorite to go this far but was never as consistent as Doolittle, sang Rose Royce's "Wishing on a Star," courtesy of Cowell; Donna Summers' "She Works Hard for the Money," thanks to the producers; and "I (Who Have Nothing)," which was originally recorded by Ben E. King but also covered notably by Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones.

Sparks' own selection did nothing for Cowell, who called it old-fashioned and claimed to be puzzled as to why a 17-year-old girl would sing a 60-year-old song.

Then again, the acerbic Brit didn't even like the arrangement of the song he chose for her, although he admitted that she "sang it brilliantly."

"You're working it out on whatever song it is," Jackson raved.

Abdul picked out the Police's "Roxanne" for Lewis, who sounded in his element but came off sounding like a Sting impressionist to Cowell.

He did like Lewis' take on the producers' pick for him, Maroon 5's "This Love," which also suited the alt-minded 25-year-old from Washington.

"It didn't sound like a copycat. That was good," Cowell said.

Lewis' own choice, Robin Thicke's "When I Get You Alone," "really exemplified who you are as an artist," according to Abdul, who also loved his "fantastic, fresh" take on "Roxanne."

So next week, it'll either be the 17-year-old sweetheart who likes her ballads classic and soulful, or the hipster alt-pop hybrid who prefers doing his own thing whenever he takes the stage, becoming the sixth American Idol.

May the fans' dialing be swift—and their text-messaging mighty.