It was a decidedly unrocking night on American Idol for Gina Glocksen—and not just because the week's theme was American Classics.  

The 22-year-old Illinois native sang her last note on Wednesday's results show, after her rendition of the Charlie Chaplin-penned "Smile" failed to generate the votes she needed to stay in the running.

Though Glocksen's performance earned generally positive feedback from the judges Tuesday, her elimination was no shocker, given that she clearly lacked the vocals skills of Melinda Doolittle (among others), the sex appeal of Haley Scarnato and the rabid fan base of Sanjaya Malakar.

Even so, Randy Jackson called her song "nice" and "controlled," while Paula Abdul deemed it "flawless" and "beautiful."

Simon Cowell, on the other hand said he couldn't "rave about the vocal."

"Two girls came on before you and just completely outsang you," Cowell said Tuesday, referencing performances by Doolittle and Jordin Sparks earlier in the night.

When the votes were tallied, Glocksen, Scarnato and Phil Stacey were left in the bottom three—familiar turf for Scarnato and Stacey, who were both also in the bottom three last week.

Stacey was again informed he was safe first, leaving Scarnato to sweat it out in the bottom two with Glocksen, while Ryan Seacrest proclaimed that almost 33 million votes had been cast to determine which of them would be going home.

After a few suspenseful moments, Scarnato was permitted to take her seat (likely a relief, since she had apparently forgotten her pants), while Glocksen was informed that she was headed home.

Glocksen couldn't hold back her tears upon learning the results, but managed to pull herself together for one last performance on the show.

"Thank you so much for letting me do this and get this far," she said, addressing her fans. "I'll be seeing you on tour. I can't wait to see you guys all again."

This season marked the third time Glocksen auditioned for Idol, and the second time she made it as far as Hollywood. By lasting as far as the top nine this time around, she secured a place on the Idols Live tour at the end of the season, along with the other top 10 contestants.

Tony Bennett served as the week's celebrity judge, coaching the contestants through their choices from the Great American Songbook. Though he was supposed to perform on Wednesday's results show, he was replaced by Michael Bublé at the last minute after he reportedly came down with the flu.

With the Idol ranks down to eight, the show's creators announced the launch of the American Idol Songwriter Competition Wednesday, a new element of the reality contest designed to add aspiring songwriters to the mix.

Would-be composers are encouraged to submit their best efforts to the contest through Apr. 17, at which point 19 Entertainment will narrow the selection down to 20 finalists.

Beginning May 2, viewers will be able to go online to listen to and vote for their favorite songs. The winning choice will be performed live by the finalists on the May 22 season finale and will be the first single from the next American Idol. The winning songwriter will also land a music publishing deal with 19 Entertainment and a cash advance on royalties.

"Having an untapped songwriter create the winner's single seemed like a natural next step for our show," Idol creator Simon Fuller said Wednesday. "Not only do the fans pick their American Idol, but also his or her first single."

Taking that next step might be just what Idol needs about now.

Though the show continues to dominate the ratings for Fox in its sixth season, it has not been dominating as strongly as it did in the past.

For the fourth straight week, ratings have been down, with 28.2 million viewers tuning into last Tuesday's show (down 3.5 million from the same show last year) and 26.9 million watching Wednesday's show (down 800,000 from last year).

However, the show is likely to get a boost next week, when Jennifer Lopez makes a guest appearance to coach the contestants through songs with a Latin flair.