American Idol Elimination: Find Out Who Was Voted Off—Plus, Harry Connick Jr. Defends His "Harsh" Critiques

The dashing judge took a moment to address concerns that he is too critical of the contestants

There's tension in the house, dawg!

Tonight on American Idol, 12 singers took the stage in hopes of becoming the next singing sensation, but only 11 were allowed to continue their journey. Although it was sad to see one of our talented finalists leave the competition, the real entertainment in tonight's episode were Harry Connick Jr.'s subtle jabs at "mentor" Randy Jackson. (Team Harry FTW!)

At the top of the hour, Connick took a moment to address fans' concerns that he was being overly harsh with his criticisms on Wednesday night. "I'm not going to belabor the fact that you're great," he said. The dashing crooner explained that, unlike Randy, Harry has a very limited time to give the contestants constructive feedback, and does not want to waste their time by constantly telling them how great they are—they should already be aware of this fact. Preach, Harry!

Is it just us, or does anyone else thing that Harry would make an absolutely phenomenal coach for The Voice? He's charming, opinionated, and hot damn he knows his stuff! His quest for excellence, and attention to detail as a mentor would surely produce that mega-star that The Voice is still hoping to create.

But enough about how incredible and season-saving Harry is, let's talk about tonight's elimination. After what seemed like a lifetime, America discovered that Emily Piriz, Jena Irene, and M.K. Nobilette received the lowest amount of votes this week.

And this week's eliminated singer is… Emily! Despite singing a lovely rendition of Grace Potter's "Stars" as her please-save-me song, the judges chose to agree with America's decision and let Emily leave the competition.