American Idol Shocker - Michael Johns Goes Home Early

In an American Idol shocker tonight, Michael Johns gets gets eliminated. The Australian rocker had the women swooning for more this season on American Idol, but votes are what count.

The shock was evident on Michael J.'s face, white as a sheet and sweating profusely. Ryan Seacrest made the tension worse by announcing that last year on Idol Gives Back, no one went home. "Tonight, we're going to say good-bye to Michael Johns."

I have never been impressed with Michael Johns' singing, and have regularly compared him to a karaoke act. I did, however, assume that his looks would carry him through to the final four.

Judges reaction:

Randy Jackson - "You gotta keep on rockin' dude... you got a future ahead of you. Bright, baby, bright."

Paula Abdul - "I'm such a big fan of yours and you know that. It's time to get on with your career..."

Simon Cowell - "You know, based on the performance... it wasn't the right song. I'm going to miss you. You are a very good singer and a nice guy."

The bottom three tonight were an eclectic group, to say the least. Syesha Mercado was expected to be in the bottom (as she has been repeatedly). Carly Smithson was the other slight surprise, though Simon Cowell warned her after Tuesday's performance that he felt she may land there.

Syesha M. has struggled with song choice, and can't seem to shake the Whitney-wanna-be performances. Syesha has a huge voice, but needs a music coach to show her how to handle it. I enjoyed her version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You", as she tried desperately not to do a complete Whitney Huston cover. Simon hated it, but I think that he wants to like Syesha. If I could give one piece of advice: Get a haircut (the flat top is not working), and think Aretha Franklin or Patti Labelle.

Carly Smithson was a surprise to me this week. I agree that she belonged there, but I thought that her fan base was bigger. Carly's rendition of Queen's "The Show Must Go On" was angry to say the least. Carly S. seemed to definitely miss the message of Idol Gives Back. If I could give one piece of advice: If you wear an evening gown, wear long sleeves. Tattoos look great with leather, not taffeta.

The assumption was that Syesha Mercado was the obvious choice (given these 3) to go home tonight on American Idol. The crowd was absolutely stunned and a rush of boo's came out. I had Michael Johns finishing 3rd , behind David Cook and David Archuleta. Michael J.'s biggest problem may have been the age of his fan base.

Women over 25 seemed to be in love with the Aussie, but they are not hermetically sealed to the closest text messaging device.

One thing is for sure, if you want to win American Idol, you must carry the tween female demographic.