Two Candidates Voted off Idol

Due to last week's decision to not send any contestants home after American Idol's Idol Gives Back charity episode, the biggest news in entertainment tonight is the elimination of two American Idol finalists this week. Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson were the victims of America's 135 million plus votes over the last two weeks.

Last week, during American Idol's 'Idol Gives Back' event, the contestants were asked to sing a song that inspires them. Phil Stacey sang 'Change', originally recorded by country star, Garth Brooks. Garth Brooks originally released this song after the Oklahoma City bombings and commemorates the heroism that emerged from that tragedy. Phil states that he chose this song because it had a profound impact on his life. Chris Richardson chose 'Change the World', by Eric Clapton. Chris tells the American Idol cameras that he chose this song because if one person has the will to change someone's life, then imagine what millions can do. While Chris' performance seemed less than amazing by the judges' standards, Phil was receiving rave remarks all around. Even Simon seemed to have enjoyed Phil's performance last week.

This week, Jon Bon Jovi, lead singer of the New Jersey rock band, Bon Jovi, was the mentor to the finalists. They all had to pick a Bon Jovi song, and most did pretty well. The judges seemed to be enjoying themselves, especially during the risky, and highly talked about, re-vamp Blake Lewis gave the Bon Jovi classic, 'You Give Love a Bad Name'.

Our victims had mixed performances, and the reviews from our judges were just as mixed. Phil Stacey sang 'Blaze of Glory', recorded for the Young Guns II soundtrack, while Chris Richardson went classic and sang 'Wanted Dead or Alive', which Jon Bon Jovi stated was probably one of their most loved and well known songs. Phil's performance was amazing and loved by all three of our judges. Paula Abdul even claimed that this was one of the best show openers ever. Chris, who forgot the lyrics during the mentoring session with Jon Bon Jovi, did a generally accepted rendition of 'Wanted Dead or Alive', with Simon telling him that he did the best with what he had.

Phil Stacey is a 29 year old from Jacksonville, Florida, who auditioned in Memphis, Tennessee. From the first moment he was shown on camera, he had America's attention and support, since he missed his daughter's birth to audition for season six of American Idol. Chris Richardson is a 22 year old from Chesapeake, Virginia, who auditioned in New York City. An interesting fact about Mr. Richardson? When AmericanIdol.com asked Chris if he had any lucky charms, his response was, "Rubber bands (2 on my right wrist)."