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Get ready for an all-country music showdown on the "American Idol" season finale. Raspy-voiced hopeful Haley Reinhart was eliminated from the singing competition on Thursday night (May 19), leaving fresh-faced Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina to duke it out next week.
Before announcing Reinhart's elimination, Ryan Seacrest boasted to the crowd that this week's voting numbers reached 95 million, the largest sum of any non-season finale in "Idol's" history. For her farewell song, the Wheeling, Ill. native returned to Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets," which she'd performed earlier this season.
Also performing on tonight's "Idol" were Pussycat Dolls leader Nicole Scherzinger, with an assist from 50 Cent on her single "Right There," as well as Italian tenor trio Il Volo with "O Sole Mio."
Tonight's show also saw the three contestants travel back to their respective hometowns for reunion shows and confidence-boosting fanfare.
"Idol" fans: What did you think of tonight's elimination? And more importantly, who do you think will be crowned "American Idol" next Wednesday? Tell us in the comments below!
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