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And then there were nine.

Being crowned the fifth "American Idol" winner just wasn't in the cards for Lisa Tucker — a reality that set in for the 16-year-old Anaheim, California, denizen at the conclusion of Wednesday night's elimination episode. It would appear that the show's faithful audience had concurred with judge Simon Cowell's assessment that Tucker's rendition of 2002 "Idol" champ Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" left much to be desired.

The hopes of 25-year-old Ace Young of Denver, and 21-year-old California girl Katharine McPhee are still alive as the two finalists were relegated to the bottom three but spared the heartbreak of rejection.

It marks the second time that Young, who performed Train's "Drops of Jupiter," wound up with one of the show's three lowest vote tallies. The ranking of favorite McPhee was more shocking. Cowell said she shined brighter than the rest of the crop Tuesday night with her take on Christina Aguilera's "The Voice Within," but admitted Wednesday that her performance wasn't as strong as he'd thought when he watched it back later. McPhee has evaded the bottom three for weeks, and when she was called to take her place among the lowest vote-getters, the audience on hand reacted with thunderous boos.

This is because the audience was told to react with thunderous boos. Ryan did everything but say, "Audience, this sucks, BOO!" Gar. The more telling reaction was Elliot's reaction to Bucky. Bucky was slowly clapping for himself (and who wouldn't!) and so was Elliot. E looked over at Bucky and was smiling, definitely happy for him!