'American Idol' Recap: Top 10 Revealed After One More Contestant Goes Home

Joining Shannon Magrane in the bottom three were Erika Van Pelt and Elise Testone, because a pretty male face is apparently far more important than vocal range or stage presence.
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Note: The following contains spoilers if you did not see the March 15, 2012 elimination episode of "American Idol."

After the semi-shocking Jermaine Jones disqualification last night, I had some doubts that "American Idol" would eliminate another contestant this week, but apparently sentimentality wasn't going to get in the way of a good show.

Though it was a sub-par week that saw plenty of contestants finding loopholes for the "song from the year of your birth" theme by using covers of older tunes, there were a few standout performances -- most notably Joshua Ledet's rousing rendition of "When a Man Loves a Woman." Tonight's results were, again, all filler and no thriller, complete with a cameo from Tommy Hilfiger -- who is apparently tasked with being the show's "image advisor," poor thing -- and performances by Demi Lovato and Chris Daughtry.

But all you really want to know is who was shown the door, and that contestant was ...

Shannon Magrane.

Her performance of Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day" was weak and pitchy on Wednesday night, but in true "Idol" fashion, the judges loved it. "I was honestly terrified for you, but you did a beautiful job with that," Jennifer told her last night, while Randy called her "fearless." Luckily, America and Jimmy Iovine weren't half as tone-deaf as the judges apparently were, and after an encore performance designed to tempt the judges into using their coveted "Save" on her, the statuesque 16-year-old was sent packing. She kept a smile on her face, but I'm sure she was crying on the inside.

All the other contestants will be making the rounds on the "Idol" tour once the season is over, and now I'm sure the systematic removal of all the women in the competition will resume, as it does every season. Still, Shannon was a smart choice to go home since she's still young and vocally immature, and she clearly needs to overcome her confidence issues before taking on such big songs on such a huge platform. Joining her in the bottom three were Erika Van Pelt and Elise Testone, because a pretty male face is apparently far more important than vocal range or stage presence.

"American Idol" airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on Fox.

Do you think voters made the right choice, or should someone else have gone home this week?

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