'Idol' eliminates 2 female, 2 male semifinalists

[February 26, 2010]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The first four "American Idol" semifinalists have been sent packing.

"Idol" contestants Janell Wheeler, Ashley Rodriguez, Joe Munoz and Tyler Grady were revealed Thursday to be the two female and male semifinalists with the fewest viewer votes, leaving 20 singers to compete in the popular Fox singing competition's ninth season.

Grady, the 20-year-old throwback singer from Nazareth, Pa., didn't go without a fight.

"I really like all the judges," said Grady, who was jeered after his performance of The Guess Who's "American Woman" on Wednesday's performance episode. "I've really had a great time with them, but I feel like I didn't really get much constructive criticism during 'Hollywood Week,' and I feel like what they told me was a little bit too late."

Wheeler, a 24-year-old wine sales representative from Tampa, Fla., and Rodriguez, a 22-year-old college student from Chelsea, Mass., were the first semifinalists dismissed. Viewers must have agreed with judge Simon Cowell that Wheeler did not give it "100 percent" on Heart's "What About Love" and that Rodriguez's rendition of Leona Lewis' "Happy" was "clumsy."

"I am going to sing a song!" Rodriguez declared to host Ryan Seacrest after her ouster.

The eliminations of male semifinalists Grady and Munoz, the 20-year-old crooner of Huntington Park, Calif., who sang Jason Mraz's "You and I Both" to mixed reviews from the panel, shocked the fellow singers standing by their sides. The eyes of Tim Urban, a 20-year-old college student from Duncanville, Texas, widened when he heard it was Munoz instead of him.

Alex Lambert, a 19-year-old high school student from North Richland Hills, Texas, who had what Cowell deemed "the most uncomfortable performance of the night," was censored for whatever he said after Grady was eliminated. Fox spokeswoman Jill Hudson said the audio was dropped because the language did not meet broadcast standards.

Before the final elimination, eighth season winner Kris Allen returned to "Idol" to talk about his recent trip to earthquake-ravaged Haiti and perform The Beatles' "Let It Be." Viewers were asked to make donations online or by text-messaging, with the money going to the Idol Gives Back Foundation to support the United Nations Foundation's work in Haiti.

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On the Net:

American Idol, http://www.americanidol.com/

[Associated Press; By DERRIK J. LANG]

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