American Idol narrowed the field down to the final three on last night's result show, making it the end of the line for 19-year-old Texas native Amber Holcomb.

On Wednesday, Holcomb sang P!nk's "Just Give Me A Reason" for her song from 2013, and the standard, "My Funny Valentine." Although the judges have long harbored an affection for Holcomb's vocal talents, she frequently found herself near the bottom after audience votes. Therefore, it came as little surprise that it was her turn to exit the competition, leaving Angie Miller, Candice Glover and Kree Harrison to stick around for the top-three show.

Instead of railing about the injustice of Holcomb's elimination, Nicki Minaj decided to strike a positive note when she addressed the four girls up on stage. "You four are all superheroes, and I really, really mean that, " she said. "All four of the judges, we clearly love you. […] I'm just happy that America got the best four of the competition to the top four."

Although Holcomb's goodbye was a sad and emotional affair, the night on Idol also offered some bright spots featuring former contestants. David Cook, winner of season six debuted his new song, "Laying Me Low." Former American Idol runner-up now Broadway star, Constantine Maroulis, came on the Idol stage to promote his latest musical endeavor – starring in B'way's Jekyll and Hyde.

Other performances included the Black Eyed Pea's will.i.am singing "Big Bang," his new song that will be featured in the upcoming The Great Gatsby movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan and directed by Baz Luhrmann. Guest coach Harrick Connick Jr. also took the stage with a new song.

Next week, Miller, Glover and Harrison will be headed back to their hometowns where they're all sure to receive warm welcomes before coming back to the Idol stage to fight to stick around for the finale.

American Idol returns next Wednesday on Fox at 8/7c.

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