American Idol voters had an uncommonly tough choice after Wednesday's Top 3 performance round. Joshua Ledet, Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips had each been consistently good and favorably scored throughout the season, but one of them would have to be picked off before the final round. On Thursday's elimination episode, it was Ledet who found out he was going home.

A stunned Sanchez, 16, was the first to hear from host Ryan Seacrest that she was in the Top 2. “After 90 million votes the first person in the finals is… Jessica Sanchez!” Seacrest announced.

"Jessica Sanchez's voice reminds me of one of the best voices, Michael Jackson," Interscope records producer Jimmy Iovine said. “I think Jessica can sing in the Grammys,” he added.

It then came down to Ledet, 19, and Phillips, 21, neither of whom had found themselves in the bottom two before. "We are all winners at this point,” Ledet said shortly before hearing he would not be advancing to the finals.

Ledet, whom many predicted would win the American Idol title, sang “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” in the last moments of the show, which earlier included performances by Lisa Marie Presley and former Idol runner-up Adam Lambert.

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