Sayonara, Sanjaya

Following a painfully flat rendition of Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About" on Tuesday night's country-themed show (see " 'Idol' Recap: 'I'm Officially Over Sanjaya'; Phil Actually Pulls Off Country Night "), Malakar was sent home to the grinning satisfaction of Cowell, who hinted before the elimination that he suspected the jig was up.

 
The night began with a somber Cowell again saying that he would "never, ever, ever" disrespect the families of the slain students at Virginia Tech, explaining his misinterpreted eye roll Tuesday night during Chris Richardson's comments about Monday's campus shootings (see "Simon Cowell Says Eye-Rolling Reaction To VT Comments Was Misinterpreted"). A split-screen demonstration was rolled out to show that Cowell had not heard Richardson's comments because the judge was too busy slamming the singer's "nasally" crooning.

 
But after that, it was the usual 45 minutes of filler until the verdict: host Ryan Seacrest asking people on the street what they thought about Tuesday's show, a guest performance from Fergie, a painfully long plug for the "Shrek the Third" movie and a performance from guest judge Martina McBride.