AMERICAN IDOL: Paul McDonald performs in front of the judges on AMERICAN IDOL airing Wednesday, April 13, (8:00-9:30- PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Michael Becker/FOXOn Thursday night’s American Idol, Nashville-based rock singer-songwriter Paul McDonald became the first male contestant eliminated from show’s 10th season since fan voting began last month.
McDonald, who fronts the band the Grand Magnolias, made a grand exit from Idol with “Maggie May,” a song that has come to be closely associated with the singer — and was requested by judge Jennifer Lopez as McDonald’s swan song. Before ripping into the Rod Stewart classic, a smiling McDonald — once described by judge Steven Tyler as the “epitome of a cool dude in a loose mood” — told the crowd and judges, “C’mon, don’t be sad about this!”
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Facing McDonald in the bottom three this week were Haley Reinhart and Stefano Langone — both of whom, as well as McDonald, have been up for elimination in the past.
McDonald received the least amount of fan votes following his performance of Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll” from Risky Business on Wednesday night’s movie-themes episode.
In addition to McDonald’s exit, Rihanna, as well as Jason Aldean and the original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, took the stage for performances. Rihanna performed her latest, “California King Bed,” against an ethereal set, and Aldean and Clarkson belted out their country chart-topping duet, “Don’t You Want to Stay.”
After her performance, Rihanna told Idol host Ryan Seacrest, regarding her summer Loud tour, “Right now, we just designed the stage. I’m really not supposed to say this, but I want to get you excited. We’re building two sections on the stage for fans. [They’ll be] closer than they’ve ever been. It’s real V.I.P.”
As usual, Idol contestants collaborated for performances on Thursday night’s episode, with Reinhart and Casey Abrams stealing the show with their scat-filled cover of Charles Mingus’ “Moanin’.”
Meanwhile, James Durbin, Jacob Lusk, Langone and McDonald took on a Simon & Garfunkel medley (“Sound of Silence”/”Mrs. Robinson”), while Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery went country again for their duet of Lady Antebellum’s “American Honey.”
