American Idol 8: Two Go Home, Judges Introduce New Rule

“American Idol” waved goodbye to two finalists this week, bringing its first-ever Top 13 down to the standard 11 for week two.

Jasmine Murray, who sang “I’ll Be There” and Jorge Nunez, who sang “Never Can Say Goodbye,” were both cast off. While Megan Corkrey joined Jasmine and Anoop Desai joined Jorge for the results revelations, host Ryan Seacrest did not officially confirm that they were the lowest vote-getters of the eleven survivors.

In addition to revealing the eliminations, “Idol” also announced a new rule change–the judges now have the ability to save an eliminated contestant.

Touted as a way to avoid the seemingly annual “shock” eliminations that have involved surprise departures for contestants like Tamyra Gray, Jennifer Hudson, LaToya London, Chris Daughtry and Michael Johns, the judges now have the ability to void an elimination on a given results show.

The judges can only exercise the option once, and they can only do so prior to Top 5 week. Still, it could be a potential game-changer for the show by assuring that a frontrunner does not depart prior to the late stages of the competition.

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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Brian Cantor