Phil and Chris Don't Have a Nice Day

Jon Bon Jovi mentored them, last night he even sang for them, but in spite of that Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson did not have a nice day.

The "American Idol" finalists were eliminated from the show last night after receiving the lowest vote totals from the past two weeks of balloting. Last week, in the midst of the Idol Gives Back charity drive, the producers decided not to eliminate anyone. However the over 70 million votes cast were carried over to this week’s tally of 65 million, adding up to a total of 135 million votes.

Sadly for Stacey, 29, a father of two and minister's son from Jacksonville, Fla., he gave one of his best performances of the season Tuesday. But true to the lyrics of the Bon Jovi song he had selected, last night he went down in a blaze of glory, with host Ryan Seacrest calling him "a man of great heart."

Richardson’s choice, "Wanted Dead or Alive," suffered in comparison to the memorable version sung by Chris Daughtry last year. The Chesapeake, Va., native, 22, also had trouble remembering the words to the song during rehearsals. In his critique of Richardson's performance, judge Simon Cowell said, "I think you did as much as you could possibly do with that song … whether it's good enough to stay another week, I'm not sure." It wasn't.

Also last night, Robin Thicke performed "Lost Without U" and Bon Jovi sang "(You Want to) Make a Memory."

Next week, Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees mentors the remaining four contestants in what Seacrest called "boogie sounds." Each finalist will sing two songs.

More in the morning ...

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