Perpetual bottom-dweller Hollie Cavanagh lives to see another day. By Adam Graham Skylar Laine and Ryan Seacrest on “American Idol” Photo: Fox Skylar Laine is headed back to Brandon, Mississippi. The 18-year-old country spitfire was sent home on Thursday’s (May 3) “American Idol” results episode, after receiving the fewest number of votes following Wednesday’s performance episode . Nearly 60 million votes were cast, host Ryan Seacrest reported during the show. Laine found herself in the bottom two alongside Hollie Cavanagh. Now that the field is down to five singers, there was no bottom three. When the news was delivered to Laine, she hugged Cavanagh tight at the center of the stage. After composing herself, she sang Miranda Lambert’s “Gunpowder & Lead” as the show closed. Just one night prior, Jennifer Lopez told Laine she had victory in her grasp. “You wanna win, don’t you?” Lopez asked Laine after she sang Dusty Springfield’s “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” which followed her earlier performance of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.” Laine replied affirmatively, to which Lopez said, “I can tell. And you just might with performances like that.” In his assessment of her Wednesday performances, mentor Jimmy Iovine called Laine “a fighter” and praised her for suiting up and showing up “every night.” He said he thought she did well, though he said her take on the Dusty Springfield song lacked the “darkness” of the original. “She doesn’t deserve to go home because of that,” Iovine said, “but it was less than what I know she’s capable of.” In Iovine’s estimation, Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez should have landed in the bottom two. He said Phillips has been “coasting” and described his two performances as “very bland.” As for Sanchez, Iovine called her performance of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” a “travesty” and said he should have talked her out of singing it when he had the chance. He said her outfit during the song was “too mature” and “too racy” and said the “Idol” wardrobe department was “torpedoing” her. Coldplay also appeared and performed two songs, “Paradise” and “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall,” and fourth-season “Idol” winner Carrie Underwood stopped by and performed “Blown Away,” the title track from her latest album, which hit stores this week. What did you think of “Idol” on Thursday? Let us know in the comments! Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Performances
