Paul McDonald Eliminated From 'American Idol'

Movie night was not kind to many of the final eight on "American Idol." Despite raves from the judges, the general consensus outside the IdolDome was that there wasn't a whole lot to cheer for and that Randy, Steven and Jennifer hadn't learned the harsh lessons of ToscanoGate , i.e., they were still treating all the contestants like they were already superstars and giving each one a gold star for effort. One of their favorites among a group of favorites, picker-and-grinner Paul McDonald, went down on Thursday night's (April 14) elimination show, marking the first time this season that a man has left the program and the exit of yet another apparent front-runner whose commercial prospects seem brighter than a number of the remaining contestants. McDonald, who seemed a bit off his game and looked as if he might be ready to leave while performing Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" on Wednesday night, took the news in stride, saying "it's OK, it's OK" when host Ryan Seacrest said he was bummed to see the Nashville native go. Continue reading