After the shocking elimination Tuesday night, America now has the chance to choose who of two remaining contestants will be crowned as the next American Idol.
The second to the last episode of "American Idol" season 14 began with the unexpected announcement that Jackie "Jax" Cole had the lowest number of votes among the top three finalists. It means that Nick Fradiani and Clark Beckham are left to battle it out to become the next top singing sensation.
According to host Ryan Seacrest, the number of votes for the fierce teen from East Brunswick, New Jersey was less than one percent lower than her nearest competitor, cutting her "American Idol" journey shorter than she had hoped.
Both Nick and Clark each has three songs to perform to help America in the selection. One will be the judges' choice, the second one will be show creator Simon Fuller's choice, and the last one will be the contestant's personal pick.
When Entertainment Weekly asked season 14 judge Harry Connick Jr. who he believes will be the last man standing in the competition, the singer-actor said: "I couldn't tell you, man. Based on what I saw the past few nights, everyone is really strong. It's exciting for me because I at least know what songs they're going to sing, so I do my homework and prepare as much as I can. But then they come out on stage and they've got completely different approaches to the songs. I never know where they're gonna come from."
Connick will be joined by fellow judges Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban in the season 14 finale of "American Idol" that will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on May 13.
This is the second to the last season of the groundbreaking singing reality show as FOX announced that next year's season 15 will be "American Idol's" last.
