Not even Thursday night's "American Idol" results show was immune from the Royal Wedding Fever that seems to have captivated the nation.

Following a dire warning from "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest that "a lot of fans are going to be disappointed with tonight's results," Thursday's episode took a brief detour to the British consulate, where the contestants wallowed in British culture and tried out their British accents. (If this season's "Idol" competition depended on the ability to mimic Brits, Casey Abrams would have won by a country mile. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't to be the case.)

A medley of Carole King hits followed, and though the guys' rendition of "Take Good Care of My Baby" sounded like a drunken karaoke session at a frat house, Scotty McCreery's smooth-as-butter "Go Away Little Girl" was a major redemption, and "It's Too Late" served as a grim reminder that, at the end of the night, someone would be sent packing.

Last season's runner-up, Crystal Bowersox, came back to the "Idol" stage with a bluesy, jaunty romp through "Ridin' With the Radio" from her album "Farmer's Daughter." Her confident performance hopefully reminded the remaining contestants that, though one of them would be going home that night, even non-Idols can have a bright future in front of them.

But, in the meantime, it was white-knuckle-ride time, as the contestants gathered on the couch for a grueling elimination round. Haley Reinhart, who's received the lowest number of votes but gained much praise for the previous night's performance of "Beautiful," was immediately deemed safe -- after uttering a phrase after Jimmy Iovine's appraisal that earned her a bleep and a "Watch your mouth, young lady" from Seacrest.

The other contestants weren't so lucky, as Searest led them through a grueling wait-and-see regimen. McCreery, who busted out a soulful version of James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend" the previous night, was warned that his style might be too subtle, and was told to sit tight on the couch to await the results. Ditto Lauren Alaina, and Abrams, whose version of Cab Calloway's "Hi-De-Ho" from the previous evening earned him some ribbing about the growling quality of his performance. Even so, Iovine declared that he thought Abrams was likely safe -- as it turns out, a not terribly accurate prediction.

Next up, James Durbin was declared safe, thanks largely to his heart-tugging rendition of the Shirelles' "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" the previous evening.

Jacob Lusk wasn't so lucky -- Iovine deemed him to be "on banana-peel status," signaling that he might be on his way out.

Fortunately for Lusk, Iovine's assessment turned out to be wrong -- or at least premature. At the end of the night, Abrams was sent packing. And though Seacrest sent him off with encouraging words, telling the audience, "This is what talent looks like," it was still time to go.

Abrams chose Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" as his swan song. And while the lyrical sentiment might have been accurate, the spell he cast on America just wasn't strong enough.

At least he went out growling.

From thewrap.com.

Casey Abrams
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