American Idol Narrows Down to Final Four

Getting closer to the May 23 finale, American Idol hopefuls are down to the final four. Contestants Phil Stacey from Jacksonville, Florida and Chris Richardson from Chesapeake, Virginia made their farewells on Wednesday night.

Two contestants were voted off because of last week's Idol Gives Back charity event didn't send anyone packing. The two weeks votes were added together with the combined fewest going to Stacey and Richardson. The two week total for phone and text votes topped over 135 million.

Stacey performed his rendition of Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" for his final performance. Randy Jackson commented that his Tuesday night presentation of the song was his "best performance ever."

Richardson took an opportunity to say, "Thank you to everybody for keeping me this long." His final performance was "Wanted Dead or Alive," also a Bon Jovi song.

Wednesday night's show also included performances by Robin Thicke and Bon Jovi.

The pressures are really showing for the contestants. Several finalists brushed away tears as Stacey ended his final performance. Blake Lewis supported his friend, Richardson with a hug as Ryan Seacrest told them Richardson was the one going home. As the remaining contestants get closer to their goal, emotions are running high.

The final four contestants are LaKisha Jones, Blake Lewis, Jordin Sparks and Melinda Doolittle. Sorry Howard Stern, despite the attempts, Sanjaya did not make the list. The sixth season of American Idol is still doing well in ratings. Over 26 million people tuned in for every episode this season.