AI OD: A farewell to Alexandrea Lushington - VIDEOS

After a great opening week performance, Alexandrea Lushington really slipped in her second week on the American Idol stage. Unfortunately, we hadn't seen enough of her personality yet to make any sort of connection with her, and so we were left with an audience that probably didn't remember how solid she was and only remembered a very shaky, off-key performance seriously lacking in confidence.

In AOL's interview with Alexandrea Lushington, she admitted to being surprised about her early elimination, but remained confident that everything happens for a reason. "I think because this happened it was supposed to happen. I know that I'm going to benefit from it all."



Alexandrea looked so much better on the night she was eliminated then on her performance night. And, once again, when the pressure was off her performance was improved as well. I think Alexandrea is a far greater talent than what we saw. She competed against David Archuleta back on Star Search, though little mention is made of her limited run there, so it looks like he'll best her yet again.:


Ultimately, Alexandrea sealed her own doom with a bad combination of wardrobe and lackluster performance. She was off-key and appeared uncomfortable either with the song or the entire performance during Top 20 week.:


Her final performance week is doubly disappointing when you look at her Top 24 rendition of "Spinning Wheel." From the first note she was strong and confident, dominating the stage with perfect control of both her voice and the audience. I pegged her as an early favorite from this performance, but apparently the pressure ultimately got to her.:


She came into her initial audition with an entourage of support, a subdued look and a voice that was mature way beyond her years.:



Honestly, while I'm certain that Miz Alex's MySpace page is truly Alexandrea's, I can't say the same for the "official" Alexandrea Lushington MySpace page. Her top friends are various other Idol pages (which may also be fake), but there are no details outside of what is given on American Idol's website. And poor Miz Alex hasn't logged on since February and hasn't updated the page at all to reflect her tenure on the Idol.

Ultimately, to find out what lies in Miz Alex's future, we turn to her exit interviews. There she says she'd like to continue with her music career, writing and recording and growing as an artist. Alex is still a baby. She's bright and talented and doesn't seem to think someone should just hand her a record contract now, so she just might carve a niche for herself somewhere in a few years.

It would have been nice to see her make it a lot further in the competition, as I saw within her one of those contestants who could blossom into something truly amazing. Hopefully she does continue forging ahead. When she was younger she made appearances on BET and Showtime at the Apollo, so maybe that legacy will inspire a few callbacks now that she's grown into a beautiful young woman.

IDOL SEASON 7 FAREWELLS
#20 - Jason Yeager
#21 - Colton Berry
#22 - Joanne Borgella
#23 - Amy Davis
#24 - Garrett Haley