On ‘Idol,’ Elise, Alas, Is Last

You can’t say she didn’t see it coming.

Elise Testone, who despite compliments for her strong and soulful voice, had found herself in te bottom three five of the seven weeks since she was saved by judges in the first work of the top 13 finalists, was cut from ‘American Idol” Thursday.

Her performance of Jimi Hendrix’ “Bold as Love” was seen to be too obscure by some judges; her Queen selection, “I Want It All,” too big.

Though women outnumbered men 2-1 in the Top six, the bottom three were all female, with Hollie Cavanagh next to last in vote totals and country singer Skylar Laine third.

That left both remaining men, Joshua Ledet and Phillip Phillips, untouched in the top three, along with Jessica Sanchez, who had ben eliminated by votes two weeks ago, only to be saved by judges.

More than gender, though, a deciding factor may have been age – at 29, she was by far the oldest finalist – up to 12 years older than the youngest competitor (Jessica Sanchez, 16).

Testone will still be on board this summer, though, as the American Idol Live tour shoves off starting July 8 in Detroit. The full itinerary follows: