Michael Johns' dreams ended Thursday (4/10) when "American Idol [ tickets ]" fans, 31 million of whom voted, gave him the ax from the show. The Australian-born heartthrob, 29, sang Aerosmith's "Dream On" Tuesday (4/8) to a mixed response from the three judges, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.

Jackson called it "pitchy" and a poor song choice, while Abdul told Johns, "You sound as good as you look." Cowell, an outspoken fan of Johns, said it was a "very good performance." However, "I don't like it when you do an impersonation of a rock star. It was a little wanna be-ish."

The cast-off likely was a shocker to many "American Idol [ tickets ]" fans and to Johns, who had never appeared in the bottom three before. He was joined by Syesha Mercado and Carly Smithson--not Kristy Lee Cook, who was a weekly bottom feeder until Thursday.

"I'm definitely surprised," Johns said. "I enjoyed singing that song. If there's a song to go out on, that's not a bad one."

Simon Cowell told Johns, "I'm going to miss you. You're a very, very good singer and a very, very nice guy."

Mercado took on another tiger, as Jackson called it, this week when she sang Fantasia's crowning song "I Believe." The tattooed Smithson offered her rendition of "The Show Must Go On" by Queen.

No one was particularly shining except for the diminutive David Archuleta, who played piano and sang Robbie Williams' overseas hit "Angels," and dread-locked Jason Castro, who served up a Hawaiian-flavored "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Jackson told Archuleta that his refrain in "Angels" was "the hottest of all season," and Cowell called the teen's performance "the best song choice of the night."

The normally strong David Cook underwhelmed with Our Lady Peace's hit "Innocent."

The results show was moved to Thursday because "Idol Gives Back" aired on Wednesday (4/9), reportedly raising $60 million, according to host Ryan Seacrest.