" American Idol [ tickets ]" judge Simon Cowell called it "one of my favorite performances of the night," but Carly Smithson's rendition of "Jesus Christ Superstar" Tuesday (4/22) wasn't enough to keep her afloat.

More than 38 million fans voted, and the Irish-born bartender was eliminated from the Fox television show Wednesday (4/23) during the Andrew Lloyd Webber-themed week. During rehearsals, the English composer even persuaded her to sing "Jesus Christ Superstar," instead of "All I Ask of You," but it didn't work out.

"I apologize for giving you a compliment last night. Kiss of death," Cowell said at the end of the show. "But let me tell you, Carly, you can leave with your head held high."

Smithson was a controversial figure this seventh season. It was revealed early on that she released an album, "Ultimate High," using her maiden name Carly Hennessey, on MCA Records in 2001.

Syesha Mercado, who sang "One Rock and Roll Too Many" from "Starlight Express," stayed just ahead of Smithson to make the cut. Cowell dubbed Mercado's performance "sexy" while fellow judge Randy Jackson called her a potentially huge Broadway star.

The Davids--David Cook and David Archuleta--as well as Brooke White and Jason Castro round out the remaining five finalists, who will perform Neil Diamond songs next week. White offered a tense and uncomfortable moment when she stopped her song "You Must Love Me" because she forgot the words, and began again. She seemed surprised that she wasn't in the bottom two. Cowell said she survived because of the gaffe, not in spite of it.

"You made yourself look human and everyone makes mistakes," he said.

Also during the Tuesday performance episode, Castro performed a whispery "Memory," which Jackson called a "trainwreck." Cook tackled "Music of the Night" and the diminutive Archuleta belted "Think of Me."

Leona Lewis, the winner of the UK's "The X Factor," sang her No. 1 hit "Bleeding Love" during the Wednesday results show. Cowell is a judge on "The X Factor," which is produced by his company.