American Idol: Final two singers selected

American Idol: Final two singers selected

Danny Gokey is leaving “American Idol," thereby making room for showy Adam Lambert and twangy Kris Allen to go to the finale of the popular Fox singing competition in the following week.

Danny Gokey, the bespectacled twenty nine year old church music director and recent widower from Milwaukee, was revealed to have received the fewest viewer votes on Wednesday.

Gokey had continually impressed the judges with his husky voice but not his hip shaking throughout the entire competition. "Idol" judge Simon Cowell called his cover of Joe Cocker's version of "You Are So Beautiful" on Tuesday a "vocal master class" . However he also said that  his dancing during Terence Trent D'Arby's "Dance Little Sister" was "desperate."

Along with Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey had long been considered to be a front-runner of the 8th season, never appearing as one of the show's bottom vote-getters. According to  “American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest over eighty eight million votes were received with one million votes separating the top two singers. This meant in the coming week Lambert-Allen showdown might be closer than anticipated.

"Look, none of us would have predicted this, guys," added Simon Cowell at the end of the show.

The episode kicked off with "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" stars Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Bill Hader and Jonah Hill by starring in a plug masquerading as a skit about the "American Idol" judges' desk being inducted into the Smithsonian. It was not a joke since the perch will be on display at the Smithsonian Institution Building in the coming weeks.

Before the results viewers saw Alicia Keys urging fans to support her charity, a 15-year-old Rwandan rapper named Noah, sixth-season champ Jordin Sparks, videos of the final three singers' trips to their hometowns and an over-the-top performance by Katy Perry.

Gokey just wanted to cut to the chase.

"I think we've had enough suspense, enough commercials, just enough playing around," he said. "Let's just get to it."

"I want to see Katy Perry!" added Lambert in response.

The feeling was apparently mutual. Katy Perry went gaga in declaring her love for Adam  Lambert no secret. The "I Kissed a Girl" singer crooned her latest single, "Waking Up in Vegas," with a troupe of glittery showgirls while wearing a scantily clad Elvis-inspired ensemble that was initially covered in a cape emblazoned with Lambert's name.

Either Lambert, a 27-year-old theater actor from San Diego, or Allen, a 23-year-old college student from Conway, Ark., will be crowned "Idol" in the forthcoming  Wednesday. According to Cowell, Allen's totally stripped-down version of Kanye West's "Heartless" on Tuesday made him a contender for the finale.