Seventeen year-old, Leah LaBelle

A Rugged Elegance Inspiration Network Exclusive by Jennifer King

The first person to leave the Top Twelve of 'American Idol's Season Three, after a nationwide vote, is...Leah LaBelle from Seattle, Washington.

America Voted and...:

Agreed with Randy & Paula; Diana DeGarmo is coming back, next week.

America thinks La Toya is "Awesome. Awesome."

America wants to see more of Jon Peter Lewis. "JPL!"

America agreed with Paula & Simon; John Stevens is back, next week.

America wants more Fantastia Barrino next week.

America knows how good George Huff really is.

America agreed with Paula & Randy; Matt Rogers is back in action.

America believes Jasmine Trias is superb. She will be back next week on Idol.

Camile Velasco beat out Jennifer Hudson for the final Top Nine of Twelve spots.

America's Vote -- In the Bottom Three:

Leah LaBelle originallly known as Leah Vladowski
Amy Adams
Jennifer Hudson

Randy admitted he is shocked that Jennifer ended up in the Bottom Three. He believes she is one of the best performers in the competition.

However, it was not Jennifer who was quickly sent back to the Safety Zone. Amy Adams was voted "safe" for another week.

Which put Leah and Jennifer in the Bottom Two. After they both sang their soul songs on stage again, and after yet another commercial break, we learned that Leah LaBelle was as Simon called it "packin' her bags" and goin' home.

Or as Ryan Seacrest put it, she'll be "takin' a ride on the Gary Coleman express train to Hasbeenville."

Fortunately, he redeemed himself a bit when Ryan also said, "She beat out tens of thousands of people to be here."

We salute the beautiful and very talented, Leah LaBelle. Keep following your heart.

You have much to be proud of. We certainly were inspired by you, especially after hearing you one last time on stage, Wednesday night. Wow!

Fox photo by J. Viles

American Idol III Top Twelve Stats & Facts

The Highest Rated Tuesday for Fox, Ever
# of Votes: 18 million -- a new record
The judges: "Small but beautifully packaged," Paula Abdul looked stunning
The medley: earned our R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Our favorite performer Wednesday night: Natural soul man, Jon Peter Lewis (Idaho potato, maybe. But a banana? Not quite.)
Gotta love "the house"

Last night, Clay Aikan, American Idol II Runner-up was in the Idol public house to sing his hit song, "Solitaire." His Triple Platinum album has already sold 2.4 million copies. A guy who, as Ryan Seacrest says "knows what success on American Idol feels like," encouraged the Top Twelve contestants to stay focused and remember why you're here. Matt Rogers admitted to having dreams about Simon that obviously correlate to the stress he's feeling. Fantasia, who is also from North Carolina, asked Clay if his life has changed dramatically. He said "Most definitely, but it comes with the territory."

Inspire & Be Inspired (tm)

~Jennifer