American Idol 2011 Spoilers: Chris Medina Eliminated, Five Semifinalists Named

News, Spoilers, Top Story

In a shocking episode of American Idol, the new judges finally channelled Simon Cowell’s meanness with the elimination of perennial fan favorite Chris Medina.

Medina’s story about his fiancee touched the Idol fanbase, and even I had just assumed that he had a ticket into the Top 24. With that being said, his final performance of “Fix You” left the judges feeling underwhelmed and made their decision to cut him quite easy.

On the episode itself, Jennifer Lopez seemed particularly shaken up by Medina’s dismissal.

The first five semifinalists were named with the remaining contestants to be announced on tonight’s broadcast.

The five are:

Naima Adedapo
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
Currently Resides: Milwaukee, WI
Age: 26

Clint Jun Gamboa
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
Currently Resides: Long Beach, CA
Age: 26

Ashthon Jones
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Currently Resides: Nashville, TN
Age: 24

Paul McDonald
Hometown: Huntsville, AL
Currently Resides: Nashville, TN
Age: 26

Haley Reinhart
Hometown: Wheeling, IL
Currently Resides: Wheeling, IL
Age: 20

Murtz Jaffer is the world's foremost reality television expert and was the host of Reality Obsessed which aired on the TVTropolis and Global Reality Channels in Canada. He has professional writing experience at the Toronto Sun, National Post, TV Guide Canada, TOROMagazine.com and was a former producer at Entertainment Tonight Canada. He was also the editor at Weekendtrips.com.