Brooke White exits Idol

Brooke White was the latest to exit the American Idol stage, leaving just four contestants to sing their way to the top.

The former nanny had been in the bottom for several weeks, and her fate was perhaps sealed after Tuesday's Neil Diamond night performance of "I'm a Believer," which judge Simon Cowell called a "nightmare."

Prior to her elimination, host Ryan Seacrest asked White how she recovered from the criticism of her first song to perform her second song, "I Am... I Said."

"I'm happy to be here," White said. "Finally last night, I just kicked into that happy, grateful mode."

The emotional songstress was paired with Syesha Mercado in the bottom two, and when she was eliminated, she told fans "I just wanna say 'thank you.'"

Her exit leaves Mercado, David Archuleta, Jason Castro and Jason Cook vying to be named the next American Idol.

Seacrest also addressed some vague, unspecified Internet rumors regarding judge Paula Abdul's gaffe on Tuesday.

"It sparked a lot of gossip about Paula," Seacrest said. "I read some of this online this morning and, just for the record, the rumors - they're not true. She's part of our family and we love her."

During the call-in section of the show, judge Simon Cowell's first kiss, Tara, was on the line. The now 46-year-old said of then 9-year-old Cowell, "He'd taken me to the bottom of his garden... It was very cute and it was very memorable. We were just kids. We didn't know what we were doing!"

"I saw him on American Idol and [I thought] wow, that's amazing," she told People later of her decision to call. "It was just one of those This is Your Life-type situations, and I thought I'd go for it. I hope I didn't embarrass him."

The night also featured performances by Natasha Bedingfield, who sang her hit "Pocketful of Sunshine," and Neil Diamond, who performed "Pretty Amazing Grace."



In other Idol news, a source told Access Hollywood that the show is considering dumping Seacrest to boost falling ratings. Recent studio-sponsored audience surveys also focused on the host, asking the questions "I like the interaction between Ryan and the contestants" and "I like the interaction between the judges and Ryan."

"Ryan is so busy turning himself into a diverse brand, one that has longevity, it wouldn't come as a surprise to think that he isn't worried about his job security with Idol," a source close to Seacrest told MSNBC.com.

But his rep refused to comment on the speculation and another source said the survey questions "fall under the leave-no-stone-unturned category more than anything else."