MANILA, Philippines?A wave of emotion swept over last week?s round of eliminations that saw two youngsters and two veterans losing the chance to be the next ?American Idol.?

Cameras caught David Archuleta wiping his tears with his sleeve after it was announced that close friend Alexandréa Lushington had been voted off. Four years ago, the two competed in the talent show ?Star Search? on CBS.

?David and I have known each other for a long time ? I probably would?ve [cried, too] if he had been the one to go,? said Lushington during an exclusive phone interview arranged by Star World.

The 17-year-old, one of judge Randy Jackson?s favorites, did not expect to get the boot so early in the competition.

Chicago?s ?If You Leave Me Now? turned out to be a weak song choice, but Lushington was neither unfamiliar nor uncomfortable singing older songs.

?My parents made sure I was well-rounded,? said the singer from Douglasville, Georgia. ?I was surprised [with the voting results] but that?s how the dice rolled.?

With her career goals intact, Lushington hopes to one day record an album that ?ventures into a nice live sound and real musicianship? typical of Alicia Keys and John Mayer.

Keep going

Encouraged by the judges? parting words, she said: ?It?s kind of cliché but Randy and Paula Abdul told me to just keep going. It can only get better.?

The second teen dismissed from ?Idol? last week, Alaina Whitaker seemed to have recovered from her breakdown. During elimination night, she turned away from the cameras, sobbing, and almost backed out from her farewell performance.

?How many people get to say they were among the Top 10 girls in America?? the Oklahoma native said.

She had struggled with some issues, such as Simon Cowell?s assessment of her early auditions.

?[Simon told me] ?I don?t think you?re as good as you think you are,? which bothered me for the first couple of months,? Whitaker said. ?I so didn?t want to come off as conceited?because I?m not?but I was more aware of how I portrayed myself.?

The 17-year-old admitted she found it just as tough to choose songs. ?Just because they?re classics doesn?t mean they?re good for your
vocals,? she explained.

Whitaker, who wants to continue pursuing music, was glad she gave her ?Idol? experience a good ending.

Letdown

?Idol? fans know Jason Yeager is single dad to a 10-year-old and a self-taught musician who could play multiple instruments. But what they didn?t know was that AI Season 7 was not his first letdown on the show.

Fresh out of a two-year stint with a pop band, Yeager had tried out for Season 2, but was shot down in the preliminaries.

?I invested so much?I dropped out of college again to do that audition,? he said. ?The very first judge, I think it was Simon Lithgoe (son of producer Nigel) who told me, ?You have a great voice, but ? we?re just looking for people to make a good television show at this point.??

The Texan has had 10 years of experience in the industry. He has been a member of several boy bands, one of which gave him the chance to tour the world and stay for seven months in Munich, Germany.

?I wish I had been given more opportunity to show my personality [on ?Idol?],? said Yeager.

The disappointed 28-year-old revealed that he was not prepared to handle the criticism and the stress of being on national TV.

?But the fact that I was in the Top 20 out of 102,000 people who auditioned, that?s a huge accomplishment,? he said.

Robbie Carrico, who failed to impress the judges with his rock act, was one of the pros voted off the show.

?It?s (being doubted for authenticity) kind of a little strong point for me,? said the 26-year-old from Florida. ?I have spent the past six years working my tail off in grungy bars, pulling trailers and equipment, living out of a van [for love of rock].?

Shopping around

Not only has he done the grunt work; Carrico also toured as back-up singer for pop artist Britney Spears, and dated her a few times.

?What I did before with pop music, that was a job,? he explained. ?I wonder why [the judges didn?t believe] I was a rocker, just because I didn?t come out all hard-core and edgy. I draw my influence from different styles.?

With a couple of offers already dangling before him, Carrico looks forward to shopping around for record deals and opportunities.

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?American Idol? Season 7 airs live Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 6 p.m., on Star World and QTV, with same-night replays on Star World at 8 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.