He had the most inspirational run of the season. Sensitive, soulful and passionate rocker James Durbin, 22, who was diagnosed in middle school with Tourette's syndrome and high-functioning autism, let the stage be his safe haven as he rocked his way to fourth place on American Idol. It was a shocking ouster for a contestant who's been a frontrunner from the start. Durbin's mastery of the stage was a victory over two neurological diseases that make it hard for him to socialize and control his face from twitching. It was a victory over the hurts from the outside world that used to cause him so much pain. "As I was getting older, at school, people would tell me, 'Cut that out, stop that.' I was like, 'I can't,'" Durbin said on his audition tape. "I always got made fun of and beat up. I was just lost."
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It wasn't supposed to happen this way: James Durbin, standing on the American Idol stage, in tears because he was being sent home. Before tonight, if you asked anyone on the production staff who they thought would win the whole thing, the answer would almost invariably be James. And if you asked any of the press who cover the show in person, or studio audience members, week after week, who they thought would be in the finals, James would always be one of the two names.
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A record-setting 72 million votes were cast to determine which three American Idol singers would be become hometown heroes and which singer would, in the immortal words of Ryan Seacrest, "just be going home." But that poor, non-heroic person was a bit of a shock. So, who is headed home as the shame of his or her hometown? (Seriously, producers, let's not pretend that all of these kids aren't famous, OK? ) Let's find out...
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It was a night of hot tempers and one very uncomfortable close encounter: James Durbin, who was less than thrilled at being man-handled by Lady Gaga.
Preparing at the recording ...
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Wednesday's American Idol reminds us that this week's vote will decide which singers get to go "home as heroes." I personally think they'll all go home pretty famous, but I won't get into that now. In any case, to win those all-important votes, the singers must sing songs that inspire them before diving into the songbook of Leiber and Stoller, who wrote many hits in the post-World War II era. And who is the best person to guide the wannabes through that classic song book? Lady Gaga! Yeah, I don't get the connection either, but Gaga is in the house. So, who was the best? Let's find out....
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