24-year-old contender David Hernandez - who has been one of the competition's earliest frontrunners - got the boot from Fox' mega hit American Idol on Wednesday night.

Hernandez, who is from Glendale, Arizona, got a bit of unwanted publicity last week when it became known that he had been shaking his moneymaker at a male strip club. Reports claimed that Hernandez, in addition to dancing at the club, also provided lap dances to its customers.

It's hard to say, though, if America voted him off the show because of his past, or if it was due to his bad performance of the Beatles tune "I Saw Her Standing There," which the judges characterized as "not strong enough."

"Honestly, things happen for a reason," Hernandez said after host Ryan Seacrest revealed the results. Hernandez himself looked surprised by being voted off, even mouthing the word "wow". "I think we all have a plan. This isn't it for me."

Last update: 03-13-2008 14:57

Posted by Angela, on 03-13-2008 15:18, 1. Queen David was great this year. I'm going to miss him. A group card has been started for David... stop by and leave a personal message!    http://www.squidnote.com/c/ 0o54OlGDAkR      » Report this comment to administrator Posted by Terry Johnson, on 03-16-2008 15:57, 2. A new KID on the Block The future holds great things for this kid if he just holds in there.   » Report this comment to administrator