Nikko Smith Strikes Out on American Idol

By Stephen M. Silverman

04/07/2005 at 07:00 AM EDT

It may have been a show-tune-filled "Broadway Week" on American Idol, but not everything's coming up roses for hopeful Nikko Smith.

Best known as the "comeback kid" for replacing Idol dropout Mario Vazquez last month, Smith – the 22-year-old son of former St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith – came out at the bottom of the voting pile Wednesday night.

Nikko's rendition of "One Hand, One Heart" from West Side Story on Tuesday night's show prompted judge Simon Cowell to comment: "Even though you ended well, the first part of the song was out of tune."

The public must have agreed. With 32.8 million votes cast, according to host Ryan Seacrest, Smith, Vonzell Solomon and Scott Savol ended up with the least.

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Savol was also in the news last week for a rap sheet that surfaced and showed him convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor against a former girlfriend and mother of his child. AI producers are letting him continue on the show.

As for Wednesday's outcome, Nikko appeared anything but defeated. "Y'all gonna see me again," he vowed.