Bucky Booted from American Idol

By Stephen M. Silverman

04/13/2006 at 07:55 AM EDT

Queen dethroned American Idol contender Bucky Covington, who was voted off the show Wednesday night after his performance of the group's "Fat Bottomed Girls" on Tuesday.

"Mediocre," said judge Simon Cowell. Bye bye, said the public.

The departure of Covington, 28, of Rockingham, N.C., leaves the number of contestants at seven. The winner will be announced May 24.

Covington's reaction to the news that he'd been voted off was a simple, "Somebody's got to go." Rounding out the bottom three: Ace Young, 25, of Denver, and Elliot Yamin, 27, of Richmond, Va.

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Cowell had called Young's rendition of Queen's "We Will Rock You" a "complete, utter mess," adding, "I really, really, really hated that."

Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports that this season's favorite contestant is Taylor Hicks – at least according to eBay, where nearly 900 Hicks t-shirts, CDs, bumper stickers and other souvenirs have been sold over the past month.

And in still more Idol news, season-one winner Kelly Clarkson will launch her 24-city Addicted tour June 30 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Tickets go on sale Saturday.