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Michael Johns has been voted off American Idol.

The Australian singer found himself in the bottom three with Syesha Mercado and Carly Smithson after his performance of Aerosmith's 'Dream On' earlier in the week.

Michael was shocked at his departure as all the contestants thought they would be safe from eviction due to this week's Idol Gives Back charity event.

Host Ryan Seacrest announced that both Syesha and Carly were safe after a public vote, before adding: "That means Michael has the lowest number of votes this week. Last year, during Idol Gives Back, we didn't eliminate anybody at this stage of the competition. Tonight, we're going to say goodbye to Michael Johns."

Michael said: "I am definitely surprised. I enjoyed singing that song."

Judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul praised Michael's performance, describing it as "very good" and "unbelievable", respectively. However, Randy Jackson felt the 29-year-old "had some pitch problems".

David Archuleta, Jason Castro, David Cook, Kristy Lee Cook, Syesha Mercado and Carly Smithson and Brooke White are the seven remaining Idol hopefuls.