Backstage Buzz At American Idol: Who Made The Eliminated Cry After The Show?

The week before the American Idol finale is the cut that hurts the most. With so much investment of time, energy and emotion, having a winning dream stopped short is heartbreaking.

For Joshua Ledet, saying goodbye to the Idol stage on Thursday’s final elimination was bittersweet. As he sang his swan song, he brought his mom up on stage with him and seemed to be handling his elimination just fine.

However after the show we saw Joshua break down in a steady stream of tears as judges Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and show producer, Nigel Lythgoe comforted him.

When we caught up with Joshua after the show, there were no signs of tears or upset, instead he explained why he was crying and expressed relief and happiness for Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips.

“I don’t think I was upset about [being eliminated] because I was super happy for Jessica and Phillip,” he said. “I was definitely not upset. I felt relieved a lot of the pressure was off of me and I feel really good. I’m not going to say I was surprised [by my elimination] because Jessica and Phillip are amazing and have huge fan bases and they deserve it. I don’t think I would have cried but when people come up to you and try to comfort you and hugging you then the tears start coming.”

As for his future, well for now, Joshua is just looking forward to the finale and says he’ll still continue to pursue music, but is just waiting to talk to the right people.

“I definitely know what I want to do in my future, but I haven’t talked to any of the big people [yet],” he told us. “Hopefully something good [will happen].”

Are you sad Joshua was eliminated? Who are you hoping wins it all? Let us know in the comments!