'American Idol': Shocking twist almost changes everything

It was elimination night on "American Idol," but this time there was a shocking twist. Ryan explained that the 'Idol' contestants had two options: either the singer with the lowest amount of votes could go home, as usual, or no one would go home this week, but two people would go home the next week.

In order for no one to go home, the vote had to be unanimous, and it wasn't, which meant one contestant was eliminated.

RYAN: "Sam Woolf ... the rest of you are all safe and continue on in the competition."

The fan favorite had been saved a few weeks prior by the judges, but had some steep competition and failed to deliver a "wow" performance to keep himself safe.

Before the episode, BuddyTV predicted Sam's elimination -- and they were right.

"No matter what happens tonight, we all know Sam deserves to go home. And there's no way he can escape the bottom two this time, even if he doesn't go home. His voice sounded good during both performances, but the problem he keeps having is he never has a showstopping performance that just wows everyone."

But Hollywood Life was disappointed to see the remaining contestants opt to have someone sent home this week.

"We're sad to see Sam go! If you remember, he was eliminated from the top eight, earlier in the season, and was saved by the judges to get another chance. We wish his chance last even longer, but at this point in the competition, it's nothing but cutthroat."