Chris Daughtry is Voted Off of 'American Idol' Season Five

Daughtry was in the final four on May 10, 2006, and found himself in the bottom two with Katharine McPhee.

When asked by Seacrest who should be leaving, Cowell expressed that he believed that McPhee should be eliminated. Ryan Seacrest then announced that Daughtry was eliminated. Seacrest asked Daughtry if he was surprised. An obviously stunned Daughtry could only utter, "A little, yeah". The media grabbed hold of the surprise elimination and (practically an Idol tradition at this point) there was some controversy regarding the accuracy of the vote count on the night Daughtry was eliminated. The vote-tallying website DialIdol, however, predicted that Daughtry was the lowest vote-getter for the week. In an interview after his elimination, Daughtry said that he thought he got voted off because his fans were "overconfident" that he would be safe, so they did not call and vote.

That was the reaction in the audience when "American Idol" finalist Chris Daughtry — predicted by many to be the last singer standing — was booted off in Wednesday's voting.

In the most competitive "Idol" race yet, Daughtry's exit narrowed the contestants to three. The winner will be named May 24.

"Surprised?" Host Ryan Seacrest asked an unsmiling Daughtry, visibly caught off guard.

The 26-year-old rocker, drowned out by loud boos and screams of "No!" replied: "Yes."

The other "Idols" stood speechless, mouths agape. Even the judges — usually unflappable — didn't foresee Daughtry's ouster: Simon Cowell's jaw fell slack; Paula Abdul's eyes filled with tears.