Scott MacIntyre Sent Home From ‘American Idol'

Scott MacIntyre bid his farewell to "American Idol" on Wednesday evening.

MacIntyre, a visually-impaired 23-year-old, was eliminated from the competition by a slim margin, receiving just 30,000 votes less than Anoop Desai, who was saved to sing another week.

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The judges panel, headed up by Simon Cowell, did consider using their wild card to save the curly-haired singer/songwriter at one point.

"I'm gonna be honest with you; two people think he should stay and two people think he should go," Simon told show host Ryan Seacrest.

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As the judges deliberated, it became clear that it was Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi who were most interested in saving the young man, and Scott told Ryan he could feel the tension.

"It's very nerve wracking," Scott said as the judges considered his final performance.

"This is really tough," Simon said. "I really, really like you Scott… This decision isn't just based on you, it's whether I think somebody — or we think somebody is more talented [in the remaining group of contenders], and this is the problem."

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Not long after, Simon delivered the bad news.

"Scott, someone's gonna make a decision here and I'm gonna say it's the end of the competition," he said.

But Paula didn't want Scott to go home without some words of encouragement.

"On behalf of the judges I just wanna say you've been an inspiration to the entire world through your commitment and your talent," she said.

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