Chikezie Eze eliminated on "American Idol"

BY VERNE GAY | verne.gay@newsday.com

March 27, 2008

Chikezie! We barely knew ye.

The lively kid with the big voice from Inglewood, Calif., got the boot on " American Idol" last night - prematurely, without question, but no one ever accused "Idol" of being fair.

Chikezie (full name: Chikezie Eze, reflecting his Nigerian heritage) sang Luther Vandross' "If Only For One Night" on Tuesday's "The Year You Were Born" edition (in his case, 1985), but it was sleepy and a little more lounge-lizard-like for the judges' (or fans') taste. And that was that.

Chikezie's fan base always seemed a little soft: He landed in the bottom three before (never a good sign) and revived his fortunes a couple of weeks ago with a roof-raising version of the Beatles' "She's a Woman." But - as Simon Cowell might say - at this stage of the competition, you've gotta blow the roof off every night out.

Dolly Parton makes an appearance on the show next week - the first mentor week this season - to work with the final nine contestants.

The field that remains is a strong one, with some weak links, and "AI" needs all the strength it can get: ratings are down significantly (there were 24 million viewers for the Tuesday edition, a big drop, and due perhaps to ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," which hit Fox hard with a two-hour "results" show.