'American Idol': Micah Johnson, Nate Tao, Nicholas Mathis, other early favorites eliminated during guys' solo day

The guys' solo day kicked off with a few changes to this round of the competition. The judges set out to eliminate half of the remaining 43 guys, and made cuts after every eight performances. For the first time, contestants were given the option to play an instrument.

But Matheus Fernandes let his nerves (and his heart-wrenching back story) get the best of him, telling the judges for what seems like the millionth time that people told him he'd never make it because he's a little person, before a so-so performance of Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger." Immediately sensing the judges weren't impressed, he admitted it was his first time singing with a live band. "We could tell," Randy Jackson said. Mariah Carey called the song "a little bit disconnected," and Minaj, as always, gave it to him straight: "Sometimes things can go from being inspiring to becoming a pity party." That particular party cost him a spot in the next round.

"This just isn't the competition for me," Peachez said with a shrug after he was sent packing. "I don't like singing other people's songs." I thought he seemed out of place in this competition anyway.

Also moving on to the next round is Nick Boddington, one of few contestants to incorporate an instrument, wowing the judges with his piano version of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' "The Stars." Adorably awkward Charlie Askew, in an oversized suit and neon-bright high-tops, gave an unimpressive offering of Goyte's "Somebody That I Used to Know," but it was arguable that his personality that saved him. "You have this quirky thing that is so odd that it's right," Minaj said.

"I've been through a lot worse," Johnson said.

Twenty-eight will advance to next week, though eight of them will be eliminated next Thursday following the girls' group and solo performances.