Well teenyboppers hearts skipped a few beats tonight as ‘American Idol’ Justin Guarini was almost voted off Wednesday, but he received just enough votes to edge Ryan Starr. Nikki McKibbin was also in the bottom three. Simon Cowell also shocked viewers by wearing a grey shirt instead of black. Meanwhile, AJ Gil may have bit the hand that feeds him on Access Hollywood earlier Wednesday, when he suggested the fans aren’t really the ones calling the shots in the voting. Idol bosses denied the charge.

Cowell Says ‘American Idol’ Girls Much Better Than Brits

July 31, 2002 - Extra TV caught up with ‘American Idol’ judge Simon Cowell who told them he thinks the girls on this show are much better than the English version. “Compared to the English girls? They are a million times better,” he claimed. “And they’re getting better each time.”

A.J. Gil’s Possible Recording Deal

July 31, 2002 - Contributed Anonymously: ‘American Idol’ ousted finalist A.J. Gil will probably be getting a recording deal soon. He is now back in Tacoma, Washington. Currently, he is in a meeting right now. Alyssa states “He is such a little cutie, he reminds me of a baby with dimples”

AJ Dishes On His Former ‘American Idol’ Roommates

July 30, 2002 - Booted ‘American Idol’ finalist A.J. Gil dished dirt on his fellow singing hopefuls on Access Hollywood on Monday. Wearing a Members Only jacket, AJ was asked who had beefs with whom? “Nikki and Ryan,” he responded. “No, I’m playing, they had kinda something going on. They just didn’t agree on a lot of things.” He explained a fight between the roommates saying, “Yeah, one morning they woke us up with, ‘You shouldn’t have done this, you put this back, you wore that!'” AJ also says Nikki is the toughest to deal with in the house, “Yeah. She’s cool, she’s cool. But she’s the oldest girl, and she just — people didn’t understand her. She wouldn’t flip out and do crazy stuff, but she would kinda let people know that she was aggravated.”

AJ also hinted at a budding romance between two finalists, “I’m not saying, but to me it seemed like Justin and Kelly, man, serious. I’m not saying it is.” Now that he’s ousted, AJ says he’s rooting for RJ Helton. “He’s cool,” AJ said. “He’s like my brother.”

‘American Idol’ Finalist Reportedly Breaks Toe

July 28, 2002 - According to a posting on LiveDaily.com by a friend of Nikki McKibbin, the ‘American Idol’ finalist broke her toe during a photo shoot at the house all the finalists are staying at. Howie_Ds_Lady says it happened when they all decided to jump into the pool during the shoot, which is only 3 feet deep where Nikki jumped. McKibbin is on pain medication, and her father says she’s still planning to sing on Tuesday, where she may perform ‘Heartbreaker’ by Pat Benatar.