Brooke White may have been voted off Wednesday's American Idol, but she still has one big fan: judge Paula Abdul.

"She's the real deal," Abdul told Entertainment Tonight after White's ousting.

White, 24, performed two Neil Diamond tunes, "I'm a Believer" and "I Am ... I Said."

Judge Simon Cowell called the first a "nightmare," but praised the second, saying, "This is the Brooke we like. Sitting behind the piano, singing a very good song."

Joining White in the bottom two: Syesha Mercado, 21, who sang Diamond's, "Hello Again" and "Thank the Lord for the Night Time."

After it was announced that White was going home, the teary castoff warned, "This is going to be terrible for me right now," before attempting to sing her goodbye song.

"Brooke White's tears come from the authentic, good soul that she is," Abdul said. "Her heart was breaking because she was overwhelmed with the experience she had with the show and the gift that it brought.

"The fact that Brooke didn't get through the last song and sing her way out is the only way it could have ended because that show is her true heart," Abdul added.