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April 30, 2008 - 7:35PM

Mesa’s White done on 'American Idol'

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Chris Hansen Orf, Tribune

Mesa Brooke White, the EVIT beauty school dropout who used her stellar vocal chops and sweet personality to make the Top 5 of the popular FOX reality show “American Idol,” was eliminated from the competition Wednesday night.

Read Tribune's 'Idol Speculation' blog for more

Attempting to become the second straight “Idol” contestant from Arizona to win the crown -- Glendale’s Jordin Sparks was victorious in season six -- White made a serious run at the “Idol” title, surviving some tough elimination rounds in recent weeks to make the Top 5.

Fans from the East Valley, where White’s family still lives (Brooke now lives in California), rallied around the singer in recent weeks, holding viewing parties for the singer in Mesa which were attended by Brooke’s family, friends and local fans rooting for the singer.

A week ago, after White stumbled over the lyrics to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Magic of the Night,” when she stopped the band and started the song again, White survived the round on elimination night, but singing two songs by pop legend Neil Diamond (“I’m a Believer” and “I Am I Said”) proved her undoing during Tuesday performances.

A singer/songwriter in the Carole King/Carly Simon mode, White was at her best during the competition when singing from behind the piano, and after “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell called Brooke’s “I’m a Believer” a “nightmare” Tuesday night, he praised the singer’s “I Am I Said” (which White played on piano), telling the singer “that’s the Brooke we like.”

White, who released an independent solo album, “Songs from the Attic,” in 2006, surely will benefit from her exposure on “American Idol,” where previous contestants who have failed to win the competition, such as Chris Daughtry and Bucky Covington, have signed major label record deals and have gone on to great chart success in their professional careers.

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