Television February 24, 2011
Jennifer Lopez's Heartbreak on 'American Idol'
Quickly learning that sending contestants home sometimes means crushing their dreams, J.Lo turned on the waterworks after heart-tugging hopeful Chris Medina was eliminated in Wednesday's two-hour "Idol."
An upset Lopez told the contestant, "It honestly breaks my heart to say this, but you did not make it to the top 24."
Medina, 26, dealt well with the rejection, in which Lopez added, "He handled it with so much dignity and class... and that made it worse for me." Chris thanked the judges for taking the time to meet with his wheelchair-bound fiancée, Juliana, who was seriously injured in a car accident in 2009.
Selecting the top 24 contestants is more challenging than Lopez had imagined. "Now we're in that place where everybody is so good. It's like, who do we send home?"
"Idol" returns tonight at 8:00 PM on FOX.
