Megan Joy seemed to know - from mugging for the camera to her overdramatic pop-eyed look during Ryan Seacrest's announcement - that this "American Idol" episode would be her last.

Joy, the 23-year-old single mom from Sandy, Utah - she of the tattooed arm and quirky hip swivel - was eliminated on Wednesday night's results show, with a gratuitously cruel flourish from lead judge Simon Cowell.

In shutting down hopes of a "judges' save," even before Joy re-sang her rendition of Bob Marley's "Turn the Lights Down Low," Cowell seemed upset that Joy didn't care about the judges' criticism.

"Megan, with the greatest respect, when you said that you don't care, nor do we," said Cowell - the judge who, more than any of the four, championed Joy's offbeat singing style in the early rounds.

Cowell's disaffection for his former favorite is another indication of "Idol's" central paradox: The judges demand originality from the singers - but when confronted with a singer who breaks the mold, the judges seem determined to shove that singer right back into the mold. (Take, for example, judge Kara DioGuardi's suggestion that Joy should have chosen "Chasing Pavements," a recent hit by Adele, rather than the Marley number.)

Now Joy gets to come back home to Utah and her little boy, and prepare for the "American Idols" tour this summer. Then she can go about applying that original voice, away from Cowell's disapproving stare.

Labels: American Idol, Megan Joy Corkrey, Reality show