It was the end of the "American Idol" road for East Brunswick's Jax as she fell short of making the show's finale.

Jax backstage at "American Idol"
Jax backstage at "American Idol" (Fox)
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Holding hands with fellow contestants Clark Beckham and Nick Fradiani on the stage of the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, host Ryan Seascrest broke the news as the show got underway, noting that only .4% separated two of the top 3.

A disappointed Jax, dressed in a silver dress gave out hugs as a montage of highlights from her time on the show played and a stunned audience watched. As the judges came out, Keith Urban said "Intense! " as the show got underway.

"Love you all," tweeted Jax minutes later. "I could have never accomplished any of this without u. #JAXPack is in my heart, + we will continue to be a family bc the future is bright." She did not perform on the show.

The judges were also surprised at the decision. While not reacting during the show, Jennifer Lopez told MyCentralJersey.com after the broadcast, "Jax is one of the strongest girl contestants we have had in years. I am a little disappointed. I really thought Jax would take the whole thing."

Jax will be back for the last part of the American Idol finale on Wednesday night with the other Top 24 contestants to perform her much anticipated duet with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.

Jax at a "welcome home" concert in East Brunswick (Dino Flammia/Townsquare Media)
Jax at a "welcome home" concert in East Brunswick (Dino Flammia/Townsquare Media)
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From her audition performance of the Beatles classic "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to last week's "My Generation," considered to be among the season's best songs, Jax has won over the judges and the audience to her quirky style.  Week after week she received glowing comments who loved her stage style and her song selection.  She also grew her Twitter following to nearly 73,000 members nicknamed the Jax Pack, far above the number of followers of Fradiani and Beckham.

The Jax Pack was disappointed at the results. "You rock @Jax looking forward to seeing you make it big. You got the voice & the talent. Love ya Jax!!!," tweeted @khristie_morgan. "Congrats to @Jax for how far you've come!" tweeted @mlorenz0. "You're gonna do great things; we all knew it from day one! ✨✖️♥️"  Others were upset that a seemingly sure "Idol" winner fell short. "No wonder American Idol is cancelled after next year. All true talent never wins. We've seen it with Adam Lambert, Colton Dixon and now jax," tweeted @frankieclique.

Jax fans will have the chance to see her live on the American Idol tour this summer which will make three stops in New Jersey in Morristown on July 22,  Atlantic City on August 1 and August 2 at the Count Basie in Red Bank.

Auditions for the show's final season, which Fox announced on Monday would be its last, will begin on July 10 in Denver with a stop at Philadelphia's Liacouras Center on August 2.

MORE COVERAGE:

https://youtu.be/zQeuhsuAKsE

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