Submitted by: kirkland on Thursday May 20th, 2004 at 11:35 AM EST

A tidal wave of Hawaiian support last week kept a tearful Jasmine Trias in the American Idol finals, but island passion wasn't enough to carry her further.

Wednesday, the 17-year-old from Mililani was eliminated. And the four-month American Idol competition boiled down to two: Fantasia Barrino, a soulful 19-year-old single mom from High Point, N.C., and Diana DeGarmo, a bubbly 16-year-old blonde from Snellville, Ga.

"I don't know whether to run, jump or scream," Barrino said after the show. "Little old me from High Point made it to the top two. I feel I accomplished something pretty big."

The question Wednesday was whether raw vocal talent or pop cuteness would prevail. Barrino, whose singing made Paula Abdul cry and left Simon Cowell speechless, was a presumptive talent leader. But she and other top voices have wound up at the bottom of Idol's tally, sparking complaints about the voting system and conspiracy theories about tampering.

Although only one will be crowned American Idol next Wednesday, joining past winners Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard, both are likely to put out records. Last year's runner-up, Clay Aiken, has become a star. The first season's fourth-place finisher, Tamyra Gray, who performed Wednesday, will release her album, The Dreamer, on Tuesday. She co-wrote the single next week's winner will perform, I Believe.

This season's No. 4, La Toya London, is considered one of the likeliest of the current bunch to put out a record.

» Read full story @ USA Today