Watch the Contestant Performances from this week's show, and Two Foot Fred's In the Hot Seat interview with Whitney.

SYNOPSIS:

On last week's Nashville Star, the finalists showed off their songwriting skills by performing original songs, and technical difficulties meant that no one got kicked off at the end of the show. But this week, it was back to business as usual at Nashville Star, as the five remaining finalists returned to performing cover songs and struggled to stay in the game for another week. Four would be moving one step closer to becoming the next Nashville Star, but for one contestant, last night was the end of the road.

After Nashville Star co-host Cowboy Troy – joined by fellow Music Mafia member John Rich – kicked things off with a live performance, it was time for the finalists to take center stage. Whitney Duncan was first to perform. Whitney admitted to having visited the Nashville Star message boards, where some pretty nasty things were being about her, but it seemed like she managed to rise above the harsh words; her rendition of the Percy Sledge classic "When a Man Loves a Woman" was, according to judge Anastasia Brown, Whitney's "strongest performance of the season."

Next up was Zac Hacker, who remains determined to beat his sister – and fellow finalist – Angela Hacker. But to do that, he's going to have to impress the judges more than he did last night. His performance of Ronnie Milsap's "Stranger in My House" earned lukewarm reviews. While Randy admired Zac's "soul" and "heart," no one was blown away by the song choice. Blake was disappointed that Zac hadn't "ramped things up" this week, and Anastasia missed the Zac she'd been so impressed by on Original Song Night.

David St. Romain was the next finalist to take the stage, and he too met with some criticism from the judges after his performance of Gary Allan's "The One." Prior to his performance, David had claimed that he was most interested in singing songs about love and happiness because there weren't many bad things going on in his life, but maybe hearing all three judges agree that his performance wasn't up to his usual level will make him change his tune. No matter what the judges might think, David's wife remains a loyal fan, promising that, if given the chance, David will blow everyone away next week!

Joshua Stevens took the stage next, and though he has apparently been suffering from some anxiety-induced fainting spells, he remained composed – and conscious – throughout his performance of Rodney Atkins' "If You're Going Through Hell." The reviews were mixed: Randy told Josh that he was "extremely impressed" with his performance, while both Anastasia and Blake admitted they hadn't loved his choice to start off the performance in the audience – Blake even compared it to the finale of the film "Dirty Dancing"!

Another thing the judges didn't love was – surprisingly – Angela Hacker's performance. In past weeks, Angela has wowed the judges, but last night her rendition of Shania Twain's "If You're Not in it For Love" left them a little cold. For once, all three judges agreed to being disappointed by Angela's performance, and Randy even announced that she had "opened the door" for the other finalists.

But not every finalist would be getting the chance to battle Angela for the title of Nashville Star: for one of the remaining five, last night was the end of the road. It turned out that Whitney Duncan had received the fewest votes after last week's show, which meant she was going home. Or, more accurately, camping - Whitney announced that now that she'd been booted from Nashville Star, she'd be packing her sleeping bag and heading into the woods!

With only two episodes left in this season of Nashville Star, the competition is becoming fiercer than ever and it's anybody's guess who'll be walking away the winner. Three more finalists will soon find themselves free to spend as much time as they want camping, while one will become the next Nashville Star. And speaking of Nashville Stars, next week Chris Young, the winner of last season's Nashville Star, will be stopping by to perform. Also on the schedule: a performance from judge Blake Shelton. So tune in next week to see some of Nashville Star's favorite guys take the stage, and to find out which of the finalists will be making to the season finale!