“The most rewarding thing for me has been to perform,” said Jasmine Murray, 16, the first Top 13 contestant to be eliminated from American Idol 8. “That is what this competition is all about: singing and getting up and showing everybody what you can do.”

“I am so happy,” she said, highly cheerful words on what was surely a low night for the young diva.

What does the future hold for this pretty, highly commercial singer who once caught Simon Cowell’s attention? First things first: Jasmine has to finish High School. From there she plans on attending college, but that doesn’t mean her singing ambitions are on the back burner. “I really want to have a career in music, maybe other things, but this is where my heart is,” she told reporters.

Murray and Núñez have now spent the least amount of time living at the beautiful Idol mansion, but there are definitely things she’ll miss. “We had a big, spacious area in the house that had wonderful acoustics and a keyboard. I am glad that they had that for us to practice. I am going to miss that.”

Does Jasmine regret any of her Idol choices, perhaps the last song she sang on the big stage? “I thought it was a good song choice,” she says of her rendition of “I’ll Be there.” “It was a beautiful song. The Jackson Five, they were really young when they did it, so I thought it would be a good idea for me to do something they did when they were young. It was a great song with a great message.”

But somehow, it didn’t grip Idol voters. Murray was the first to be eliminated during Wednesday’s results episode.

Jorge Núñez also failed to score enough votes - but he’s not too sad that he’s headed back home. “I have been here for a month now,” he told reporters. “I can’t wait to go home and eat some Puerto Rican food.”

Núñez plans to finish college, but will also continue to pursue the music industry. Jorge likewise stayed upbeat after being ousted from the show, saying he’s got a lot of support from his family. “I got a lot of text messages, saying a lot of wonderful things. None of them said, ‘I am sorry.’ They said, ‘you are going to be great. You have a great voice.’ That is how my family is and that is how I am. They are so happy that I was able to be on the show. They see it as such a great accomplishment. My reaction and feelings right now as to what happened is, it was a great opportunity.”

And for the eleven remaining American Idol contestants, it still is. The show returns next Tuesday with, rumor has it, Grand Ole Opry week.

(You can find all the American Idol 8 posts here.)