'Idol' Contestant Deandre Brackensick Moves Forward in Competition

Deandre Brackensick found himself in the bottom three during Thursday night’s elimination round of American Idol.

Brackensick, a San Jose, CA, native with family in Sewickley, appeared relieved as the first to learn from Ryan Seacrest that he was safe.

A day earlier, judges on the Fox show gave Brackensick  after he performed Billy Joel’s “Only the Good Die Young.” The 17-year-old is the  of Sewickley author and historian Bettie Cole and Earl Cole of Ambridge.

Mentor Jimmy Iovine said he told Brackensick to try to have a good time with the song but not to “go out there and frolic,” referring to Brackensick's frequent movement while performing on the stage.

“This was not his best night, and I think it's really going to hurt him,” Iovine said.

, 26, was the show's eliminated contestant.