Asia'h Epperson, Kady Malloy, Luke Menard and Danny Noriega talk about their "Idol" Ousting.

America has spoken and selected its Top 12 "American Idols": AMANDA OVERMYER, BROOKE WHITE, CARLY SMITHSON, CHIKEZIE EZE, DAVID ARCHULETA, DAVID COOK, DAVID HERNANDEZ, JASON CASTRO, KRISTY LEE COOK, MICHAEL JOHNS, RAMIELE MALUBAY and SYESHA MERCADO.

But in order to whittle down the Final 16, four had to go: ASIA'H EPPERSON, KADY MALLOY, LUKE MENARD and DANNY NORIEGA.

ET was with the ousted "Idols" to get their take on the competition.

"I definitely think I deserved to be in the Top 12," Asia'h commented. "But, at the same time, when they told me that I was [performing] first, I actually called my mom at that moment and was like, 'I think this is going to be my last time performing on the stage.' She was, 'No, why?' I just said, 'I feel that the order that I am in is going to affect the results.' I feel that because I had such an upbeat song, it wasn't proper for me to be the first person. I had to look at it as if I was in the audience and had just sat down. Would I want someone right up in my face in the beginning? Let me warm-up first."

Now that her "Idol" dreams have come to an end, Kady has big plans for her future. In addition to planning a successful career in the entertainment industry, she is hoping to open an animal shelter, a camp for kids, and to be a spokesperson for gay rights.

"My best friend is gay and FREDDIE MERCURY [QUEEN], who was my idol, was gay. I don't think you should define anybody by their sexuality," she explains.

Kady admits she made it through her "Idol" experience by tuning out the judges.

"I thought I did well the first night," she says. "I do admit my stage presence is lacking, but then again, I haven't been on stage that much. That was really and truly my first few times in front of an audience -- for the circumstances, I guess, I did pretty well. Whenever the judges talked to me after the first night, I tuned them out. They are only three opinions, honestly. They are no more important than anybody that is walking on the street today, because when it comes to music, everybody's opinion is equal to me."

As one of the oldest contenders this season, along with MICHAEL JOHNS who made it into the Top 12, Luke knows that a career as a singer is a hard road to follow.

"I have made big sacrifices," he says. "I toured in an a cappella group for the past six years, and I made a big decision to leave that group to pursue 'American Idol.' It is a huge risk, but the way I have always looked at it, you can't further your career unless you are willing to take that risk. It is a risk I have taken and it brought me to the Top 16. I am hoping it will spur a big career for me."

For Danny, the best part of "American Idol" was being able to be a positive role model for kids. He talks about the mail he received: "I love the little fan letters I am getting from these kids telling me that they admire me," he says. "An 11-year-old boy [wrote me] that he admired me for being myself. I showed them they can be different and still be successful. They said it is cool and they have never seen that before. I really want to inspire these little kids who think they can't do anything because they are different, whether it is because of sexuality, race, or anything like that. It is fine to be yourself. That is the message I want to send out."