American Idol Contestant Zak Sukarno of Las Cruces Eliminated

He went to Hollywood and now he's coming back home. New Mexico chile farmer Dzaki “Zak” Sukarno did not survive Hollywood Week on American Idol.

The 20-year-old NMSU student from Las Cruces was eliminated after the “duets challenge” Sunday night. An even bigger bummer was that his vocal duel was not shown. Zak broke the news of his elimination on social media expressing his gratitude on Instagram and praising his duets partner, Caleb Kennedy.

Hey y’all! Thank you for all of the support! I made it to the duet round with my awesome partner @calebkennedyofficial but I was sadly cut. I’m super grateful for this opportunity and I’ve learned so much throughout my journey on Idol! I’m rooting for Caleb and all my friends still on the show but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for believing in me and supporting me!

Sukarno was given very little air time during his short run on the ABC singing competition. On Sunday’s show we got to see him for a couple of seconds during a Ryan Seacrest voice-over before the Country Music Genre Challenge segment, but his performance did not air. Monday night's "Duet Challenge" with Caleb was not shown either.

On the episode that aired February 28 in which Zak earned his way to Hollywood, his try-out was part of a produced montage that contained a brief clip of him and two other contestants singing for a few seconds and introducing themselves before quick shots of them getting a ‘yes’ or a “you’re going to Hollywood,” or, in Zak’s case, a shot of him holding the coveted golden ticket.

You can catch the self-professed "Asian Country Boy" performing around Las Cruces in bars, coffee shops and the farmers market, and on TikTok where he often posts clips of himself singing.