Nicole Scherzinger - Nicole Scherzinger On Rachel Crow Elimination, 'america Made The Choice'

Nicole Scherzinger has been left reeling following her decision to let the public decide whether 13 year-old protege Rachel Crow or Marcus Canty should go home in the US version of 'X Factor' last week; and, with the public voting out who many thought was a frontrunner in Crow, the Pussycat Dolls star has been forced to come out and defend her choice.

The judge had been booed off the show in light of the announcement and has since received numerous hateful message on various social networking sites. The 33 year-old has been noticeably shaken by the reaction, with People reporting her telling the media, "My heart comes from the right place so I get really sensitive when people are negative." The judge also went on to point out, quite accurately, that ultimately if Crow had been a favourite she would've stayed in; "Don't they know I only want the best for every single person? ... I want them to be the best they can be. Ultimately America made the choice."

The outcome is unlikely to impress show boss and fellow judge Simon Cowell who was mentoring the wannabe, but Scherzinger admitted she too was distraught, assuming that Marcus Canty would in fact be voted off; "Did I think America probably would have chosen Rachel? ... The probability was that they would have sent Marcus home . When I saw that look on her face [I felt] that I let her down, like I dropped her. I could have been holding on and I dropped her." The judge's own protege Josh Krajcik remains in the show.