‘American Idol”s Josh King Motions for the Judges to Save Mattie Pruitt

American Idol‘s Josh King went out with a selfless act.

On Monday, May 5, King was in the bottom two with Mattie Pruitt— and their fate on the show lied in the hands of judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, who could only save one.

As Richie and Bryan — who tied in the judges’ song contest — briefly discussed, King, 24, pointed to Pruitt and encouraged the judges to choose her.

Moments later, the judges saved Pruitt and King was sent home.

After the move, Idol fans expressed how touching the gesture was on social media — and called him a “class act.”

“You had a great performance but my heart exploded when you kept motioning for the judges to pick Maddy! That was so selfless! You have a bright future ahead of you Josh!,” a fan wrote on Instagram.

Another fan wrote, “You are so humble! I love how you wanted Mattie to go thru!”

Meanwhile, another fan began by writing that King was not “one of my favorites” in the beginning — but that quickly changed.

“Seeing how you were willing to be selfless and let Maddie have it and root for her. I’m so incredibly proud of you, and you won me over as not only a fan, but as a human being,” the social media user wrote. “Class act. Keep improving, bigger and brighter days, ahead!”

After the show, King caught up with PEOPLE in a roundtable interview and reflected on his time on the show.

“I didn’t think I would make it this far… I didn’t think I would make it to the finals,” he said candidly. “I know when I get up there I’m not the best vocalist. I can do piano pretty well, I can do harmonica pretty well, I can do guitar pretty decently. I’m a jack of all trades, master of none.”

He added that he went in with the mentality of, “I’m not gonna win but I’m still gonna try my best… I came into this to make connections. I wanted to meet people like me. I wanted to meet people in similar situations. I wanted to make friends. I wanted to be a part of the experience.”

On Monday night, King performed Michael Bublé‘s “Home.” The week prior, he touched viewers when he grew emotional singing Céline Dion‘s “All by Myself.” When he explained why he chose the song, King opened up about feeling lonely growing up.

 “I never had a place for me. Coming to Idol changed all that,” he said.

“They’re some of the greatest friends I’ve ever had, and I love them for that,” King added of his fellow contestants. “But it’s that fear in the back of mind that once this ends and this journey ends with ‘American Idol,’ that things will go to the way they used to be.”

After Monday’s episode, only the Top 7 remain: Gabby Samone, Breanna Nix, Thunderstorm Artis, Slater Nalley, John Foster, Jamal Roberts and Pruitt.