Bay Area Teen Idol organizers discovered Friday a major error in the tallying of Thursday night’s scores that resulted in the elimination of the wrong contestant.

As a result of the error, Krista Kilmer will return as a competitor next week, said contest spokesman Gary Brink.

Brink said organizers regularly review the results the morning after and the error was detected through the automatic recount, not because any complaint had been made.

“It was just an oversight,” Brink said. “We always double-check. I questioned it more than normal because I was surprised to see the Kilmer girl eliminated when I thought she gave a great performance.”

Kilmer performed Christina Aguilera’s “Reflection” in what was widely regarded as her best performance in the competition. She was one of two contestants eliminated Thursday, along with Tammi Burrell.

In light of the error, Brink said the contest would not eliminate another contestant this week but would instead eliminate three when the contest continues at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Egyptian Theatre.