Huff was not voted through to the final round from his group of semifinalists, but got another second chance when he was brought back for the wildcard round and put through as a finalist by contest judge Simon Cowell.
On May 5, 2004, Huff was voted off in fifth place after two renditions of Fred Astaire's "Cheek to Cheek" and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" during big band week.