The problem with shows like American Idol is that the best and most talented person doesn't necessarily win. The contestants of American Idol are voted on by the public, and as such, the show can be somewhat of a popularity contest. Yes, the viewers at home generally tend to pick the most talented and smooth-sounding individuals to go through, but this type of elimination system often results in some tragically premature eliminations.
Many talented individuals have been unduly sent home throughout the years, and users on Reddit are still not happy about it. According to them, their eliminations were nothing but unfair.
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson may be the most shocking American Idol elimination of all time. Despite having obvious talent and being a fan favorite, Hudson only placed 7th on season three, eventually losing to Fantasia Barrino. Hudson found incredible success after Idol, even winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Dreamgirls.
According to CPSolver, "Jennifer Hudson was eliminated partly because too many people assumed that she was getting plenty of votes from other fans. This is why the show tends not to reveal much about vote counts."
Melinda Doolittle
Melinda Doolittle competed on the show's sixth season, and if her post-Idol career is anything to go by, she probably should have won. Instead, she came in third place behind Jordin Sparks (who performed the iconic song, "A Broken Wing") and Blake Lewis. According to Reddit user MarionCotesworthHaye, her post-Idol career has been quite exceptional.
As they write, "Melinda put out an incredible album called Coming Back to You. I really encourage you to check it out if you’re a fan of hers. She also does a lot of interviews about Idol and has performed with Post Modern Jukebox."
Constantine Maroulis
Maroulis competed on the fourth season of American Idol, finishing in 6th place. However, he's the one who got the last laugh, as he later received a Tony Award nomination for his performance in Rock of Ages. But was his shocking elimination the result of some type of inherent equipment failure?
According to CPSolver, "Constantine Maroulis was eliminated early because of a phone-system failure — back when each contestant had a separate phone line. This problem is now avoided by using the same phone number for all contestants."
Danny Gokey
Danny Gokey competed on the eighth season of American Idol and finished in third. He came in behind winner Kris Allen and runner-up Adam Lambert, who is undeniably one of the best acts to come from American Idol. He is now a pretty successful Christian pop artist.
Reddit user swatkins95 considered his elimination a "shocking upset," writing, "Speaking of shocking upsets who have gone on to have success in Christian music, Danny Gokey. Everyone was predicting Danny and Adam for the finale for months."
Adam Lambert
American Idol fans love to re-watch Adam Lambert's performances over and over, and his elimination came as quite a surprise. Lambert was the runner-up of season eight, even though many viewers believed that he would win.
Reddit user maxedout24 writes simply "Adam Lambert..." when asked about the shocking eliminations, and Juneleaf23 elaborates by defending Kris Allen as a great singer but stating "Adam had the whole package and even more." Today, Lambert is creatively collaborating with Queen as their new frontman.
Michael Johns
Few people even remember Michael Johns from American Idol, given his particularly early exit. Johns competed on the seventh season of the show and placed 8th, losing to eventual winner David Cook.
Reddit user kidriffey writes, "Michael Johns is up there for me. Couldn't believe he got sent home. Seacrest was particularly brutal that night when he said he was eliminated." EnglishPandainChina agrees, stating, "Completely agree. I really thought that Michael would be top two!"
Chris Daughtry
Chris Daughtry is one of the biggest names in American Idol history, despite never winning. Daughtry has enjoyed a great post-Idol career, complete with a record-setting debut album and a Grammy nomination. However, he placed fourth on season five, losing to winner Taylor Hicks and runner-up Katharine McPhee.
Reddit user secondstar05 writes, "I remember being stunned by Chris Daughtry’s elimination," and realitycheck14 concurs by stating, "Was just going to say the same. That one forever stood out to me as a shocker because everyone thought he was safe."
Pia Toscano
Not many American Idol fans remember Pia Toscano. She competed on the show's tenth season and became a top 13 finalist. And even though she had never placed in the bottom three, she was shockingly eliminated following her performance of Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High."
Fans began a petition begging producers to let her return to the show, and as Reddit user KimberParoo writes, "Pia was like on the news for how shocking her elimination was."
Colton Dixon
Colton Dixon competed twice on the show, both back-to-back on seasons 10 and 11. And while he suffered an early departure in season 10, he performed much better on 11, becoming a finalist and eventually being signed to a record deal.
However, he eventually lost to Phillip Phillips, who is one of the most popular American Idol winners based on Instagram followers. Swatkins95 writes, "I think Colton was a pretty huge shocker...He was considered a frontrunner, right there with Phillip as the top guy." MarionCotesworthHaye agrees, stating, "Colton definitely deserved to stay longer than Hollie Cavanaugh and Skylar Laine."
Candice Glover
Candice Glover is one of the most popular contestants in American Idol history, having appeared in the 9th, 11th, and 12th seasons of the show. She finally won in the latter. However, her boot in season 11 came as quite a surprise for many people, including Reddit user NotThisAgain234.
They write, "When Candice Glover got booted in S11, when she performed “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” with Jessica and Deandre. She was fantastic, that was truly shocking. Maybe the producers were sure she would win if she got to compete, and they had already decided they wanted Phillip Phillips?"