Fans Slam ‘American Idol’ Finale as ‘Unfair’

ABC Noah Thompson was crowned the winner of "American Idol" season 20.

Some fans of ABC’s “American Idol” are calling the show “unfair” after the season 20 finale aired on May 22, 2022.

The finale aired on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern time, and it was advertised as “LIVE coast-to-coast.” That doesn’t mean that affiliate stations are forced to air it at a certain time, however.

They can choose to air the show at its normal airing time, which would mean that people on the west coast do not get a chance to see performances before they have to vote if they want their vote to be included in some cases.

Fans Think Some Contestants Had an Unfair Advantage

After the finale aired, some fans took to Reddit to air their frustrations about the voting.

“Having only 2 of 4 time zones vote is an unfair advantage,” the post reads. “The west coast has almost no say in the outcome of this show, especially with the live voting and instant results. All of the southeast, heavily weighted towards country fans, falls within the central and eastern time zones.”

They added, “And add to that all of the rural areas in the north/northeast, and that makes it about as difficult for a non-country singer to win this show as it is for a Democrat to get elected Senator in South Carolina. This is TV gerrymandering, lol!”

People in the comments pointed out that the show may be doing the live voting in order to keep advertisers happy and paying. Another pointed out that people on the west coast can vote, though if they want to see the performances first, they would have to watch on YouTube or social media if the show isn’t airing at the same time in their time zone.

“I live in Washington and they air it at 8pm. Unfair voting is my greatest peeve of this show,” one person wrote.

Some said they wished the show would bring back the results show, if only for the finale. That would mean that voting could be open overnight after the performance episode aired and the results would be read the next day.

“I agree, it irritates me every time I hear them say people are watching live coast to coast. No, no they’re not. At least not in Seattle. The local affiliates don’t show it until 8 pm local time,” another reply read.

Some think that certain types of contestants, mostly country singers, have an unfair advantage because of the time difference.

“THANK YOU!!!!! I’ve been saying this & it’s INFURIATING,” one reply reads. “Idol is called AMERICAN IDOL, not EAST COAST / BIBLE BELT IDOL… It’s incredibly unfair & it’s frustrating as a loyal fan of the show to not be included in the PIVOTAL final shows that ultimately choose the winner. Producers need to fix this going forward.”

‘American Idol’ Will Return

“American Idol” has been officially renewed by ABC for the upcoming season. Auditions for the next season of “American Idol” have been announced, meaning that the show will be returning to finding new contestants in the next few months.

There are multiple rounds of auditions with producers before the judges get involved in the show, which will likely air at the beginning of 2023, meaning that it will begin filming in November or December. Generally, the Showstopper Round and Top 24 reveal is filmed in December.

The three judges, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan are all expected to return for the upcoming season, as is long-time host Ryan Seacrest.

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