Fury Erupts Among American Idol Fans as Fan-Favorite Contestant Gets Sent Home Before Top 5

There were always big things expected in season 23 of American Idol, however it was unimaginable how epic the Top 7 results show would be. Rather than experiencing joy from some fun confetti,

viewers were left stunned when fans’ favorite contestants Gabby Samone and Mattie Pruitt were unexpectedly eliminated from the show.

However, the live broadcast became a nightmare for most people who watched.

Those who watched the show said Gabby Samone stood out from the moment the competition began, as she was only 24 years old and already made a name for herself in gospel music. Her strong, emotional singing and powerful voice left the judges praising her from one week to the next.

It was her singing of How Far I’ll Go that really caught everyone’s attention and made them anticipate the film. Not only was the song notoriously difficult, but Miranda was guiding her every step of the way as she performed it.

It seemed that behind the camera, Gabby was very nervous and not used to handling such challenging phrases. “The spell is not working,” Miranda told her. At some point during rehearsal, I got it. Eventually,

she stopped battling that tendency and fully took charge of it. Lionel Richie found himself amazed and saying, “We are looking at greatness,” whereas Luke Bryan could only react with, “That gave me shivers.”+

Unfortunately, her second act made the emotions run at eleven too. By dedicating “Home” to her mother Charoletta, Gabby described the difficulties of having a single parent, not enough money, and still hoping for her dream.

The line “I think of home as a place where love is neverending” now reminded Gabby of all she had faced and fought for. Her performance ended with a pause, and then people in the crowd enthusiastically applauded her.

She, however, did not manage to complete the task.

While the other singers were older, people reached out to Mattie Pruitt due to her melodious voice and courage in picking music. The following night, she sang the Spanish portions of “Remember Me” from Coco as a dedication to her grandmother.

This performance differed from the rest in that her voice and emotions were clearly heard. Underwood said, “It’s like she’s always singing a personal song, but on a big TV show.”

Once the results proved that neither Gabby nor Mattie could go on, the reaction was dramatic and rushed. Within a short time, fans uploaded patterns of the guys’ performances, adding remarks like

“You should stop watching this show” and “No one should be voting for them.” Following the episode, Idol-related hashtags were the trending topics on Twitter for close to two hours.

Still, there were reactions from all kinds of fans. Even experts from the music industry were impressed by Gabby in her performance. I am fed up with this issue. The singer Ledisi wrote, “Gabby.” That’s it. It sounds in line with the original sentence.

As a result, many discussed how voting and bias impact the outcome on these types of programs. Even with 20 million votes for Idol, people questioned if ability was truly appreciated, or if everything was really influenced by fans’ preferences, audience bias, and the quality of video clips.

Someone on Twitter said, “How can we still be doing this in 2025?” “Though she was extremely talented, sang and acted beautifully, and told a great story, she never won.”

Because Gabby was the only Black female left, people feel that the show has a pattern of treating performers like her badly in the closing rounds. Black women need to be treated better in this show. Many Internet users shared and liked this sentence: “Always have.”

Amid the angry reactions, people are beginning to hope for the future. Gabby and Mattie have massive numbers of followers on the internet. In a period of just 24 hours, Gabby gathered more than 200,000

Instagram followers and also received messages of encouragement from Jazmine Sullivan and Jennifer Hudson. Mattie was also noticed by the big labels, and it is believed that they will likely be offered before the season ends.

Slater Nalley, Breanna Nix, Thunderstorm Artis, Jamal Roberts, and John Foster are now in a battle to win and show people that the show is meant for the artists, not for the machine.

With only two weeks remaining, it seems that American Idol is in a difficult situation. Could the solution help regain faith in the process? Will the closing chapter of the story redemption, or make things even more controversial? Above all, will people ever stop talking about what has become known as “The Gabby Snub”?

People will definitely continue to talk about this elimination even after the songs of this season are over.