‘American Idol’ Contestants React to Elimination Shake-Up After Voting Crash

American Idol contestants and viewers were hit with quite a shock during the first Live Show of Season 24 on March 30. After the Top 14 performed their songs of faith and viewers cast their votes, two artists were supposed to be eliminated, but Ryan Seacrest revealed that the elimination announcement is being held to last week because there were too many votes to count in time.

“We will not be announcing the elimination tonight,” Seacrest explained. “First time it’s ever happened. Believe me, I’ve been here every night. We want to make sure we get every vote counted.”

The news was shared while the Top 14 was on the stage behind Seacrest, and everyone had a look of shock on their faces. Now, they’ll all have to rehearse for next week’s performances, but only 12 will actually be taking the stage for the judges’ song contest.

After the show, TV Insider caught up with several of the Season 24 contestants to find out their reactions to the elimination shake-up. Scroll down to find out what they had to say!

Brooks Rosser

“I would love to be here for another week, even if I’m going to be worried the whole week,” Brooks Rosser said. “If I’m going to go home and not make the Top 12, I get to spend [time] with all these contestants who are now my family and we just all vibe together day and night.”

Philmon Lee

“I think we should all be happy of how far we’ve come,” Philmon Lee admitted. “I’m looking at it as another week that I get to spend with these friends that I’ll know for the rest of my life, you know what I mean? I don’t think it’s a big deal. But, I mean, it sucks that two people are going home, but it’s Top 14, man. I think everybody can walk here with a chip off their shoulder and have a career ready for them when they leave the show.”

Rae

“I feel like I just keep visualizing myself going further and it’s happening and again I’m able to hang out with my friends that I’ve made,” Rae added. “I think that’s the saddest part. If I go home I’m like … I don’t want to leave my friends. Like, these are my people that I have gotten so close with. Ever since I auditioned, I have friends that I talk to every day just that I met at auditions. So these are friends that I’ve made for life.”

Keyla Richardson

“I was just so already grateful to be in the Top 14,” single mom Keyla Richardson explained. “I made the top 14 so I’m happy just we have another week together and we’re all a family and I get another chance and another opportunity. So that’s what’s on my mind right now … just having another opportunity.”

Julián Kalel

Julián Kalel agreed, admitting he’s just excited for the opportunity to spend more time with his fellow contestants. “We don’t really have that whole end goal, like, competitiveness where we’re like, ‘We gotta win, you know, we got to make it there,'” he shared. “No, we take every day just as it is, and we really value this experience, this shared experience. So we’re more relieved, if anything, that we just have more time, you know, we get to try again, and we’re just so stoked about this Top 14 team.”

Disney/Eric McCandless

Jesse Findling

“I didn’t think any of us really expected that, again, especially after such a long day, you know, thinking that more people were going to go home at the end and then that not happening,” Jesse Findling said. “It was just kind of insane, but that just means we get to spend more time with each other, which feels great. So I think it’s a good thing.”

Jake Thistle

“It’s an honor to be a part of a program that’s so popular it broke the voting, you know?” Jake Thistle admitted. “I mean, that’s an amazing problem to have, and, you know, we’ve become such a family and I’ve learned so much just getting to interact with all these people. So getting a guaranteed extra week with them is really crucial to, you know, my development and having a great time, so I’ll take it.”

Jordan McCullough

Jordan McCullough agreed with Jake and Jesse’s thoughts and said this mishap is a good opportunity to make sure viewers are aware of how and when to vote. “I know everyone’s working behind the scenes to make sure it works out next week, but yeah, it gives us a break,” he said.

Hannah Harper

Hannah Harper called the situation “crazy,” adding, “It’s another week to have the opportunity to get coaching and to get training on things that we wouldn’t otherwise if we would have been home. So no matter what, stepping into next week, we’ll have more knowledge than we did this week, even if we go home.”

Daniel Stallworth

“The good part about it is we get to spend another week with all of our family members of Idol, you know, that’s left, of course,” Daniel Stallworth shared. “But the other side of it is, you know, we don’t want anyone to go home, first of all, but it’s just the anxiety of waiting to see if we are the ones going home. So, other than that, man, it’s really cool. I’m grateful for the most part for all of this.”

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Braden Rumfelt

“I’m kind of the guy that likes to rip the Band-Aid off quickly,” Braden Rumfelt admitted. “It was a scary thing being on stage and not having the results, but I’m still happy to be here with everybody, especially the people that I’ve grown really close to, and it’s just more to learn.”

Lucas Leon

“It’s really tough to fully give it your all knowing that you may not get to sing,” high school student Lucas Leon said. “I mean, it just takes a lot of faith, and I honestly was really looking forward to not having to do that again if I were to have made the Top 12 tonight, but I mean, pressure makes diamonds, right?”

Kyndal Inskeep

“I think everybody in this competition is very, very grateful to be exactly where they’re at, and I think that no matter what the outcome, they’re going to put their best foot forward and they’re going to do their very best to prepare for a performance, regardless of the outcome,” Kyndal Inskeep revealed.

American Idol, Season 24, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC

—Reporting by Michael Maloney