When American Idol Ratings Hit All-Time High With 6.3M for Wé Ani's Final Performance
Editor's note: This article was originally published on May 23, 2023. It has since been updated.
As American Idol is only a week away from naming a new winner, 6.3 million people tuned in to watch the show for Wé Ani's final performance per The U.S. Sun. Sunday’s much-awaited "Disney Night" episode witnessed all five contestants perform theme songs.
The Top 5 contestants of season 21 — Wé Ani, Meghan Danielle, Zachariah Smith, Colin Stough, and Iam Tongi gave the audience yet another demonstration of their skills before the night's live vote gave the names of the Final 3. After the live counting of votes. both Smith and Ani were eliminated, which left the viewers devastated and enraged.
The 24-year-old entertainer from New York received compliments from all three judges — Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie, after she gave one of the best performances in the history of American Idol. She performed Into the Unknown from Frozen II and The Climb from Hannah Montana: The Movie. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to muster enough votes.
On Twitter, Ani is celebrated as "one of the most talented singers this show has seen in years," with many people being surprised that her powerhouse vocals didn't take her to the finale. Fans even went on to threaten to boycott the show because of the shocking elimination. Comments have flooded in threatening of boycott if Ani is not in Final 3.
Ok I’m done with American idol… the fact that Wé Ani didn’t make it in the top 3 but Colin Stough and Megan Danielle did? Quite wack
— Becka (@rebekahurst) May 15, 2023
Top 3 should have been:
- Wé Ani
- Zachariah Smith
- Iam Tongi
I will be the first to buying Wé Ani concert tix when she makes it big#WeAni
It's FIXED. #WeAni should be the winner. Won't watch again.
— ANGRYMAMABEAR (@mjmamabear24) May 15, 2023
Many have also commented on how they think American Idol is rigged as it does not make sense for Ani to be eliminated before reaching the Top 3. Some even said that they were expecting Ani to win the show as she has powerful vocals. Many are not interested in watching the show any longer and have openly boycotted the show.
We Ani definately is the best singer on American Idol. My feeling is Iam is set to win and putting We against him it would really look like favoritism when he wins. Iam winning against Colin and Megan is a believable scenario. Although Colin is really singing well.
— Jerry Kust (@JerryLKust) May 15, 2023
So the absolute best Idol contestant just got voted off….no longer interested in the outcome…. #AmericanIdol
— Razurrb (@razurrb) May 15, 2023
IKYFL. This show is rigged. We Ani should DEFINITELY be this season's winner. #AmericanIdol pic.twitter.com/0z8RhVvw78
— George Santos' Hermes Bag 🎒 💁🏻 (@euphoric_mimi) May 15, 2023
Even though Ani gave her best performance on "Disney Night" as she channeled her inner Idina Menzel and Miley Cyrus perfectly, her fans think the explanation could be the unexpected eliminations that happened around the end of past seasons, too. As country tunes are famous with the voting populace, country singers usually make it to the finals — whether they actually deserve it or not.
The pattern prevailed in Season 21 of American Idol too, which meant the twangy tones of both Stough and Danielle were able to overpower Ani's soulful sounds with votes. There is also a famous hashtag on Twitter, which says that American Idol should really be called #CountryIdol.
The unexpected elimination did not dishearten Wé and her family. Per North Jersey, her father said that American Idol is just one step forward for Wé's career. When she was 17-year-old, Wé ranked third on The Voice and won the hearts of both friends and fans alike. Her fans and supporters hope she does even better from here on and goes forward in her career.
