American Idol 2023 Top 12 Poll Results: 8 Eliminated

American Idol 2023 Top 12 Poll Results and Predictions

The season’s first live show aired April 24 (8–11 pm ET/PT) on ABC as the Top 20 returned to the stage. Tonight’s episode featured performances from each Top 20 contestant, with some singing for a guaranteed spot while others hoped to secure one of two judges’ wildcard picks. America’s vote will ultimately determine the Top 10, while the judges — Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan — will fill the remaining slots to create the Top 12.

Following the live performances, readers participated in a fan poll to rank favorites and predict eliminations. This summary compares those poll results with the official American Idol Facebook engagement metrics — likes and views — to provide perspective on which contestants are connecting most with the audience online. For this comparison the Facebook stats are listed by likes, which can sometimes be a better indicator of active support than raw view counts.

Overall, the poll results and Facebook engagement show similar trends with a few notable exceptions. Matt Wilson and Colin Stough performed better on Facebook than in the fan poll, while Nutsa, though lower in the poll, led Facebook engagement by a wide margin. That raises the possibility that a portion of those Facebook interactions come from international viewers who cannot vote, which can skew the apparent support compared with U.S.-based voting totals.

Another pattern worth noting: the Top 20 contains more female contestants than male (12 females to 8 males), but many of the female contestants had lower Facebook likes in the dataset. Only two males appeared in the bottom half of the Facebook ranking, while several men registered strong online engagement — Zachariah Smith and Warren Peay among them. Zachariah’s strong showing is especially impressive given that he performed early in the three-hour broadcast, a time slot that can sometimes reduce visibility.

Predictions

Based on the poll, Facebook engagement and likely judge preferences, here is a cautious, unscientific prediction for the Top 12 (including two judges’ saves/wildcards): Iam Tongi, Wé Ani, Nutsa, Zachariah Smith, Warren Peay, Megan Danielle, Kaeyra, Tyson Venegas, Oliver Steele, Matt Wilson, Lucy Love and Marybeth Byrd. A few of these contestants—especially those toward the middle of the list—could rely on a judges’ save to secure their spots.

Those I predict will be eliminated this round are: Nailyah Serenity, Hannah Nicolaisen, Mariah Faith, Michael Williams, Paige Anne, Haven Madison, Olivia Soli and Colin Stough. Again, these are projections based on current fan polling and social engagement, and the live voting results may vary.

Elsewhere

In a separate fan question about who was most unfairly eliminated earlier in the season, Emma Busse received the largest share of votes as the most robbed contestant. The second most popular response was “Nobody was robbed,” which indicates many fans felt the eliminations were generally fair. In the site’s own poll, Iam Tongi and Wé Ani emerged as the most popular performers, both earning double-digit percentages well ahead of other contestants.

Pick 8 Eliminated Contestants vs Facebook Likes and Views

Favorite Performance (Pick 2)

1. I am Tongi – The Winner Takes It All (ABBA) – 17.54%
2. Wé Ani – Skyfall (Adele) – 16.88%
3. Kaeyra – Bruises (Lewis Capaldi) – 8.40%
4. Tyson Venegas – 180 (Original) – 6.81%
5. Megan Danielle – Holy Water (We The Kingdom) – 6.53%
6. Zachariah Smith – I Want to Know What Love Is (Foreigner) – 5.60%
7. Oliver Steele – Too Soon (Original) – 4.85%
8. Olivia Soli – I Surrender (Celine Dion) – 4.76%
9. Nutsa – Un-Break My Heart (Toni Braxton) – 4.57%
10. Marybeth Byrd – People Pleaser (Original) – 3.82%
11. Michael Williams – Lose You to Love Me (Selena Gomez) – 3.54%
12. Lucy Love – Boulders (Original) – 3.08%
13. Colin Stough – Pretty Heart (Parker McCollum) – 2.52%
14. Nailyah Serenity – Baby Love (Mother’s Finest) – 2.43%
15. Warren Peay – Up There Down Here (Zach Williams) – 2.33%
16. Paige Anne – Say Something (A Great Big World cover) – 1.77%
17. Hannah Nicolaisen – Somebody to Love – 1.68%
18. Haven Madison – Mean Girls (Leanna Crawford) – 1.40%
19. Matt Wilson – Say You Won’t Let Go (James Arthur) – 1.12%
20. Mariah Faith – Cry to Me (Solomon Burke) – 0.37%

Who Was Robbed?

1. Emma Busse – 33.47%
2. Nobody was robbed – 28.13%
3. Elijah McCormick – 13.14%
4. Dawson Wayne – 10.88%
5. Elise Kristine – 6.57%
6. Malik Heard – 4.52%
7. PJAE – 3.29%