‘American Idol’ Fans Criticize Inconsistent Judging in Finale

The American Idol judges did not come with their kid gloves on for the finale episode.

During Sunday’s performance half of the ABC reality series’ finale, Gabby Barrett, Caleb Lee Hutchinson and Maddie Poppe each hit the judges with three songs — an original number, a hometown tribute and their “winner’s circle” song.

But the generally supportive judges — Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan — were noticeably more critical of the contestants.

At one point, Perry defended her criticisms as helping to ease the singers out of the “American Idol bubble,” which mentor Bobby Bones seemed to buck during a conversation with host Ryan Seacrest, but many on the internet thought was a good strategy near the end.

Others thought Perry’s note to Hutchinson that she would tell him the truth “every time” was disingenuous, as she had previously been almost exclusively complimentary. They took to Twitter to express their opinions.

For the finale, you can submit up to 10 votes for each remaining contestant per voting method — online at AmericanIdol.com/vote, in the American Idol app, and via text voting.

For text message voting, text the number of the contestant you would like to vote for to “21523.”

Voting for the finale will close Monday at 9 a.m. ET. The results will be revealed during Monday night’s episode.

Part two of the American Idol finale airs Monday, May 21 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: ABC