‘American Idol’ Live Elimination Postponed After Unprecedented Voting

American Idol’s first live show of the season ended with a surprising twist.

Monday’s episode shockingly delayed the elimination following unprecedented voting.

It was announced earlier this year that Idol would be introducing live social voting for the very first time, but it seems to have done more harm than good. Per Deadline, host Ryan Seacrest revealed at the very end of the episode that there would be no elimination due to the new voting system bringing in “tens of millions of votes” at a rate “we’ve never seen before.” The longtime host called it “truly unprecedented,” and judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Carrie Underwood were equally surprised.

“This is the first time it’s ever happened,” Seacrest continued. “Believe me, I’ve been here every night. We want to make sure we get every vote counted and every vote right. We’ll carry forward those votes, get everything verified. At the top of next week’s show, your results will be revealed live on this stage. There you have it, America, tens of millions of votes, your top 12 will sing for your votes live all over again.”

Monday’s live show saw the Top 12 performing Songs of Faith, and it was also the first time that the show streamed live on Disney+. While the remaining 12 contestants will find out at the top of next week’s show who will be going home, the Top 10 will continue on to the 90s Judge’s Song contest.

Live social voting has been in the works for a while, with showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick telling Deadline in January that she’s been wanting to do it for the last five years. “We have to meet the audience where they are. Back in 2002, when the show began, texting was the new hot thing. We also have to meet the technology where it is, as well. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to vote for their favorites, weigh in from their couch with their second screen, in real time,” she said. “If we can get Gen Alpha and Gen Z to weigh in a little bit more in the easiest way possible, that’s very exciting. It could tip the scale. Trends are always different.”

Meanwhile, live social voting is not all that’s new for this season. American Idol is launching a companion podcast, hosted by Boy Meets World star Danielle Fishel, on Disney+ and Hulu, coinciding with the live shows, so the first episode will be premiering soon. New episodes of American Idol air on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.