Just wondering, are we sure the bottom 3 is always the genuine bottom 3?

Obviously the eliminee is genuine, same goes for if there's more than 1 eliminee, as with Naima and Thia, but do they really need to tell us who's third from bottom, and second if there's no double elimination, or can they make it up by putting someone random there?

If so, it would explain why Pia never looked to be in danger prior to her shock elimination - despite Nigel Lythgoe saying she was never a favourite, and why Stefano's survived so many bottom 2s

If they can make some details up, it gives them great power to manipulate the voters/audience. I wouldn't mind though. As a Stefano fan, I'd e thrilled if I found out his bottom 2 placings had been random!

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I'd think they were the genuine bottom 3 - but the only definate answer I can give you is David Cook was never bottom 3 in the voting, and never appeared in the bottom 3 on the show.

Pia's elimination came about, I think, due to apathy - she wasn't a trainwreck, but she wasn't a stand out either, she lacked a core voting fanbase to see her through, and just ended up getting lost in the mix - for all we know she was scrapping through each week by the skin of her teeth.

I would like to say yes, but i have a suspicion that sometimes it is, sometimes it isnt. I think the B2 is genuine but they may throw the 3rd one in, There is nowhere it says that it cant be random as long as obvs the B1 is genuine. It certainly gets greater support for that B3 person the following week

That seems to what Nigel is implying too

From what I remember, the only winners to appear in the bottom 3 were Fantasia and Ruben - although we don't know who this year's winner's going to be yet lol I would love if this year's winner had appeared in the bottom 3

Perhaps the paths TPTB planned for all the other winners didn't include them being bottom 3 survivors, but I could see them using "fake bottom 3 appearances" as a way of getting rid of other contenders. For instance, Michael Johns, and of course Pia, could've been B3 or even B2 prior to their "shock" eliminations, but perhaps TPTB didn't want them to stivck around, so lulled their fans into a false sense of security. That would explain Syesha, and two favourites of mine, Kristy and Stefano, seemngly having so many lucky escapes.

I will admit to just being a very hopeful Stefano fan! It is an interesting debate though. No one has ever claimed that every week, the Bottom 3 as seen on the show has been the genuine bottom 3.

During Season 6, Jordin and Chris Richardson were made to look like the Bottom 2, on IGB night when the elimination was cancelled. I still highly doubt Jordin was genuinely in the B3 though - not just out of bias because I love her, but because her performance of You'll Never Walk Alone was so well received.

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The producers have said on a number of occasions that the bottom 2/3 on the show are always the bottom 2/3 in the votes. They aren't necessarily revealed "in reverse order" (ie the person revealed as safe first isn't necessarily 3rd from bottom), but you'd have to be calling them liars to say that it wasn't the case. (Although obviously they are reality tv producers so call them what you want, I say).

Kris Allen was also B3 in S8, in the same week as Adam, when Matt was eliminated.

Ah I forgot about Kris! Still hope for you Stefano!

Stefano may just be B3 then, that's not too bad!

Even if he only comes 3rd, he'll perform on every show, which is good enough really! (3rd place contestant usually gets a solo in the final, or at least a high profile duet!)

The producers probably are liars lol, anything Simon Cowell's ever had anything t odo with is unlikely to be 100 per cent genuine!

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The bottom three is supposedly always the real bottom three, but if you notice, Ryan rarely refers to a bottom two from the three.

Also, towards the end of the season, it's often just a random person standing next to the eliminated person at the end. They tend to do it keep the suspense - eg Crystal standing next to someone at the final 5 last year, even though she was supposedly always in the top 2.

Makes sense that they'd keep the suspense as much as they could

I can imagine Crystal always polling high, her attitude put me off but she was very talented.

On Wikipedia it lists contestants has having been in the bottom 2, but that's probably just because that's how it appeared on the show.

Do they ever release a full list of voting figures for AI, like they have been doing for XF for a few years?

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Apparently with Pop Idol, the week Suzanne Manning was announced as being in the bottom two (or three) she actually wasn't.

Different show and different country but I have been suspicious since.

If they state it's the bottom three, it has to be. If they state it's the bottom two, it has to be.

In the past there have been weeks when they have called the bottom three then sent one of them to the sofa without saying whether they were the third from bottom or second from bottom but if they use the words, it has to be what they are saying for various legal reasons.

Contrary to what is being said, Ryan more often than not says bottom two or bottom three and has every week this year and for the past three years.


In Pop Idol, all the results other than the person with the least votes were called in no particular order. They never actually had a bottom two or three as such. The person left last to be called could have been anything from second from bottom to top vote getter that week. In series 1 for example, Darius was the last one to be called safe one week but he was nowhere near the bottom two, that week or any week until his third place elimination.


Simon Cowell never had anything to do with the production of American Idol.


Nigel has mentioned this.

Apparently there is another contestant that has been avoiding the bottom three by a hair's breadth on several weeks.


That week caused similar discussions to these but any predictor site you looked at (including Dialidol's geopredictions that continued to be accurate most of the time despite the fact their data predictions are not as often any more) had the order spot on even that week. A bit of a Christopher Columbus moment.

EDIT repeat post

Obviously my hopes for Stefano have been dashed anyway

It was an interesting thought though.....

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