*American Idol Finale Spoilers Below*

If there has been anything good about this quarantine, it has to be American Idol, well, except for the finale. Despite being stuck at home, the popular singing competition continued its 18th season through videos from contestants’ living rooms. The judges, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie, plus the host, Ryan Seacrest, helped make the show go on, bringing light to America nationwide. However, the finale definitely did not live up to the expectations of the rest of the show, leaving most the west coast upset and confused about the results.

After hearing the top five announced at the beginning of the show, it made perfect sense. With Arthur Gunn, Dillon James, Fransisco Martin, Just Sam, and Jonny West, it was the group that most of the nation supported to go through. The show went according to plan with stunning at-home performances from all the contestants. 

Usually, while watching the performances, viewers can vote immediately after; however, this was not the case for the finale. Instead, a huge announcement popped up on screen stating that “LIVE VOTING IS CLOSED.” Confused and afraid that viewers missed the cut, it was actually the time change that skewed the votes, as the east coast got to vote 3 hours earlier. 

Although this doesn’t seem like a big deal, every contestant except for Just Sam and Arthur Gunn was from the west coast, meaning that many of their supporters did not get to vote in their favor. This realization practically shook all of the western audience to the core since many contestants would not get an equal shot at becoming the next American Idol. After an hour of nervously watching performances by the judges and past contestants, the results were finally revealed. Not to anyone’s surprise, Just Sam and Arthur Gunn placed within the top two, with Just Sam winning first overall. 

Despite Just Sam being very talented and having moments that shone throughout the season, there were definitely other contestants who seemed to deserve it as well. Below, one can see the talent portrayed through west coast candidates, Dillon James, Fransisco Martin, and Jonny West, as they sing their own breathtaking original songs and covers. The western audience was left furious that they could not vote for who they thought would win the competition. The shocking news, however, does not determine the amount of talent the rest of the top five contestants possess, and hopefully, they will all continue to have an extraordinary music career in the near future. All in all, this year’s season of American Idol should have been concluded to be named East Coast Idol, as two-thirds of the country did not get to vote, leaving most of the contestants without equal representation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn00CVhDOp4

Finale performances by the top five:

Just Sam performs “Rise Up” by Andra Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKLG7UYw9Fg

Arthur Gunn performs “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” by CCR

Jonny West performs his original song “Makin’ Love”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxWVbRgkpQY

Dillon James performs “The Times They Are A-Changin” by Bob Dylan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8HUlg0GsGQ

Fransisco Martin performs “Alaska” by Maggie Rogers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaMV7Gscz2s