Talent Recap

10 Most Shocking Talent Show Eliminations EVER

Talent Show Eliminations America's Got Talent American Idol The Fournbc

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Gasp! Shock! Horror! Those words always come to your mind when you think about some completely shocking talent show eliminations that nobody saw coming. Whether it’s your favorites being eliminated from America’s Got Talent or American Idol, the heartbreak never fully goes away. Let’s take a deep dive into some of the most shocking talent show eliminations of all time.


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The Sacred Riana Was Eliminated From ‘America’s Got Talent’

The Sacred Riana is probably one of the most unique acts to ever hit the America’s Got Talent stage. The Indonesian magician and illusionist already had a huge following from winning Asia’s Got Talent so naturally, everyone thought she would receive a ton of votes on season 13 of ‘AGT.’ She has garnered over 70 million views of her performances on social media and YouTube and made it into the Quarterfinals. It was this performance that had everyone on social media buzzing. While performing on stage, Riana’s act cut to black literally out of nowhere while the show went to a commercial break. Everyone was confused as to what happened and didn’t know if it was part of the act or a technical mistake.

People were outraged saying that the America’s Got Talent producers were trying to sabotage her act, but host Tyra Banks later said it was all a part of the act. Riana was then eliminated from the show in what fans called a straight-up robbery because they felt like she was going to go on and win with no questions.

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SEE ALSO: WATCH THE CREEPY TRAILER FOR THE SACRED RIANA MOVIE


Chris Daughtry Was Eliminated From ‘Idol’

The person who was shocked the most about Chris Daughtry’s American Idol elimination was…well, Chris Daughtry. His rockstar vibes and chill personality sent him soaring into the top four on season five. He landed in the bottom two with Katherine McPhee after making it to the final four. Ryan Seacrest asked judge Simon Cowell who he thought would be going home and he was confident that it was Katherine. So when it was announced that Chris recieved the lowest number of votes and would be going home, everyone’s jaws were on the ground. Ryan asked Chris if he was surprised and he said “a little, yeah.” This created a conspiracy that someone meddled with the vote count because everyone had labeled him as the frontrunner.

He later allotted his elimination to overconfidence and came in second place when he appeared on The Masked Singer.

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Jackie Evancho Shockingly Lost ‘AGT’

Jackie Evancho grew up singing opera music and already caught the attention of music producer David Foster even before appearing on season five of America’s Got Talent. That pretty much sets the tone for how good her singing really is. Her audition went viral because she was a tiny girl with a huge voice. It was so good that Howie Mandel had doubts that Jackie was really singing and asked if there was someone behind the curtain actually singing. This caused so many conspiracies on social media before Jackie was announced as the runner up to the season, losing to singer Michael Grimm. Even he didn’t think he would win against the 10-year-old powerhouse. At the time, this was the highest-rated finale of America’s Got Talent in part because of Jackie’s acclaim.


Even though she didn’t win, she has still gone on to do huge things in the music industry and truly find her identity. She also appeared on The Masked Singer and ‘AGT: The Champions.’

SEE ALSO: JACKIE EVANCHO IN TEARS TALKING ABOUT HER IDENTITY STRUGGLES AND PREDICTS ‘MASKED SINGER’ WINNER

Jennifer Hudson’s Elimination Shocked The World

Jennifer Hudson may be the first-ever American Idol contestant to win an Oscar, but her elimination from the show was seriously shocking. She came in seventh place in season three of the show after previously getting the highest number of votes the week before. Many people speculated that the only reason that she did not advance in the competition is that there were power outages in her hometown of Chicago, leaving people unable to vote for her. There were several social media campaigns calling her elimination unfair. Singer Elton John even chimed him to offer his opinion on the elimination saying it was completely bogus. She slayed a cover of his song the week before that received nothing but praise from the judges.

Even though she was eliminated on American Idol far too early, she will always be a winner in our eyes. She’s won dozens of awards for singing and acting and even gone on to coach The Voice. It was definitely just one of the most shocking talent show eliminations of all time.

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Angelica Hale Cried When She Was Eliminated On ‘AGT’

Angelica Hale was a little girl with a big voice that had one of the biggest fanbases on season 12 of America’s Got Talent. Unfortunately for her, she was competing against the dazzling ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer who ended up winning. It really was a toss-up between the two and Angelica’s fans truly believed she would win the show. Her tear-filled second-place finish was devastating but she came back for redemption on America’s Got Talent: The Champions. She became the first act ever to receive two Golden Buzzers in two different seasons of the show and once again made it to the finals. She lost out on the title again, but will always be a champion in the eyes of her fans.

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SEE ALSO: 10 FACTS ON ‘AMERICA’S GOT TALENT: THE CHAMPIONS’ FINALIST ANGELICA HALE

David Archuleta Shockingly Lost ‘American Idol’

In 2008, season seven of American Idol saw the battle of the David’s, with rocker David Cook and heartthrob David Archuleta both making it to the final two. Archuleta already had a huge following after appearing on the show Star Search. Seriously every teenage girl in the world had a crush on him and voted for him as much as possible. When it was revealed that he lost the competition, a collective sigh could be heard by teenage girls across the world. Even Cook praised Archuleta for all of his finale performances and thought he might win the show. It was later revealed that the votes were super close and the two men were only separated by 6%.

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V. Unbeatable Fans Were Devastated When They Were Eliminated From ‘America’s Got Talent’

This acrobatic dance group from the slums of India were definitely the frontrunners going into the finale of season 14 of ‘AGT.’ They did every kind of flip and trick imaginable across the stage in an act that always had the judges on the edge of their seats. When they were announced as fourth place, their fans were outraged. They pledged that they would never watch the show again and felt that this was the biggest robbery ever on ‘AGT.’ In fact, their fans did not want them to ever appear on the show again. But we know that V. Unbeatable decided to come on ‘AGT: Champions’ because they were hungry for that win. And, they finally got it which was so well-deserved and a long time coming.

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Pia Toscano Was An ‘Idol’ Frontrunner That Was Shockingly Eliminated

Pia Toscano’s elimination from American Idol had the audience completely freaking out along with the judges and the rest of the world. She was labeled the frontrunner of season 10 very early on and had never appeared in the bottom three before her elimination. Jennifer Lopez struggled to hold back tears after Pia was eliminated. Other celebrities like Tom Hanks, Jennifer Hudson and Snooki voiced their frustration and anger that she was eliminated from the show. Any true ‘Idol’ fan will tell you that this was one of the most shocking talent show eliminations of all time.

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Zhavia Ward Had One Of The Most Shocking Talent Show Eliminations On ‘The Four’

In case you’re not familiar with The Four, it was another singing competition that only lasted for two seasons. Perhaps the biggest success to come out of the show is Zhavia. When she sang the song “Location” for her audition, everyone was brought to their feet for a standing ovation and was absolutely blown away. It became very clear that Zhavia was a star on the rise as she continued to dominate the competition. She was eliminated from the show is what was probably one of the most shocking upsets in history. Judge Meghan Trainor literally ran off the stage crying when Zhavia was eliminated.

Thankfully, the judges brought her back to earn her way back into the competition which she did. From that point on, she was again labeled the front runner. However, the world could not believe it when Zhavia went on to lose the competition. We spent weeks leaning our ears to our televisions hanging onto every single note that she sand and it seemed like she was blatantly robbed of the title. It worked out well for her though since she went on to do a song with One Direction’s Zayn Malik and has had so many great opportunities come her way. She also definitely grew one of the biggest fanbases from a talent competition ever during her time on the show.

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SEE ALSO: 16 YO SINGER ZHAVIA STUNNED THE WORLD ON ‘THE FOUR’ — WHERE IS SHE NOW?

Marcelito Pomoy Was Shocked When He Lost ‘AGT: Champions’

Filipino singer Marcelito Pomoy won Pilipinas Got Talent in 2011, so he already had a huge fanbase coming onto ‘AGT: Champions.’ He shared his special talent with the world, singing in both male and female voices. Marcelito was asked to come on a regular season of the show but declined the invitation because he was already a champion. He had his sights set on Howie Mandel’s Golden Buzzer during his first performance but unfortunately did not get it. His fanbase had daggers in their eyes when Simon Cowell criticized his song choice during one of his performances, though it was later revealed that the producers chose the song.

Of course, there was a ton of disappointment when Marcelito was announced as the third runner up on the show. His fans were so sure that he would win especially because of how unique his talent is. He took to social media to express that he was grateful for his fans and that it was not the end for him because he will always be a champion.

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SEE ALSO: MILLION DOLLARS OR PERFORM WITH SRK? V.UNBEATABLE ANSWER

Which talent show elimination do you think is the most shocking of all time? Let us know in the comments down below.

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