The American Idol finale is Sunday night on ABC, but if you don't think America got it right, starting on Monday, Live with Kelly & Ryan viewers will get the chance to vote in an online poll to bring an eliminated Top 10 American Idol finalist back for a performance.
"Monday, they get to go onto our website. They have 24 hours to vote and then their choice will perform on our show Friday, May 28," Kelly explains to ABC Audio. "So, if they want to see their favorite person who was voted off the stage, they have that opportunity to weigh in on our website and maybe have an encore performance here [on] our stage with us."
The winner — who will either be Chayce Beckham, Grace Kinstler or Willie Spence — will appear on Live with Kelly & Ryan on Monday, and the runner-up will appear Thursday. But according to a show spokesperson, the Top 10 contestants in the poll will not include Caleb Kennedy, who left the show earlier this month.
Still, there are likely plenty of Idol fans who'll weigh in, since many of them were dismayed when Casey Bishop was eliminated last weekend. How does host Ryan Seacrest handle comments from enraged Idol fans who are upset that contestants have either been eliminated or left under other circumstances?
"He lets me handle that!" Kelly jokes. But in all seriousness, Ryan says he doesn't read the comments, but he understands fans' anger.
"I think it's great that fans get so passionate about a performer, about an artist, that they're so engaged," Ryan tells ABC Audio. "Remember, these are strangers who have come from different parts of the country…[with] little to no fan base, and they create that kind of passion with somebody. I think that's a great thing!"
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