After the surprise twist American Idol Hollywood Week first round on Wednesday night, we saw a number of complaints on our Facebook page about how cruel the twist was to the contestants.
In particular, viewers seemed very distressed about how the rejected contestants were thrown onto a bus and shipped off to the airport without the American Idol judges even bothering to tell them their fate.
When the Hollywood or Home round of performances was over, the contestants who had been separated into two groups were told to board two different buses. One of the buses would take the contestants who had made it through to their hotel. The other one would carry the failed contestants back to the airport, where they would immediately have to go back home.
Although it had to be obvious to many contestants which group they were in based on how they performed and which other singers were on the bus with them, they still had to have been hoping they were wrong. When they finally realized they were on the losing bus as the signs for the airport came into view, some of the contestants broke down sobbing. It was heartbreaking to watch.
One of our Facebook readers said the way the rejected contestants were treated was “heartless” and “cruel.” Another told us she was “so disappointed because of what they did to the kids who ‘sang for their lives'” and it was “downright mean!” Yet another reader commented that she was “stunned at the meanness shown tonight putting them on a bus to go to the airport without telling which bus they were on.”
The poor singers who didn’t impress the American Idol judges in the surprise round didn’t even get to unpack in Hollywood before they were headed right back home. Several of our readers thought the producers were terrible for not at least allowing those who passed auditions the chance to experience Hollywood for a day or two, and at least participate in the first true Hollywood Week round.
Other fans, however, disagreed that the Hollywood or Home buses twist was over the top. One reader said we should “just think of the disappointment that they would have had, if they had stayed, not everyone can make it.”
Do you think the new Hollywood or Home twist, followed by the American Idol 2014 judges shipping the failed contestants off of the bus was just too mean? Or do you agree that it was just tough love that people who want to be in the industry should just deal with and get over?