Who is Ruby Rae? 'American Idol' sparks outrage over her emotional exit amid total voting chaos
The latest episode of 'American Idol' was a mess both on-screen and off-screen. One contestant who unwillingly came into focus amidst the chaos was Ruby Rae. The 16-year-old was one of the hopefuls trying to make it into the coveted Top 12. However, she unfortunately failed to make the cut in the live episode that aired on Monday. But it was the way she exited that raised eyebrows. As soon as Ryan Scearest announced her elimination, she broke down in tears. Another eliminated contestant was seen comforting her. The audience was surprised that neither Rae nor the other eliminated contestants were given a moment to process the loss. Instead, they were quickly driven out of frame to focus on the safe contestants.
The winners were treated like kings, while the losers were treated as paupers. Rae came into the world's notice during the February 2 episode of 'American Idol.' She was given the golden ticket on the back of her rendition of Olivia Rodrigo’s hit 'Vampire.' During the audition, she shared that music helped her cope with the loss she experienced due to the Palisades Fire. “It’s been really hard to find a way to talk about it,” she said. “Music is the only place where I feel like I can let it out.” All three judges, Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Carrie Underwood, unanimously gave her the golden ticket.
Every participant was asked to prepare a faith-based song for the Monday live show. But not all got to perform them in the second annual 'Songs of Faith' event. Based on two pre-taped episodes recorded in Hawaii and America, the audience voted for their favorites to progress to the next round. Rae and five others did not receive enough votes to continue in the competition and were eliminated at the beginning of the episode. Many on social media felt that the show could have given the eliminated participants a moment on stage, even for a little while. All they got was Scearest announcing, “Which means we say goodbye to Kutter, Ruby, Madison, Makiyah, Genevieve, and Abayomi. Let's hear it for them one more time, everyone," after which the show quickly began focusing on others.
@heyrubyrae i’m so grateful and TRUST this won’t be the last u see of me 🙂↕️💞 i had so much fun and thank u all for supporting me along the way 💘 #cover #foryoupage #americanidol #rubyrae #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp ♬ original sound - Ruby Rae
Rae exited the frame crying, obviously disappointed, having her journey cut short. The 16-year-old from Pacific Palisades updated her fans on TikTok just an hour after her elimination. She was in better spirits than before. “Hi, I’m Ruby, and I was eliminated from American Idol like an hour ago. I’m still in full hair and makeup from the episode we filmed tonight. But, I didn’t get to sing my song on the episode, so I thought I would sing you guys what I didn’t get to sing tonight,” Ruby shared in the video. She performed a cover of Lauren Daigle‘s 'You Say' for her fans. In the caption, she expressed gratefulness for the opportunity and promised that this was not the end of the road for her in her singing career.
According to Scearest, the show received an unprecedented number of votes, and the management struggled to handle the sudden surge. This sequence of events led to full-on chaos, which provided a dramatic conclusion. The episode promised that the 14 remaining singers would be cut down to 12. However, because the showmakers were unable to calculate the votes in the stipulated time, the elimination was pushed to next week. Inside sources, though, claim that the issue did not arise because of the massive number of votes, but due to technical glitches. The show airs every Monday at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC and is available for streaming the next day on Hulu and Disney+.
