American Idol’s Most Heartbreaking Eliminations Ever!

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Emily Piriz

Fan favorite Piriz got cut surprisingly early in Idol's 13th season. The aspiring star made the top 13 but was eliminated soon after, getting axed from the show after singing "Let's Get Loud" to come in 12th on her season.

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Angie Miller

So close! Season 12's Angie Miller nabbed a spot in the top three, only to fall to eventual winner Candice Glover and runner-up Kree Harrison in the second-to-last episode of the season.

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Colton Dixon

Dixon made it to the top seven of American Idol's 11th season but was eliminated after his performances of "Bad Romance" and "September." His hugely successful competitor Phillip Phillips later won the season.

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Pia Toscano

Season 10's front-runner had never appeared in the bottom three before her April 7 elimination. "I'm shocked. I'm angry. I don't know what to say," Toscano's staunchest supporter, judge Jennifer Lopez, said after the announcement, struggling to hold back tears.

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Michael Lynche

The season 9 favorite got the boot in one of the cycle's final episodes. After performing "Will You Be There," Big Mike was eliminated and came in fourth, narrowly missing the top three.

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Adam Lambert

"Adam deserved this," season 8 winner Kris Allen told reporters of Lambert after being crowned Idol's new champ. "He was seriously one of the most gifted performers that I've ever met." The Los Angeles Times has ranked the runner-up fifth in their list of the Top 120 Idols from seasons 1 to 9.

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Michael Johns and Carly Smithson

"If there's a song to go out on, that's not a bad one," Johns told Ryan Seacrest after he was booted during season 7 for singing Aerosmith's "Dream On." Smithson — also in the bottom two that week — mouthed the words "It's me" before the verdict was delivered. She went home two weeks later.

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Melinda Doolittle

Many Idol devotees felt beatboxer Blake Lewis took the veteran backup singer's spot in season 6's final two against Jordin Sparks. "My commiserations, Melinda, cause you are one heck of a singer," Simon Cowell told Doolittle after her 2007 cut.

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Chris Daughtry

The season 5 rocker fell victim to voter apathy when fans failed to dial and text because they thought he was a lock for the final two. The presumptive winner got the boot before runner-up Katharine McPhee and winner Taylor Hicks.

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Constantine Maroulis

Having not appeared in the bottom three before his season 4 elimination in 2005, Maroulis was given the boot after performing Nickelback's "How You Remind Me."

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Jennifer Hudson

Some fans blamed the future Oscar winner's season 3 exit in part on a power outage in her Chicago hometown, while others, including Elton John, pulled the race card. "The fact that [she was] constantly in the bottom three … I find it incredibly racist," John said.

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Clay Aiken

Aww-shucks crooner Aiken fell just shy of the season 2 title in 2002, won by Ruben Studdard. In the years since Aiken's elimination, he has launched nine tours, released a New York Times bestselling book and appeared on Broadway in Monty Python's Spamalot.

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Tamyra Gray

Season 1's Gray delivered a rousing version of "A House Is Not a Replica Luxury Handbag" that Cowell declared "one of the best performances on television" he'd ever seen before she got the boot in 2002. Eliminated fourth, Gray finished behind Nikki McKibbin, Justin Guarini and winner Kelly Clarkson.