Lionel Richie recently opted to save Rae Boyd from elimination on American Idol. However, the following week, she was eliminated from the compeition by the American audience. Interestingly, this isn't the first time that a contestant who has been saved by the judges has found themselves crashing out of the compeition the following week.
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Mattie Pruitt suffered the exact same fate last season.
Those similarities have led both Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood to believe there may be a curse on the show. Carrie shared her thoughts when speaking with some members of the media following the April 13 live show.
"I was talking to Luke [Bryan] and Lionel about it," Carrie said, via PEOPLE. "It seems like the person that gets saved really has to do something, 'cause it seems like they're the next one again. [Rae] got saved last week, so it's kind of like America did it again."
Lionel also spoke out on his thoughts surrounding a potential curse, which occurs when a judge saves a contestant from elimination.
"Whoever you save, they're going the next time. It is one of the most interesting things I've observed, that the voting public has to fall in love with you," he said. "And we keep thinking... it's the voice. It's not. They have to fall in love with your personality."
Carrie Underwood Accepts That No One Knows What the 'American Idol' Audience Is Thinking at Home
Despite talks of a potential curse, Carrie Underwood has accepted that there's a more logical explanation for how things have played out in recent years. During her conversation with the media, she accepted that it's "impossible" to know who the at-home audience is resonating with.
"You don't know what people are resonating with, the ones that are sitting at home watching and voting," she said. "It's the same in the music business in general. I've seen so many singers and songwriters who were trying to be artists as well, that I'm like, why are you not uberfamous? And for whatever reason, it's just a disconnect, I guess, 'cause [Rae's] so talented."
Whatever the reason may be, you can't blame future contestants if they try to avoid being saved by the judges. Let's face it, at this point, it's nothing more than a stay of execution.
