Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jesse Findling was eliminated at the end of Monday’s American Idol Top 12 night. (ABC Photo)

Three more talented singers exited American Idol Monday night.

Julian Kalel and Jake Thistle were cut as a result of eliminations put off from them week.

Then Jesse Fielding was eliminated when he landed in Monday’s bottom two alongside Rae Boyd.

Lionel Richie, who had won the judges’ song contest, opted to save Rae instead, meaning Jesse left the show.

Jake and Julian are singer-songwriters with music already out. Jesse says he’ll be working on doing the same.

Here’s what they had to say about their Idol ousters on social media.

Jesse Findling: His Instagram post was succinct: “Only up from here.” But he also talked to On the Red Carpet after his elimination, adding the following:

“Now, I’m just kind of looking back at everything I did (on the show) and I’m just proud of myself. I’ve grown so much. Everybody has to move on, right?

“Now I can look ahead, and I just want to start saying ‘yes’ to more things. And I want to make my own music. Hopefully, I will have a lot of great resources that this show unlocked for me. And I can use those to make music and just develop myself as an artist.”

Jake Thistle: “What a ride! Had such an incredible experience on @americanidol meeting so many amazing folks and learning a ton. Super grateful for the opportunity to share my music with such a large audience, and it was an honor to be a part of a season with such a special group.

“I’ve always considered myself more of a songwriter than a singer, so I’m just so happy to have gotten to hang around with everyone as long as I was able to! See you guys on the road soon, there’s plenty more to come!!”

Jake has lots of money out and released a single called “Sleep on Me” as part of a four-song EP earlier this year. He released a seven-song project “The Half Left Out in 2023 and a debut album called “Down the Line” in 2021. Jake sang “Sleep On Me” during the ‘Ohana round on Idol.

Julian Kalel: “Thank you for your votes, your voices, your support, and for believing in me since the very beginning. Journey ain’t over yet 🖤 love every single one of y’all.”

Julian has released seven singles since 2024, including “Surrender” and “Lone Guitar,” both of which he performed on the show. “Surrender” is his most popular to date with nearly 600,000 streams on Spotify.

And I have to wonder if Julian’s exit was hurried along by Idol’s live voting during a Monday 8 to 10 p.m. east coast time slot.

He’s from El Paso, Texas, where Idol begins airing two hours later. In other words, the show begins in his home town around the same time voting is ending.

Remember, this is Idol’s first year of live voting on Monday nights. In past years, most of the live voting shows were simulcast on Sunday evenings.

Jake Thistle and Julian Kalel were eliminated at the opening of Monday’s American Idol. (ABC Photo)