"High school talent show level": American Idol fans divided over Zaylie Windsor's elimination

American Idol Season 23 Episode 12 aired on April 21, 2025. The latest episode of the singing competition featured the Top 14 Reveal, where six participants were sent home. The remaining 14 contestants advanced on the show to the next phase.

One of the participants who was sent home was Zaylie Windsor. Her latest performance, "Still Into You" by Paramore, received mixed reactions from the viewers. Seeing Zaylie as one of the eliminated contestants, fans were divided over the latest American Idol Season 23 episode's results.

Some fans voiced their concerns for her elimination despite such a performance, while others felt that her performance was not good. It sparked a debate among fans who shared their views on the social media platform X.

A fan reacted to Zaylie's performance and commented:

"Zaylie is cute but this was a bad performance. High school talent show level. #americanidol."

Another fan appreciated her American Idol Season 23 Episode 12 performance:

"You had a great performance tonight. You have a good voice. Zaylie Windsor #AmericanIdol."

A netizen reacted to her elimination from the competition:

"ZAYLIE ROBBED #AmericanIdol."

An X user commented about how Zaylie could be a "star":

"@AmericanIdol watched for years and this is the first time you got it wrong @lukebryan @LionelRichie @carrieunderwood. Amanda's story is compelling but, simply, she can't win and/or won't be a star. Zaylie is that Gracie Abrams niche she is indie & can be a star #AmericanIdol."

A netizen commented to save Zaylie among other eliminated participants:

"Save Drew,Victor, Zaylie and bayleee #americanidol."

However, there were fans who did not appreciate her performance. One such fan shared a comment on X:

"Zaylie is so bad I'm sorry #AmericanIdol."

Another fan criticized Zaylie's performance and Carrie Underwood's speech about the same:

"Yikes. Carrie giving the be proud of how far you've come speech at Zaylie. #AmericanIdol."

Another person criticized Zaylie:

"Zaylie, we are all also wondering how you got this far. #AmericanIdol."

A netizen reacted to the possibility of judges saving Zaylie and mentioned:

"Zaylie in jeopardy thank you & the judges better not save her over some of the others #AmericanIdol."

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American Idol Season 23 Episode 12: Zaylie Windsor was eliminated along with five other artists

Recently released American Idol Season 23 Episode 12 featured the elimination of six participants. It included:

1. Zaylie Windsor
2. Baylee Littrell
3. Drew Ryn
4. Victor Solomon
5. Isaiah Misailegalu
6. Olivier Bergeron

The remaining 14 contestants advanced in the competition and made it to the American Idol Season 23 Top 14.

For her performance, Zaylie Windsor,18, performed Paramore's "Still Into You." For that, fans were divided over how she performed. While some fans thought she deserved to be in the Top 14, a few were against it.

Fans must remember Zaylie's audition performance, where Carrie Underwood stated that Zaylie had a "Taylor Swift-esque" quality. It was after Zaylie performed her original song, which she wrote when she was 14.

"My thing is, there's a Taylor Swift-esque quality that she has. She doesn't have this giant vibrato, belty voice, but there's something in there. If she did that at 14, she must have a lot of other things in her arsenal that she could bring to the table. … I feel like there's something about her," stated Carrie.

However, Zaylie's performance on American Idol's latest episode failed to impress the judges as she didn't make it to the Top 14.

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Fans can stream the latest American Idol Season 23 Episode 12 on Hulu.