'Idol' singers who sing first may not last

First may be the worst for American Idol singers.

The leadoff performer on an Idol finals night stands a disproportionately greater chance of being eliminated than those who follow, according to an analysis of Idol's seven seasons.

In 69 finals episodes, 20 singers in the No. 1 spot have been voted off, seven more than would be expected based on statistical probability, says Nick Straguzzi, co-founder of WhatNotToSing.com, which collects and analyzes Idol data. In four out of six weeks this season, the first finalist has been in the bottom three, twice being eliminated. "The No. 1 slot is by far the most dangerous for finalists," Straguzzi says.

Eliminations at the other slots came closer to what could be expected at random, except for lucky 7, a spot from which only one has been bounced. And no one in the 11th or 12th spot in a finals week has been eliminated; only one (Kristy Lee Cook) has been in the bottom three.

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