Fans took to Twitter to express their outrage, much of which is unsuitable to republish here.
Even fellow contestants Brendon Thomas and the Vibes Tweeted their shock at the results.
Joe Irvine and Nyssa Collins took the stage for a sing off, before the judges sent Irvine packing.
"Thank you all so much, you've given me this opportunity," Irvine said as he farewelled fans.
"This is not the end. I'm going to blast everything I ever do."
But while some were disappointed to see Irvine leave, many felt he should have faced elimination last week following a particularly weak performance.
Last night, judge Shelton Woolright questioned whether people were voting for Irvine for the right reasons and if they would actually buy his record.
Irvine earned a mass following earlier in the season when he was the subject of a verbal attack by former judges Natalia Kills and Willy Moon. The incident saw the judges sacked from the show and won Irvine a legion of fans, including pop stars Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding and Lorde.
Fans were shocked by the evening's proceedings, which saw Robertson, Irvine and Collins in the bottom three, despite strong performances during last night's live show. Many were predicting Lili Bayliss, Beau Monga and Steve Broad would be in the bottom three.
British chart-topper Ed Sheeran also featured on the show, performing two songs, which were pre-recorded yesterday ahead of his Auckland concert at Vector Arena.
- nzherald.co.nz
