Every season the wrong Idol wins (Kris Allen, pictured, AP) and disgruntled fans cry conspiracy. Season 8 is no different. Here's the latest conspiracy making the rounds, from an email we received this morning [I'm going to omit the emailer's name so as to not hold the person up to public comment without their approval]:
I know this is merely a singing contest, but there's justice involved in everything. I wanted to let you know that, of the 100 million votes cast last night, around 38 million (40%) were cast in the state of Arkansas. Those interested were brought to specific areas, given free loaner cells by AT&T, and allowed to text, for as long as they wanted. On top of creating an insurmountable obstacle, this is against the rules of the show itself, which state that "A weekly monitoring procedure will be in place to prevent individuals from unfairly influencing the outcome of the voting by generating significant blocks of votes using technical enhancements."
Here is what Robbie Wills, Speaker of the House at Arkansas wrote several hours before the
results show. Check the date and time: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 13:06. How did he know that
Kris had won and that there were 100 million votes? AT & T insider perhaps?
Written by Robbie Wills on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 13:06 - From the Arkansas Democrat
Gazette
American Idol Votes Are In UPDATE: KRIS WINS!!!!
Told ya so! You heard it here first. It was the Arkansas vote!!! AT&T confirms 38 million votes from Arkansas alone. There were 100 million votes total for both finalists. Now that's what I call Getting Out The Vote. Congratulations Kris and family. Frankly, I admire Adam. I hate to see him (or anyone) lose like this.
Thank you,
[J.S]
(My view? Anything's possible but I don't buy into it. Kris won. Period. And though I'm not the least bit happy with this ridiculous outcome, it's wholly not unexpected. Sure, there are voting shenanigans but did Kris fans have the monopoly on this? Adam fans couldn't figure out how to get San Diego to cheat, too? My idea for a solution to this problem is that Idol producers should institute a one-vote per number/household rule. This would make it fair and reduce the chance for conspiracies. We'd also have more valid winners because the 'tween girls who swamp Idol lines with redials and texting for hours on end would have one vote apiece and their taste wouldn't dominate. Maybe an Adam Lambert or an Allison Iraheta could actually win on American Idol in the future if everyone had an equal chance. The parade of mediocre, middling talents but cute and cuddlies would not always beat the edgy and truly gifted.)
My pal Bradley also makes an interesting observation: "The total population of the entire state of Arkansas in July 2008 was 2,855,390 people. Maybe a few more have moved there in the last 10 months. Somehow they all got AT&T cell phones and dialed 13.3 times each?"
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