American Idol 4: What's With The Voting?
Teenage Girls & Their Parent's Wallets
By Mike Meilinger
March 31, 2005
I supply the Nashville Star rankings for Reality TV Calendar and offer my votes for the American Idol elimination. After this week's "bottom three" voting on American Idol, I was totally puzzled. What the heck is going on here? How are these people with such talent being voted out? So I decided to take an analytical approach to the voting in an attempt to solve this puzzle.
First "piece" that needs defining is what type of contest American Idol is. It is a talent show and singing contest to some extent; but unfortunately in my opinion, it is more of a popularity contest. As the name implies, this is American Idol. An idol is defined as an object of passionate devotion and a form or appearance visible but without substance. This would explain why some contestants, obviously inferior in musical talent are garnishing more votes than their fellow contestants (Constantine…cough, cough).
Second "piece" is the skewing by the judges and their comments. While based partially on the contestant's talents, their comments are also driven by likeability and marketability. Two out of the three judges have some personal and monetary stake in the final decisions. The other is just there for moral support and her comments reflect that.
Based on the above-mentioned "pieces", I think more weight is being given to likeability and marketability. With this in mind I rated each contestant by using 4 main items; Singing (0-3 pts.), Performance (0-3 pts.), Likeability (0-6 pts.) and Marketability (0-6 pts.). I recommend you giving this rating system a try.
MY ratings (and yes they are subjective) show that Scott and Anthony should be at the bottom of the list. But why weren't they? Another "piece" to the puzzle is that I am not "America". I am a 40-year old male. Although I do not have access to actual demographic information on the voting public, I am positive there are more teenage girls doing the voting than any others. Even if they filled out the same "score card" I used, their rankings will be totally different when they cast their vote or should I say VOTES!!!
Herein lies the final piece or pieces to the puzzle. I vote one time (that's all I'm allowed) by phone. I do not have a phone that text messages (I'm just glad my phone has push buttons)! With text messaging, you can vote as many times as your wallet, or should I say parents will allow. The bottom line is my vote and consequently my opinion does not count as much as in previous seasons when text messaging was not as popular.
With the puzzle solved, I can rest easier. I know that my patience will be rewarded. I believe the final two or three will always rise to the top and avoid elimination. Although I don't believe Jessica should have been voted out this week, she would not have made it to the final three. I just need to be patient and have fun with the upcoming weeks of voting. I admit it is not easy trying to figure out, who "America" wants to "Idol".
Mike Meilinger enjoys watching reality tv for an escape from his.
The more frustrated he becomes with both, the more you'll hear from him.
Love him or hate him, let him know at blackpearl1100@yahoo.com
They Were Cast - Why Not You?
Reality TV Calendar will send you the latest casting calls as soon as they are released. Calls are often short notice with short deadlines. You need to make contact immediately. You can't do that unless you have immediate notification of the call. One Time Payment, Only $7.95.
Click For More Information.
