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Did Adam Lambert's California PR fail to beat back the Razorbacks?
It figures that in a day and age where seemingly every election is shrouded with conspiratorial cries of fraud that even American Idol would come under scrutiny.
A report on an Arkansas news station surfaced -- and was quickly retracted -- that more than 38 million votes poured in from the tiny state of Arkansas on Tuesday night to push Arkansas native Kris Allen over the top of the heavily favored Adam Lambert.
AT&T denied it had tracked text messages from Arkansas, but reports show that Web sites dedicated to promoting Allen's bid were teaching folks how to hammer in as many as 3,000 to 5,000 votes via AT&T text messaging.
Lambert, despite hailing from the nation-state of California which has more people in its major cities than the entire state of Arkansas, apparently didn't benefit from similar efforts.
Lambert has an almost rabid fan base who embraced the singer with matchless vocal talent and a semi-open gay lifestyle, such to the extent that gay rights organizations were pulling for his victory.
SF Menswear Examiner Ken Fish explains why this type of thing gets the reaction it does saying, "What I do have a problem with is the fact that the conservative core of this country will do anything to push their agenda. They did it with the Prop 8 battle, they've done it with American Idol, and I think it is safe to assume that they'll do it again when the next thing comes up that they find even mildly objectionable."
Like all great contest the side stories were abundant, pitting Allen and his pretty blond wife from the sticks against the dressed-up and made-up Lambert from Southern California. Gay vs. straight, poster pin up vs. Broadway star. Red State v. Blue State. You name it.
Ironically, both men seemed to genuinely like each other and respect each other throughout the competition. But fans apparently aren't ready to have Season 8 in the books without the pre-requisite cries of foul play, gay-bashing, or FOX news scripting the ending for the more conservative choice.
it's what makes prime time so fun right? For the record, even if the folks from Arkansas did power in 38,000,000 votes there is nothing illegal about it. It just goes to show how invested they were in seeing one of their own take home pop culture's biggest reality TV prize.
More California Statehouse News:
- Allen over Lambert in Idol election.
- Day after election is just another day.
- Recall push again aimed at governor.
- One year ago today: gay marriages legal in Calif.
- Governor to sell prison, release prisoners
Comments
It is clear that the TEXT votes made the difference for the winner. Both fan bases were aware of how to power vote via text messages. BUT PLEASE explain why att and it's representatives were allowed to distribute/lend phones to voting parties in Arkansas, AND teach the voters how to power text. (As per article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, via NWAnews d0tcom)
Where as I was required to purchase my gophone and 1 month of unlimited texting for about $40. Since att is a huge sponsor of IDOL, d
Where as I was required to purchase my gophone and 1 month of unlimited texting for about $40. Since att is a huge sponsor of IDOL, doesen't this seem like a conflict of interest?
There is nothing illegal about 38,000,000 votes UNLESS they used power-voting software, which is against the American Idol rules. The moderators on the official Adam Lambert forum specifically told Adam's fans to not use Gizmo (a power-voting software application), as those votes would not be counted. Were any of the 38,000,000 votes generated by Gizmo? Also, I heard that AT&T provided at least 70 phones along with text-voting instructions at Kris voting parties ... at 5,000 votes per phone (
Oops, guess there is a character limit here. Here is the rest of my post: at 5,000 votes per phone (as you mention above) that could add 350,000 votes to Allen's total. Did AT&T provide phones to Adam's fans also? And how far apart were the results? Did that 350,000 make a difference? I noticed that Idol did not say, as they usually do ...
Adam's fans like Kris Allen, and know that Adam is happy for him ... and we are too. (cont'd)
(Contd.) But it is disheartening to think that the voting system is so flawed and mishandled that the results may not actually be the will of the voters. A one-vote per phone line/IP address would end this issue and dramatically reduce the stress and burden placed on the voters, but then I guess AI couldn't stroke their own ego with the "600 million" vote tally ...I've decided I don't really need to spend 6+ hours a week viewing and voting for American Idol anymore, so next season you will see
(contd) so next season you will see me listening to Adam's music and going to his concerts instead of watching American Idol.
I really wish everyone would stop whining! Adam totally rocks the vocals.. but he did the same act - different song - every single week. He is not appealing to the teenies and young 20-somethings who are more pop/rap/hip-hop oriented. THAT is why Kris won. No voting problems, no shady bizness, just a huge vote turnout for Kris. A high ranking Fox exec leaked it before the results were even handed down that it was a landslide for one contestant... so its not like the vote was even close.
Kris said it himself, not a whole lot goes on in Conway so let the nice and dedicated people have their 15 minutes...just wish it wasn't at the expense of making Americans look foolish to the world.
I voted for Adam for 3 hours non stop by phone and only got through 20 times. I should of gotten through a lot more, like at least 1,000.The only reason I stopped was because my phone battery died.If the phone system can not handle the incoming votes, how is that a fair competition. It is not. Re- Vote. Adam by far, should of won. Forget a re-vote, just name Adam the winner because he is this huge talent.
38 million votes counts for 40 percent of the total votes. Thats big. It is not fair to call this an Adam Lambert conspiricy because they lost.... the Arkansas people and ATT caused this by their voting practice. It's not fair to Adam or Kris and they (Arkansas)made us all doubt whether Kris really won the title.
I will not spend my time watching the next AI because I will not feel that my vote will count for anything since a state can back their favorite in such a manor.
Your are wrong with there is nothing wrong with 38 million votes from one state. AI rules state no mass votes will be accepted and they will NOT be COUNTED. I would say 38 mill votes for a state of 3 million people is a problem!
Kris may still have won that is not the issue. The issue is AI change rules as they go!
If I would of know I could use a GIZMO I would of!
Good debate flowing here... The credibility of the reports of 38 million votes is very low. AT&T had denied its accuracy. I don't think there is a fraud voting here. That said it looks like AI is going to have to change how they count votes as technology changes. Comments here make it clear there is more than just dailing a number on your screen going on.
Why doesn't an educated person post on this wall. First of all, Conway is home to one of the most LIBERAL colleges in the U.S. Granted Arkansas is VERY conservative, Arkansas chose to support a man from their own state to represent how small town people have a chance to move on to bigger and better things. The reason Kris won has nothing to do with his sexual orientation. It doesn't matter, they'll both get signed, Kris just got the title. Maybe some people should start doing a little bit o
f research before they open their mouths. This will help with the fact taht you all sound completely uneducated. Thanks
Arkansas can whine all they like, they won by foul means, and it is a hollow untrue victory,the state of cheaters. I am done with AI , when one person can vote so many times it is not a true accounting of a fan base. I will be too busy following and supporting Adam
Blake, the sterotypes that were made of the Idol final are just that. Just like when two QBs become the story line of a Super Bowl even though not on the field at the same time. It's not "un-educated" to point out the reason this season has so much more buzz than others. Perhaps it was too low-brow for you that you missed the point?
Greetings: I am sick and tired of everything that has gone on this year on "Idol", and therefore will unequivocally NOT WATCH "IDOL" IN 2010 and following. BOOOO, HISSSSS, GAG --IT STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN -- AND ALL THOSE PERSONS INVOLVED WITH THE AM IDOL SHOW (EXCEPT THE CONTESTANTS) ARE UNLAWFUL CHEATERS AND HAVE STOLEN AND DEPRAVED THE TRUE WINNER OF THE TITLE BY ALLOWING ALL THE BOGUS VOTES TO COUNT. BOOOOOOOOOO, TO KRIS' ROGUE STATE OF ARKANSAS (ISN'T THEIR MASCOT A ROGUE PIG/SWINE/HOG) --
There have been a lot of comments on the blogs from Adam fans that they tried to get through and were met with constant busy signals. That was my experience too. If they can't provide enough phone lines to accommodate the voting, then it's not a genuine representation of the vote (and that's if there wasn't foul play involved). Bogus. It was obvious all season long who the truly unique and superior vocalist was. His career will soar anyway.
I would just like to say, in response to some of the comments, it's not someone losing on American Idol that makes are country look foolish. It's probably more along the lines of how many people vote/care about a talent competition more than they vote/care about actual issues and matters.
One phone number = one vote....period! Anything less is DISHONEST!!! and can NEVER be interpreted as a TRUE answer.
The current method of voting does only one thing; it places a veil of secrecy on the vote results, allowing for very dishonest moves on the part of A.I. REMOVE the dishonest voting method, and you also remove the veil of secrecy that A.I. is currently HIDING behind. Take away their veil of secrecy, and the only thing left is an HONEST, and VERY UN-DISPUTABLE RESULT.
The pr
The problem here is that as long as you allow yourselves to be distracted by trivial things such as American Idol, America will never be able to become the great country it was again. Stop buying into the false left/right red state /blue state paradigm.
Everything that is told about AI voting this year just sound as speculations or rumors. Because nobody will be able to prove the truth unless AI show brings it up to the public. I wish I could know if my vote and other people's votes where really counted. Probably I'll never know and I'll keep wondering "why" I never received a confirmation message that in base to AI rules it was a way to confirm that my vote was counted? Why some voters had so much difficulty going through than others? Why AI d
Why AI show decided no to mention the exact number of final votes and the difference of votes between contestants? I have my own theories(as everyone else, probably) and I'll have to live with it
Blake Stroud:
I've got an MD and an MSPH degree...does that make me qualified to give my commentary?
Ask yourself this: If Adam were NOT gay, would he have lost? If Kris WERE gay, would he have won? Ponder it for a bit. It's not as straightforward as you think.
So people care more about how democracy functions on a reality show than in reality?
As for the manufactured controversy, it's a typical no-win scenario. If Adam had won, there would be people saying it was because he was gay. But he lost, and there are people saying it was because he was gay.
Didn't America just have this exact same contradictory conversation just a few months ago during the 2008 election?
So what Arkansas went crazy voting, you can argue it was fair game as Adam's hometown could have done the same. HOWEVER...I hope those 3M people are ready to buy 38M records or else the only person who loses in the end is Kris. We all know Adam is going to go on and sell millions of records...he didn't need the title because his talent speaks for itself (his official website set up by AI crashes every hour bc it can't handle the volume of fans.) But will Arkansas be there to buy the albums and f
I tried voting for Adam for 1 hour and couldn't get a single vote in. Obviously the voitng system is unfair if there aren't enough lines to get the votes in. But it really doesn't matter who wins. The past shows that there are those that have not won who far exceeded the winners. Adam is probably better off with the freedom of not being on an Adol contract. Chris Daultry is a good example of that.
How in hell does a boyishly cute but completely undistinguished singer without so much as a single memorable performance get into the finals and win American Idol?
By AT&T - a sponsor of the show - helping to teach Kris Allen voters how to cheat.
Disgusting.
Firstly, moderators on Idol's forum website advised us Lambert fans that the use of GIZMO device was prohibited; when in fact it was apparently used en masse in Arkansas. Secondly, I logged 2,300 text votes on my GoPhone (a product I PURCHASED from AT & T specifically to vote for Adam) and yet I did not EVER get a confirmation that my votes were actually received by AT & T!!! My phone does show the texts went out; but neither AT & T or Idol EVER confirmed their receipt; very fishy.(I text voted
hey yeah i had soo many problems voting for adam it took me over an hour just to get 1 vote in. it was crazy.though somwe of these people hav a point. i like the debates and comments. (exceptsome). like many others i dont think i'll watch ai next season. i feel they play unfair and don't stay true.
We should demand AI show the results, make them public and let the evidence speak for itself. It was indeed fraud, cheating and dishonest. They need to be held accountable for the many millions of people who did vote thinking their vote would count.
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