'American Idol's' mysterious voting system invites controversy

"American Idol" ended its eighth season last week. So what will fans do with all this newfound free time? Why, delve into another "Idol" voting controversy, of course.

Published reports have raised questions whether AT&T, a program sponsor, may have violated "Idol" voting rules at two pre-finale parties thrown for Kris Allen,  the Arkansas crooner crowned winner last Wednesday. Partisans of Adam Lambert, the runner-up, have generated stormy online protests about alleged voting improprieties that could have thrown the outcome.

AT&T confirmed that its employees handed out phones to party guests in Arkansas and then offered pointers on how to text votes. The reports said the workers also briefed guests on how to "power-text" multiple votes at once, which would have been a violation of "Idol's" rules.

The fracas has embarrassed AT&T, which has for years gotten repeated shout-outs from "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest in exchange for its paid sponsorship.

In a statement, the company said its workers were "caught up in the enthusiasm of rooting for their hometown contestant." It added: "Going forward, we will make sure our employees understand our sponsorship celebrates the competition, not individual contestants."

The producers, meanwhile, are defending the integrity of the voting process. "Fox and the producers of 'American Idol' are absolutely certain that the results of this competition are fair, accurate and verified," the network and producers said in a joint statement Wednesday. "Kris Allen is, without a doubt, the American Idol.  We have an independent third-party monitoring procedure in place to ensure the integrity of the voting process.  In no way did any individuals unfairly influence the outcome of the competition."

On that point, the producers seem to be on firm ground. According to a network spokeswoman, more than 100 million votes were received after the May 19 final performance between Allen and Lambert. Even if the AT&T workers passed out 1,000 phones -- the company said it was "a small number" of devices, without offering specifics -- and coached each user to text 100 votes, that would add up to only 100,000 votes, or less than one-tenth of 1% of the votes cast. 

Yet the murkiness surrounding the phone-in voting procedures all but guarantee conspiracy theories, especially given "Idol's" status as America's No. 1 show. Fox has never released more than bare-bones data about the tabulation process, which is managed by Los Angeles firm Telescope.

Fox says that it needs to keep the voting details secret to avoid helping any viewers who might attempt to game the system. The producers have also refused to release voting tallies for the contestants. Ostensibly, this is to sustain drama even during seasons when the results are lopsided throughout the season. But "Idol" has generally not provided such data even after the season has ended.

As a result, the AT&T dust-up is only the latest voting controversy to afflict "Idol," with partisans of rejected contestants always willing to point out how the system short-circuited their favorite. At the climax of the second season in 2003, Ruben Studdard beat Clay Aiken by a 130,000-vote margin, out of 24 million cast -- a margin of error of less than 1%. During Season 5, some viewers claimed that their intended votes for Chris Daughtry were mistakenly directed to phone lines serving other contestants. Daughtry placed fourth in the competition.

However, Fox appears unlikely to move in the direction of full disclosure. A spokeswoman contacted for this story said that beyond the statement, the network would have no comment.

-- Scott Collins

Photo: Fox

Comments

[MarCanada]

American Idol and FOX skew comments any way that suits them. Last year, Ryan Seacrest noted during the two Davids finale that 97.5 million votes were cast, and David Cook won was mentioned that David Cook won 56 per cent of the votes: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1587891/20080521/story.jhtml.

This year, however, no vote totals were released, mysteriously, and Seacrest admitted that a lot of people couldn't get through on the voting lines (he didn't say they were Adam fans trying to get through, but read into it what you will...).

So that leaves us now with FOX saying next year impartiality from a sponsor will be stressed, etc. Obviously, if nothing was done wrong by a corporate sponsor, and no ill harm was done, FOX wouldn't promise to crack down next year.

What a tragedy! While Kris Allen is a nice guy and I'm sure was not involved in any of these voting irregularities, and Adam is so supportive and protective of Kris, this year's Idol win will forever be tainted. No one can deny the talent Adam brought to the stage against all the scrutiny of his life, and how valuable he is to the Idol money-making machine. He's so special and what a find - I have to give Idol that, it did give him a stage to showcase his extraordinary talent. Adam said it best when he said everyone who went into Idol looking at it as a competition had the wrong attitude. He looked at it as a stage to show the world his unique and amazing singing and performing gift.

It's with that attitude that Adam Lambert wins the title of World Class Idol.

Hugs from Marlene in Toronto

[Eric J]

Why does this article figure that one person could have texted a maximum of 100 votes on finale night?

Voting was open for four hours after the show.

Someone with a phone with free service, sending 10 texts at a time, could have send thousands of texts over those four hours.

[Kerry Kolsch]

The problem I have is that this was a singing contest, not a voting contest. The answers are not good enough. I know that AT&T was involved with California numbers being used to vote for three additional hours, were these votes eliminated? What about the family that voted 486,000 time?. Were those votes counted? The problem with credibility is that the best singer on the show by far ever did not win. The singer has more interest, fans, media attention, and Google trends hits. It does not make sense unless Arkansas and AT&T broke the rules for the upset. There are figures that 38,000.000, to 58,000.000 votes came from Arkansas including the California Phones.

[Andy]

Nice going AT&T, Kris's face is in the mud. This is a shame on America, c'mon the rest of the world knows that Adam is the winner. What good are your cheating votes. The result has obviously put Kris's face in the mud before the rest of the world. He'll probably shine but only in America at most. On the other hand, Adam will shine worldwide for sure.

[Suse1701]

Yeah, what? I'm not a conspiracy theorist and I know these "voting strategies" were floating around the Internet for weeks. But I completely agree with Eric J., the 100-vote figure is ludicrous.

Sending out 10 at a time? You could do that in five minutes. I have an iPhone, which does not do blanket texts (that I've been able to figure out). It takes less than five seconds to send a text, times four hours, times 10. I'm no math whiz, but I have a calculator. At five seconds per text, that's 12 per minute, times 60 = 720 per hour, x 4 = 2,880 per four hours, x 10 = 28,800. Going at a moderate pace, one person could easily send 30,000 votes.

Now I'm still saying both sides knew this and it was a matter of who was more mobilized and determined, which chances are, means Kris is still the winner (as he said, there's not a lot going on in Arkansas and they get behind their people fiercely). I worship at the altar of Adam, but he seems completely fine with this. I understand Adam's fans frustration, but this is just making things worse.

I was joking around (kinda) a few days ago when I said AT&T should cut Kris and Adam each a $1 million check for the obscene profits they've made through all of this (and the reason we will never get a truly fair voting strategy). It's the least they could do. I know I upped my texting plan to unlimited solely for the purpose of voting for Adam.

I've defended AT&T in the past (love my iPhone), but my level of respect for the company has tanked, not for the "conspiracy," but the greed.

[susan]

we had a party to vote for Danny...not one of us got through...14 of us! The next week, final week, we held the same party to vote for Adam, not one of us got through again. Odd??? I think so. Could AT&T employees have blocked the phone lines of these contestants?

We do not know 1 person in Wisconsin, Danny's home state, who was able to get through to cast a vote! Serious issue! Very unfair.

[DogBitez]

Text voting should be open to ALL cell phone carriers or none at all. It's ridiculous that only AT&T customers can vote by text. That alone has always seemed a bit skunky to me. But more importantly, it's high time that American Idol stopped trying to impress us all with how many votes came in... we all know that 25% came from just one group of giggling tween girls in Omaha, so votes totals are meaningless. For voting credibility, Idol needs to limit votes to 5 per phone line. Or something along those lines.

[Eric R]

Baloney, that "the rest of the world knows that Adam is the winner". What a bunch of hogwash!! Adam is a better (super-highly talented) loser than the rest of your characters! Get a life. I mean, does your happiness actually depend on AI?? Get a life. Who said all is fair in entertainment?

[Nikki]

Someone mentioned 100 texts at a time. I read a newspaper article from an Arkansas newspaper where Kris' grandmother stated that she and his mother power texted 500 texts at a time for the entire 4 hours. There is also a Kris Allen website that looks like it went up in late April/early May that explained how to power text and how to purchase phones with California phone numbers and Hawaii phone numbers to add to the voting time. I also read in the article that everyone at the watch parties were encouraged to stay the entire 4 hours and power text. Many were able to power text on their own phones and did not need to use the ones AT&T provided. So, one has to wonder which contestant was really America's favorite?

[Leileea]

Andy I'm with you

[Troy]

Suggestion....All this srap sickens me. I've already decided not to watch the show anymore. Not because Adam didn't win but because it is not a singing contest as it claims to be. This is not the forst season the person that deserved to win Idol did not win. Personally, I feel Idol should get rid of AT&T entirely. First, unless you have unlimited texting, think of all the shocked parents that get very high bills because their child voted like a maniac for a contestant on Idol. Secondly, it is a digital service and those are always vurneable to cheating. Lastly, not everyone is an AT&T customer whereas most everyone has a phone. Next, I feel the American public should be allowed to vote all the way until the final. The final should be decided by the Judges and perhaps studio19 and any others that stand to gain from the winner. It is there investment, so to speak. (On a personal note, that is why I am glad Adam lost...he has more freedom than Kris!) Seeing how America almost consistently gets it wrong every year, I think these changes are needed. It is the only way I'll tune in again.

[lee]

AI thought it was ok for Katie Perry to perform while attired in a costume with "Adam Lambert" written on the back. She then unofficially campaigned for Adam to the local KTTV reporter. Was that fair for Allen fans?

If these Arkansas "guests" were already planning to vote for Chris, IMO nothing improper occurred. The AT&T reps merely facilitated their voting efforts. If they denied the same information and cell phone access to Lambert fans, then we have a problem.

Again, the CA population EASILY dwarfs the Arkansas population. (There's no electoral college involved in AI voting, meaning it's winner = most votes, pure and simple. And would you rather switch to the political voting scheme, where millions of state workers would have to count the vote by hand? Florida anyone?

[D]

i just want to say, all the hype about phones messing up, the count/vote was wrong, whatever happened! NOTHING HAPPENED!!! yes Adam had followers but Kris had his followers plus Matt followers started following Kris when he left and Danny G followers started following Kris when he left... so basically KRIS got all of the other votes. The folks following the RB kind of a genre were going to follow that genre, they were not going to switch to rock, so Kris picked up alot of people who were voting for other contestants. Adam only had the rockers who were voting for him and maybe Allison. Leave it alone.. KRIS won and Adam will move on doing something anyways. Good grief! I wishi Idol would make this statement or Simon at least!!!

[Amanda]

yes we all know that it was Rigged.. .The reason the Fox will not reveals the voes is because the people will definitely questions the tally. In spite of the whole thing that the Producer of American Idol not releasing the totals votes or even the gap.
The True winner is Adam Lambert, But since all the question is Adam's orientation Fox producer got worried or wanna add more drama to the show. That put untalented Kris Allen as the winner so America would have something to talk about.
NationWide is rooting for Adam is the winner, and everybody knows to vote for Adam. When the votes came, Adam got the prize but the AI producer switched it..
HOw can Kris donkey gonkey win, while he forgot the lyrics during competion of the Finale's song. Go watch the Video over and over again when Kris sing the coronation song "NO Boundaries"..... that's what you called American Idol???? He proudly admitted it, and still wondering why he never been voted off, where he was so sure that he was gone for sure in a few of his performance.
So is the Producer of the show is collaborating with At&T then? Or He really wants to give the Title to Kris since Adam has been the favorite a long time ago>
Not counting the producer get rid of the really talented contestant like Allison, Danny and Matt.
And put Kris dokey Gonkey in the Finale instead... save him until the end.
Adam Lambert is incredbly talented and flawless performance since the 8 season started. Also Adam is the BEST ever happen in AI history... Hands down to Adam Lambert for a Great SEason until the Finale.
Adam YOU ARE the American Idol.. you have grace, you are very smart, entertaining...exciting.. and incredible voice. YOu are Awesome way to go!!

ONe more message to Kris domky...People voted NOT base on talents. It's a tainted win, your town cheated Big time. You should be proud of your relition Kris. But you sounded that you hope people did not vote cuz of our beief that is sooooooo WRong to say. tsk..tsk..tsk..

[Raymond]

I watched American Idols from South Africa. Our idols completion did not go that well as the favorite also did not win due to a SMS problem. My suggestion is that some other voting system should be implemented where a cell number) can only cast one vote per episode, so if there is 10 shows where 10 contestants are eliminated then one person (or cell number) can only vote 10 times for the duration of the show. So American will have to cast their vote very carefully and teens just power texting will be eliminated. This will make it fare but seriously bring the voting figures and profits down. If idols don’t want to lose credibility then they should reflect on this and find other means of bringing in the bucks. Also I think the only way to proof that Adam was the winner will be in record sales. This will be a true reflection and proof that the voting system is flawed. I also must state that your idols show is top class compared to what we have going here.

[Peter]

@ Suse1701. nice reasoning you have there. At that "moderate" pace, less than 3500 voted for AI, or about 67 people per state. Who's ludicrous now?

@MarCanada, a result of an infomercial is what passes for a tragedy now? What do you call the poverty, diseases, mass killings, child slavery, etc going on around the world? Get some perspective people.

[DFS]

Interesting. I tried to vote (by phone, not by text) for Adam at least 20 times over a two hour spread and never got through once.

[John]

It's a shame that this controversy is coming off as an indication that Adam Lambert's supporters are sore losers. This isn't about Adam OR Kris--it's about Idol and AT&T. American Idol is tremendously powerful in creating some entertainment careers and killing others; Kris Allen's songs are now soaring on iTunes, not because he's the best singer but because he "won" Idol and has all the buzz. The people who should be upset are Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta; they have virtually vanished from the scene, but now it's clear that they "lost" not because the general voting public preferred Kris Allen but because states like Arkansas are so Idol-obsessed that they power-text like there's no tomorrow. And AT&T is happy to facilitate this craziness because they make a financial killing.

All of this suspicion began not because Adam Lambert fans were grumpy but because Arkansas newspapers and politicians gloated that 38 million votes came from Arkansas--and then the story was withdrawn because: 1) Arkansans realized that this was embarrassing, not something to be proud of; 2) AT&T didn't want to reveal that Idol "voting" is ridiculous--a cash cow for AT&T but not in any way a true representation of American opinion.

[tw]

WHO CARES...IT'S A POPULARITY CONTEST, NOT A SINGING CONTEST..THEY HAVE FOUR JUDGES, AND THEIR PROFESSIONAL OPINION HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH THE ACTUAL WINNER, IT'S THE NON-PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC THAT CARRIES THE VOTE.....
SO WHY BOTHER WATCHING.......

[DP]

Is no one going to state the obvious and thats that America may be ready for a black president but not a gay American Idol? It happened with Clay Aiken and now its Adam Lambert. Don;t forget whose voting, its certainly not east and west coast academics, its mostly middle america douches.

Last year I vowed to never watch the show again if David Cook lost, i did the same this year with Adam. It has nothing to do with the voting rules or AT&T and i just cant deal with the winner being decided by 13 year old girls who think the Jonas Brothers are like the best ever.

[Rob]

I love how everyone assumes that it was rigged because Adam didn't win.

I think Adam lost because of the rigging that was going on IN HIS FAVOR.
Katy Perry lobbying for Adam,
Simon crowning him long before the finale,
producers giving Adam far more Camera Choreography and Special FX (fog, etc.) than anyone else,
Adam's homecoming Video ending with Adam standing in front of a HUGE American Flag...

ALL of those things turned viewers like me off as the blatant favoritism was disgusting.
Add in Adam's relentless SHRIEKING and SCREECHING, it was a recipe for a loss.

The most likely reason that Fox hasn't released the numbers is that the rumors are true:
Kris didn't just win, he DESTROYED Adam by garnering MILLIONS of more votes.
That is the scuttlebutt in the industry, and being as this is the same scuttlebutt that predicted a top 13 before it happened....I believe it.

Also, working on the business i can tell you this:
The voting integrity system will only allow a certain number of votes from any given phone number PER HOUR. So, anyone "power texting" would have those extra texts invalidated if they total more than the maximum votes allowed per hour from whatever phone number is doing the voting.
That is how this voting system works and it is used in most situations that demand a full accounting to combat allegations of fraud or conspiracy.

[Loftboy]

One line. One Vote. It's simple, it's clear and It ain't gonna happen.

If you think the vote on Idol has ever been fair, then I've got a great election in Florida for you. Any election is about special interest groups organizing to get out the vote. Idol is no different. Kris Allen's special interest group was the state of Arkansas. Adam's presumably was California. Given the dismal turnout for the latest special election in California, it's no wonder he lost..

[Maya Cox]

This is why I stopped watching idol when Chris Daughtry was kicked off. The show is rigged. I am not worried about Adam and his attitude during this has been amazing. Jennifer Hudson didn't win and I don't think she even cares about idol now that she has a grammy and an oscar. This whole scandal just proves that Idol means nothing to me and I will never watch again.

[Diana Engel]

I agree AT&T shouldn't have done this, but don't think it changed the outcome. After all, if CA had backed their Idol as we backed ours, they may have won. Look at the population of each state. As to Adam's fans not getting through, neither did I. Three straight weeks, on voting night, my "long distance lines" were suddenly not working. One night, I managed to get 5 votes, & have heard simillar statements from other Arkansans. I'm sure they'll both have great careers.

[Diana Engel]

wish AT&T hadn't done this, but don't think it changed the outcome. If CA had backed Adam, as AR backed Kris, they might have won. Look at the population of each state. As for Adam's fans not getting through, for 3 weeks, on voting night, my "long distance lines" suddenly weren't working. Isn't that strange? I managed to get 5 votes one night, & have heard similar comments from others. Both will have great careers.