One word: Sanjaya.

How could they/why would they rig a show and keep that kid coming back?

http://openline.medialine.com/showthread.php?t=30778&highlight=Adam+Lambert

I think HushHush has the pattern down, but I am not sure. Was interesting to read that as it was going on.

I think Kris won because he fits more of the “Idol” mold than Adam did. Had Adam won, he’d be boxed in to the Top 40 market, and as the season went, you could tell that wasn’t his niche’ or where the producers wanted him to go. So Kris wins, freeing Adam to release more edgy music or front for Queen on occasion if they wanted to do a tour. All being “owned” by 19 Entertainment, they can use those two to get more $$ from people.

If by “rigging” you mean it’s easy for people to massively dial for a contestant essentially guaranteeing they continue, then yes. Most “competition reality shows” allow a limited number of votes in a specific time period. On Idol you can vote an unlimited number of times in the time period, which allows for outliers to overwhelm the lines and keep contestants alive.

I don’t really believe Ju’Not Joyner when he says there are “writers” that decide who stays and who goes. But Idol definitely utilizes pushing certain stories down viewers’ throats to further their cause. Because yes, a better story sells.

I guess we’ll find out eventually though. And if it is rigged, the people doing the rigging aren’t doing a good enough job of vetting whose albums America will buy. If they were doing their jobs we wouldn’t have had Taylor Hicks as a winner, would we?

If it came out that American Idol was rigged, the ratings would stay the same. The top 12 are picked. By the judges and producers. So out of 392,925,492 people who audition, they find the 12, or 24, “most interesting people with talent” to put out there for all of us to see. They don’t pick the “most talented.” They pick what sells. People watched Adam Lambert because he could sing (certain songs) and he was eccentric. By the end of the show, people were tired of him, and had moved on to the next big thing. Well, the only ‘thing’ left was Kris. People got tired of Glambert and his screaming. So they went with somebody else.

I think extensive studies could be made on American Idol and it’s affect on television viewers. You can say it’s rigged up until the final 24 or 12 or 36 or however they’re gonna do it. After that, I think the psyche of the viewers makes the decisions.

Why people act like they’re so shocked over this “revelations” never ceases to amaze me (i’m saying you in particular jacque…just talking in general)