{"id":762,"date":"2009-05-28T06:39:06","date_gmt":"2009-05-28T06:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gospelsoundcheck\/2009\/05\/american-idol-update-the-contr.html"},"modified":"2009-05-28T06:39:06","modified_gmt":"2009-05-28T06:39:06","slug":"american-idol-update-the-contr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gospelsoundcheck\/2009\/05\/american-idol-update-the-contr.html","title":{"rendered":"American Idol Update: The Controversy Is Settled"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AdamLambertandKrisAllenIdol.jpg\"<\/span>
\nUSA Today reports that while in fact a handful of AT&T <\/a>employees did bring cell phones to parties celebrating American Idol’s Kris Allen, even if there was voting going on it wouldn’t have made a difference in the outcome of the show.
\nThe paper cites an AP report that says:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

About 20 phones were brought to two separate parties in Arkansas, and two of those phones were capable of sending multiple votes by so-called “power texting,” a person familiar with the gatherings said. A second person, with knowledge of the voting results, said Allen won by a large enough margin that a handful of voters could not have swayed the outcome.
\nBoth spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the voting process or the Arkansas parties.
\nIdol prohibits “power voting” by text or phone, and has internal safeguards against the practice.
\nIn a joint statement, Fox and producer FremantleMedia said the results were “fair, accurate and verified” by an independent, third-party monitor to protect the integrity of the voting process. “In no way did any individuals unfairly influence the outcome of the competition.”
\n“Kris Allen is, without a doubt, the American Idol,” Fox and FremantleMedia said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article goes on to say that only two phones could “power text” and since those votes are not allowed, they didn’t count. The AT&T employees were invited to the event by Sonja Keith, who helped organize the party, because people had been having trouble voting and had questions. She said that the same resources were probably available to Lambert fans, adding, ” I don’t know that they were as organized as we were in terms of their support.”
\nAnd organized they were. The town, the college, the neighborhoods gathered all over for Idol viewing parties. That’s what happens in a small town.
\nEven Adam Lambert has said that he thought that a Kris Allen win might be possible due to the “Gokey factor” -the migration of church leader Danny Gokey’s votes to the more conservative Allen — than any kind of grassroots effort.
\nWhich is what I’ve been saying since April. It doesn’t even have to be church people that were voting for Gokey, either. Danny Gokey’s style of music, his persona, etc was so different than Adam’s that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict his fans would vote for Kris Allen.
\nSo there you have it. There’s no conspiracy, it wasn’t a “gay\/Christian” thing (although the church vote might have factored in a bit for Gokey fans). Both Lambert and Allen have moved on with their lives and are headed for hugely successful careers. In fact, for those Danny Gokey fans who’ve been crying since he was elminated from the show: he’s expressed an interest in appearing on “Dancing With The Stars,” which might be a good idea, since even producer Howard Benson, who has worked with Chris Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson, doesn’t think Danny Gokey<\/a> has a future in the music industry. (Well, mainstream probably, but he’ll put out at least one Christian album. Although Chris Sligh, who befriended Gokey during the season<\/a>, told USA Today, “In getting to be friends with Danny, I know he’s, at this point at least, not interested in CCM or gospel.” So many “Dancing With The Stars” is looking better._
\nClick here to subscribe to Gospel Soundcheck by email <\/a>and have the Gospel Soundcheck headlines delivered daily to your email inbox. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter!<\/a><\/em>
\nRELATED POSTS<\/strong>
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\nhttp:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gospelsoundcheck\/2009\/05\/american-idol-top-3—my-predi.html<\/a>
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\nAmerican Idol: Is This The Season of the Worship Leader?<\/a>
\nAmerican Idol Top 3 Results Show – Blogging LIVE<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gospelsoundcheck\/2009\/05\/american-idol-top-3-results-sh.html<\/a>
\nAmerican Idol Top 4 Results Show – Blogging Live<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gospelsoundcheck\/2009\/05\/american-idol-top-4-results-sh.html<\/a>
\nAmerican Idol Top 5 Results – Who’s Going Home?<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gospelsoundcheck\/2009\/04\/american-idol-winner-predictio.html<\/a>
\nMore on American Idol contestant Danny Gokey and wife Sophia<\/a>
\nMore American Idol Posts<\/a>
\nRead my feature on faith and American Idol at WorldNetDaily.com.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

USA Today reports that while in fact a handful of AT&T employees did bring cell phones to parties celebrating American Idol’s Kris Allen, even if there was voting going on it wouldn’t have made a difference in the outcome of the show. 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