American Idol Voting

American Idol has cranked out stars like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia Barrino, Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks. And those are just the season winning stars, not those who have been voted off and still made it big, like Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Bo Bice, Chris Daughtry, Josh Gracin, Diana DeGarmo, Katherine McPhee, Bucky Covington and even William Hung.

With all these stars, especially among the non-winners, one can't help but wonder if American Idol is truly about the singing component or if it's just another popularity contest. If you look at this seasons top 24, there are several cases of fantastic singers that did not make it to the top 12. And a few members of the top 12 who did not really sing their way there.

The first instance of this that springs to my mind is one Sanjaya Malakar. How did Sanjaya make it to the top 12 when he hasn't been singing very well since what they call Hollywood Week? Sundance Head went home, leaving Sanjaya in, this stunned many people, which leads me to wonder how the voting truly works for American Idol and whether the view votes really do matter. Do they really count all the votes that come in? It does raise a lot of questions when the sentiments among different groups of views is the same.

Look at the career of Clay Aiken, he did not win his season. In fact, Clay the was the runner up to Ruben Studdard. He, however, has outsold and outperformed Ruben on every possible level that he could. Many long-time American Idol fans will recall the look of shock and dismay when the results were announced, revealing that Ruben had indeed won. Fans will also remember the questions afterwards about the voting, about whether there had been a glitch in the system that lost the title for Clay. Glitch or not, Ruben was the winner and Clay made it big.

This season has been filled with surprises, from the initial audition weeks. Singers turned away that could have easily won the show, singers brought onward that were not strong singers. Some that were brought on that fit some sort of mold for what would make a good American Idol, even if their singing ability was less than stellar. Why do this? Is it to fulfill some sort of stereotype that is expected? Do they need to bring in people who will satisfy a sponsorship? Why not bring in the best of the best, let America hear them and vote out the ones who aren't up to their standards. Isn't that why they are called American Idol?

Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson, Chris Sligh, Stephanie Edwards, Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones, six of the top 12 with voices that can take them onward after American Idol, but will it carry them to the end of the American Idol experience? This will only happen if we remember that American Idol is a singing competition and not a popularity contest. That is the only way American Idol will be able to be a legitimate source of America's new and upcoming talent. If it doesn't work that way, then it's just another reality show popularity contest that will mean nothing in the end.

Can the singers win out over the pretty people, or the popular people? Only America can answer that, with their votes and their protests over bad votes. Only the viewers can make a difference and make sure that American Idol upholds the integrity that it stands for. May our next American Idol be able to sing, and sing well.