If you're a fan of American Idol my guess is this season has been both excellent and an emotional roller coaster for you. The new judges are extremely likeable and give feedack that is both constructive and empowering. The addition of Jimmy Iovine not only produces amazing performances but superb behind-the-scenes insight. And the field of talent has, arguably, never been better. But it's worth noting the voting procedure: vote as many times as you like on your phone (toll free or text) or up to 50 times online. It is here where the brand may be off its namesake and its signature weekly Seacrest line: "America has voted and..."
If America is voting than everyone should have equal representation enabled by the structure--everyone gets a set number of votes. The lower the number the better. Perhaps one.
But unlimited, free text voting? Who has that kind of time and texting affinity?
The average teenager sends 3,339 texts per month. And this number is rising.
No other age group even comes close:
The final two contestants are Lauren who is 16 and Scotty who is 17. Of the final 13 contestants this season, three of them we're under the age of 17 and two of them are in the finals.
On many people's minds have been the particular elimination of three constestants: Pia who is 22 (but seemed more mature than that) was voted off surprisingly early. Casey, 20, a jazz fan, was voted off even earlier than Pia before being saved and voted off again. And James, 22, who often chose 70s and 80s rock songs didn't make the final three...
So there's no conspiracy. 95 million votes were cast. The final two are great and deserve to be the final two because they earned it. This is more about brand... If the brand of American Idol is truly built upon America deciding then the voting process probably shouldn't significantly engender a specific age group.