[Steeltrap]

Flaws in 'Idol' voting are Rubenesque
May 6, 2003
BY PHIL ROSENTHAL TELEVISION CRITIC

The only sure prediction concerning the outcome of this edition of "American Idol" is that, when their AT&T Wireless bills arrive in a few weeks, more than a few viewers will be floored by the massive charges assessed for the supposed convenience of using their cell phones' text-messaging rather than ordinary toll-free calls to vote for their favorite future lounge act.

You think you know how this will shake out. You have no idea. That's part of the attraction.

If talent were the only factor, Ruben Studdard, the big man with the bigger voice, would be 15 days away from being crowned Fox's "American Idol" champ in a victory over squinty-eyed and spiky-haired Clay Aiken.

We live in a world, however, where Martin Scorsese has never won an Oscar, Jackie Gleason never took home an Emmy and Tamyra Gray didn't make the finals in the first go-round of "Idol." So who can say?

Beginning at 7 tonight on WFLD-Channel 32, we're down to four competitors with the long-awaited exit last week of Trenyce (the moniker adopted by Lashundra Cobbins, the name under which she was arrested for felony theft, a 1999 mistake expunged from her record thanks to a pre-trial diversion program).

That leaves unemployed voice major Studdard, medical aide Aiken, administrative assistant Kimberly Locke and Marine dad Joshua Gracin, who seems to be looking over hill, over dale for the right key a lot of the time.

The survival round after round of Gracin, a 20-1 long shot on one offshore Web betting line, is every bit as puzzling as the vote last week that left 2-3 front-runner Studdard in next-to-last place, just escaping elimination.

No matter how devious Fox so often is, it is unlikely that the numbers were juggled to add a little drama to the competition.

Yes, this is the show that squandered viewers' time and trust over two successive nights earlier this season on the premise that a contestant would be voted off, only to announce at the end of a second scam show that the tallies would carry over to the next week. But an out-and-out fix has too much downside.

Some might suggest that a military man such as Gracin, no matter how weak-voiced, has a leg up at a time when this nation is basking in its war triumphs.

The most likely scenario is that fans of Studdard (who did, in all honesty, have an off week) have been so confident of their man's victory, based on merit, that they simply don't knock themselves out to vote, leaving him vulnerable.

Still another possibility that cannot be dismissed entirely is that it would be an uphill climb for any minority to win this thing. Evidence for this is at best circumstantial, though the premature dismissal of African American Gray in the first "Idol" remains hard to figure.

Of the four current contenders, all three who have an opinion on the subject are sure Gray--now appearing on Fox's "Boston Public," and poised to release her own album soon--should have won over champ Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini.

One would hate to see Studdard lose in a vote along racial lines. But it's practically built into the "Idol" system that a loss doesn't necessarily reflect true public opinion. The producers (and sponsor AT&T) all but encourage ballot-box stuffing, most weeks announcing a vote total that exceeds the number of viewers.

Another curiosity in this second "Idol" competition has been the use of guest judges. Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees is scheduled to sit in tonight and hear what these four do to his group's hit songs.

Judge Simon Cowell (who continues to be the voice of reason, with criticisms that only sound harsh when following Paula Abdul's cheery deaf-ear encouragement) dislikes the concept of guest judges, and not just because the visitors take air time away from him and his well-aimed darts. These people add zero.

For most of America, last week's guest judge, Neil Sedaka, and his long-ago hits are the stuff of "Jeopardy!" questions. When Sedaka offered to produce Aiken's first album, it wasn't clear if it was an act of generosity or desperation.

Cowell makes fun of the hapless singers who deserve it, so why not tee off on guest judges who deserve to be ridiculed or viewer voters when they make ghastly mistakes. "Idol" would be a better show if he did.

But that's as unlikely as AT&T volunteering to tell "Idol" viewers just how much those text-message votes will cost.


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