Bittersweet Idol

Someone always lasts longer than they should on American Idol.  This year was no exception.  It was a relief to see the end of the Sanjaya spectacle but I was not happy seeing Blake Lewis in the bottom three.  The last few weeks have been so frustrating after seeing some of the worst performances rewarded time and time again by votes from those who attempt to sabotage the voting results by voting for the worst singer. 

In response, I will post a petition here on my site which will be forwarded on to producers and executives of the show if it ever receives 1000 signatures.  The petition will call for a revised voting system that limits the number of votes from any telephone number to a fixed number.  This will severely limit the impact of the few who make hundreds of votes each week to keep the worst performer safe on the show.  It will also prompt millions to vote (like me) who don’t because their 1 or 5 votes mean nothing compared to the 500 or more votes of an obsessed voting sadist.  The contestants who stay on the show will seem more legitimate and the show may even prevent a seemingly inevitable decline.  The only benefit in allowing unlimited votes per person is the ability to say that they receive over 38 million votes.  Nevermind that they came from 500,000 viewers or less.  What I would like to see is the number of unique voters the 38 million votes represents.