Before getting into the meat ‘n’ potatoes of this post, I would like to take this brief opportunity to congratulate David Archuleta on making it to the Top 10 of American Idol.
I really couldn’t be any happier about this. I am thrilled that he will be traveling the country this coming summer, performing for packed arenas and getting a taste of stardom as a musical performer. There is truly no one that deserves this more than him.
Here’s my current issue…please follow me over the jump to read the rest……
……………………I recently stumbled across something rather disconcerting, something that I’ve seen happen many times in American Idol history, something that many “front-runners” from seasons past have fallen victim to….I’m talking about voter complacency.
Here’s the link:
Go ahead and read it….I’ll wait.
Okay, I’m going to throw out a few names. See if you remember them….Tamyra Gray. Jennifer Hudson. LaToya London. Constantine Maroulis. Chris Daughtry. Melinda Doolittle.
What do all of these seemingly random people have in common?
A few things actually:
1. They were contestants on American Idol.
2. They all had killer voices and performance skills.
3. During their respective journeys on the show, each person listed above had at least two or three knock-out performances that seemed to solidify (at least in the eyes of the judges) their status as front-runners.
4. All 6 of these “front-runner” contestants didn’t even make it to the final 2!!!! They were inexplicably ousted from the competition well before their time!!!!
Why did such travesties occur? Did they suddenly bomb on their performances? Did they not sing the right pitches? Did they forget the words? Did they choose the wrong song? Did they wear their hair the wrong way or dress themselves poorly? What factors led to their premature dismissal?
The truth of the matter, folks, is that NONE of these factored into their ejections. Each one of those contestants did what he or she had to do to continue in the competition, and I’m going to be perfectly honest - even blunt -and blame it on the voting public, the fans.
As the above article details, voters become rather complacent when their favored contestant performs consistently well on a weekly basis. Fans who reach the point of complacency feel as if the exertion of voting non-stop for the contestant is rather unnecessary because, as they see it, “He’s got this competition in the bag.”
I cannot even begin to tell those fans how faulty is their line of thinking.
I can only speak for myself here…but when I vote for my favored contestant, regardless of how well or how poorly he or she performed, my phone is in my hand, it is set to redial, I begin voting at 9:00, and I don’t stop voting until 11:00. During that time I am voting with reckless abandon - calling as many times as I can possibly connect within that two-hour time-frame. That is the expectation I set for myself. I would like to think that the rest of the voting public that votes for David Archuleta holds themselves to the same voting standards.
My point is that one must NEVER assume that his or her favored contestant is safe just because that contestant was safe the week before, and the week before that, and the week before that. EVERY week is a new competition, and EVERY WEEK the fans must VOTE for their favored contestant.
WE MUST VOTE EVERY WEEK FOR DAVID, people! We cannotlet what happened to Melinda, Daughtry, Constantine, LaToya, Jennifer, and Tamyra happen to David.
David will do exactly what he has to do to win this season - perform exceptionally well…but equally so, our complacency will effectively end his dream of the title if we let the He’s-Got-This-Thing-In-The-Bag attitude seep into our minds.
I implore everyone to not let that happen.
Enjoy the rest of this season, folks…we’re backing an amazing contestant!
Agreed 100%….well folks those who can vote from their country VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!…Don’t be complacent!!!
** i wish i could vote from Malaysia
yeah keep vote for david archuleta……….
Great post. You’re right, none of the prematurely ousted contestants really did anything drastic to merit going home. Melinda actually performed exceptionally well the night before her ouster. For the most part, they were all as competent as they usually were.
But I think that’s part of the problem. American Idol is just as much about telling a story as it is a singing contest. All of these contestants were performing at a high level but they could only go so high. At some point it is the responsibility of the fanbase.
I’ve voted my tail off for several underdogs, including Elliott and Kimberley Locke. I remember those fanbases really bonding, and I could feel the pressure and the shared stress of the people who weren’t even on the internet. You just knew, an Elliott fan voted a lot and their stomach was tied in knots the whole time. A Kim fan got used to seeing her in the bottom and had to push. You never stopped fighting.
The battle is just as strong if you’re a front-runner. I remember feeling the same way the night I voted and voted and voted for Ruben because I saw it as this epic battle between him and Clay. I know Taylor fans went through it, as did Carrie fans.
David’s fans have got to see this as a battle. He’s so happy and he makes you feel good inside, but that can lead to complacency. He’s pretty set. He’s professional, and professional is the kiss of doom on this show.
This is a reponse to my response. Heya, thanks for helping in getting the word out! We put that article together last night and caused quite a bit of a stir.
You’re right, voter complacency is going to be the only reason why David loses this contest.
And all those example you left. Well thought out and well written, heck I wish we had you as a contributing writer! lol
Thanks again for the support! I’m sure we’ll be sharing lots of stories in the coming weeks!
Eric from FAN BLAST
Thank you for voting! and I hope we’ll be able to keep David up to the very final
xx
Thank you for posting this. You are so correct in what you say. I can only speak as a Constantine fan. While he is doing just fine with his career, we, his fans still literally mourn that horrible night when he went home and the injustice of it all. Thank you for recognizing his contribution to the show with the others you mentioned. They are all amazing performers who went home entirely too early, IMO.
Even if you don’t care for a particular performance, look at the big picture, don’t expect perfection from anyone, and vote like crazy for who you like.
If you want David Archuleta to win, trust me - vote until your fingers bleed. Do not let up.
Yes, don’t stop voting. Keep voting for David each & every week! Btw, congratulations to David for making it to the top 10 too ;D I’m always looking forward to his performances.
> rushar, here’s another fellow Malaysian who’d *wish* to be able to vote as well..
I wholeheartedly agree with everything you’ve just posted. The fans have got to be there for David every voting night. I reside in the Philippines and so am not able to vote, but I do my share in nagging everybody I know in the US to vote for David.
I agree with this to an extent, but… and I truely believe this to be true. American Idol has already chosen who the American Idol will be beforehand and all the voting in the world is not going to change that. As an example let be inform you of something that happened during Season 4. The Sunday before the finale on Tues., there appeared an article in an online British newspaper. One owned by Simon Fuller. This article read, “Simon Fuller’s American Idol was won by Carrie Underwood”. THIS was prior to the finale which supposedly no one knew the winner because it was before the finale, before the voting. When people started talking about it on the American Idol boards, you wouldn’t believe how fast that article disappeared. Someone probably lost their job over putting that out on the net before it’s time.
Also, every year there’s someone sacrificed to be the “shock of the season”. i.e. Jennifer, Constantine to name a couple.
Being a Constantine fan (still am), I know I voted non-stop with a land-line and a cell. I could never get thru. The lines stayed busy. As a poster on the American Idol boards, everyone was posting about having this same problem. When it came time for the west coast voting, they too, encountered this problem. Some people could only get dead air. Something was dreadfully wrong with the lines that night or perhaps American Idol TPTB (the power that be) arranged it that way, hince.. the sacrificial lamb (shock value) was Constantine.
I stopped voting after that season because they know who they want and they’ll pull out all stops to make sure it happens.
Here’s another international fan of David A. You guys in the US, vote vote vote. Pretty ironic that bad performance made people vote more than an excellent one. We around the world will help in the CD sales, but only you can vote. I’d try voting through skype if it lets me.
I wholeheartedly agree. People need to realize the importance of voting instead of assuming that David’s going to be safe. I also vote non-stop for the 2 hours after the show and wish people would realize the importance of doing this. Although Kitty, your comment about the article that came out during Season 4 is quite interesting and I don’t doubt that TPTB choose the winner ahead of time, but I’m sure that they use the votes as a guideline for who should be the winner (though I could be wrong). I pray that little David is not this year’s shock elimination, although I think there would be a huge riot if he were.
Thank you for posting this. I’m from the Philippines and I’ve asked my relatives from New Jersey and New York to vote for David. At first, my sister said that David does not need it because he is a shoo-in! I explained to her that it does not work that way because this is not simply a talent search but also a popularity contest thus the necessity to vote like crazy every week. I’ve never really watched AI before David Archuleta came along. He should win because he is the perfect choice. He is talented and well-grounded. Just what America and the world needs these days.
hey every AI fan!!! i luvvvvvvvv American Idol!!! David Archuleta is the best thing that has ever happened to singing EVER!!! he is soooooo CUTE and he actually cares about the competition and about singing! Keep up the votes! DONT LET THAT CUTE, BABY-FACED DAVID ARCULETA DOWN!!!
hello. i really love watching American Idol. im a big fan from the PHILIPPINES. though my mind says that i should pray (votes are not allowed here, hmp!) for Ramielle Malubay because she’s a Pinoy too, but my heart dictates there’s should only be one American Idol, and that’s DAVID ARCHULETA!!! my gosh, she’s so freakin’ CUTE!!!!!!! actually i’ve even come to the extent of begging my relatives in the U.S. to vote for him… lol. DAVID IF YOU COULD READ THIS, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!!
yes people yes VOTTEEE!! i’m mad, i only got in 450 this week!!!!! but i’m going to try harder next week. VOOOTTTTEEEEE!!! we wouldnt want that lovely face of his to go bye bye, now would we?
You’re totally right! I mean if we let ourselves think that everyone else on the planet is going to vote for him(even though they are!) then noone will vote for him! luuuuuuvvvvvv u David! ur soooooo cute!!!!!!!(as we all know! like duh!) u have an awesome voice and you make everone want to give you a huuuuuugggggggeeeeee hug(if they don’t melt first) VOTE FOR DAVID HE IS SOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!! And he has a great voice!
I COMPLETLY agree , even know if your thinking well .. everyone now knows that we all need to vote so maybe ill just lay of the voting for tonight , im sure hes fine . THATS BADD ahah , vote still you cant vote anymore peoplee , we dont want this is happen to david !!
THANKS FOR YOUR REMINDER TO DA FANS. REST ASSURED FROM ME, I WILL REMAIN LOYAL TO THE GREATEST AMERICAN IDOL EVER CREATED DAVID ARCHULETA. I VOTE MANY MANY TIMES FOR HIM FOR HE ALWAYS SHOWS HIS BEST EACH WEEK, NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE SAYS. HE HAS AMAZING TALENT AND A GOOD ROLE MODEL FOR ALL FROM SKIN TO THE BONES. SO VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! WE NEED AN AMERICAN IDOL WHO HAS PURITY IN HIS HEART, EACH WEEK HE GIVES THAT MESSAGE THROUGH HIS MUSIC. MORE POWER DA!