Last week, Georgia native Philip Phillips won American Idol. Last year, North Carolina native Scott McCreery was the winner. Prior to that, Arkansas native Kris Allen took home the crown. See a pattern?
Southern, white male singers have taken American Idol by storm, seizing the big prize year after year. Are they truly deserving of the title? Perhaps. Or, is this a sign that American Idol might be broken? More than likely!
Out of 11 winners, 2 were African-American, 3 were female, but 6 were white males — 5 of which who won the last 5 seasons in a row!
No Hispanic or Asian contestant has ever won or even made it to the finals.
 |
| Jessica Sanchez |
During this year’s semi-finals, popular African-American contestant Joshua Ledet was sent home, paving the way for a finale featuring a Filipino female vs. a White male. With the amazing talent of Jessica Sanchez, this was the perfect opportunity for American Idol to finally anoint its first Asian contestant. So what did it do? The White male wins again!
Don’t get me wrong, Philip Phillips is an incredibly talented singer/performer. But the fact that he is yet another White male just proves that the public voting system of American Idol is broken and has been for years.
 |
| Joshua Ledet |
Each year, 12 and 13 year old girls armed with nothing but a cell phone and a lot of free time on their hands, are the ones who are really picking the Idol champion. Pre-teen crushes and southern pride have trumped actual talent and contest fairness for years. Now it’s time for American Idol to step in and stop the madness.
Unless they want cute, young white guys to keep running away with the title for the next umpteen years, it’s time for Idol to wake up and fix their broken system. One phone, one vote should be the norm. Who cares if Idol broke last year’s record by receiving 132 million votes? If a million of those votes are from the same 1000 girls who voted over and over and over and over again, the entire process is flawed and is then a mere popularity contest.
Granted, actually winning Idol doesn’t carry much weight, since the winner and most of the finalists often receive record deals. But the very integrity of the show is at stake and after 11 seasons, the whole idea is becoming a bit stale.
Wake up Producers… there’s a reason why last week’s results show of American Idol was the lowest viewed finale of the series ever!
"Don't get me wrong, Philip <span><span>P</span>hillips</span> is an incredibly talented singer/performer. But the fact that he is yet another White male just proves that the public voting system of American Idol is broken and has been for years."Yep. And that's why the show has seen a steady decline in its viewership over the years.