American Idol: Should they provide the vote totals?

ebonovic · 04-06-2006, 11:39 AM

After reading the article on MSNBC.... What do you think.

Should FOX start to offer on the website, or a formal press release.

The Vote Total.

I mean, it is all done by computer... So why shouldn't the be able to hit PRINT
and the vote totals for that night be available.

Jesda · 04-06-2006, 11:40 AM

My answer is yes. It would be more fun if we could see how cutthroat the competition is or isnt.

ebonovic · 04-06-2006, 11:41 AM

My vote; After the Season... that way we will eventually know... but it won't influcence other weeks.

mgar · 04-06-2006, 11:45 AM

I would like to see it as a running total during the voting. This way, you could vote a contestant that is in the bottom of the vote total, but you think shouldn't be there.

JFriday · 04-06-2006, 11:55 AM

I say no, it's just entertainment, I don't care who wins I probably will never buy their music anyways.

Spire · 04-06-2006, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebonovic

After reading the article on MSNBC.... What do you think.

What article on MSNBC?

PRMan · 04-06-2006, 12:49 PM

Sometimes I want to cast negative votes to vote somebody off. That would be cool.

ebonovic · 04-06-2006, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spire

What article on MSNBC?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12175940/

dolfer · 04-06-2006, 02:02 PM

As much as I want to know the totals, I think they shouldn't reveal the them.

If someone sees that Taylor has 20 million votes and their particular favorite (for example, Bucky) has 3 million votes, it could inspire a "Well, there's no way in hell my guy is gonna win, so I'm not gonna vote." attitude.

Conversely, if someone see that their favorite has a vast majority of the votes, it could inspire a "There's no way my guy can lose!" attitude.

Both scenarios can inspire apathy...

I am sure Fox believes keeping the vote totals a mystery results in higher voter turnout. I am sure they have done studies on it

NYGD1424 · 04-06-2006, 02:09 PM

It doesn't matter anyway. AI has a provision in its contract that says the producer can pick who he wants to win whether or not they got the most votes and never has to reveal if he did or not.

joeinma · 04-06-2006, 03:47 PM

If they posted the vote total, then how would they be able to lie and say "36 million votes" when it was really 3 million?

Or how about if the producers decide that say Ace had the most votes, but they want Kelly to win because it's the better story. With the votes released, they cannot lie and say Kelly won over Ace.

Seriously, I don't think seeing the vote matters. This is a popularity contest, not (as Simon likes to remind Paula all the time) a singing contest. Until they make it 1 vote per phone number, it's a popularity contest. When you see posts online that people voted 30 times for the same person, or voted for everyone, then what's the point really?

It's almost like American Idol got it's voting rules from the Republicans!

Figaro · 04-06-2006, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeinma

It's almost like American Idol got it's voting rules from the Republicans!

Wow it's almost like you have your head stuck up your ass!

smak · 04-06-2006, 03:53 PM

I almost never watch the show, but i had it tuned in towards the end last nght, and decided to just watch to see who was eliminated.

Is it necessarily true that the 3 chosen to show at the end, where one is eliminated are the lowest 3 vote totals, or could they pick any 2 + the one with the lowest vote totals for dramatic effect.

I don't remember him saying "the ones with the 3 lowest totals" or anything like that.

-smak-

ILoveCats&Tivo · 04-06-2006, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeinma

It's almost like American Idol got it's voting rules from the Republicans!

mgar · 04-06-2006, 03:58 PM

I think that one vote per phone and you vote for who to send home rather than your favorite might work better. The one vote per phone would keep the power dialers from running up negative votes on one of the contestants.

lander215 · 04-06-2006, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeinma

It's almost like American Idol got it's voting rules from the Republicans!

Could you put that into context for those of us who don't see the relationship between the AI voting rules and these mysterious Republican voting rules?

I'm not aware of any Republican voting rules...so I'm curious where that remark eminates from.

BrettStah · 04-06-2006, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYGD1424

It doesn't matter anyway. AI has a provision in its contract that says the producer can pick who he wants to win whether or not they got the most votes and never has to reveal if he did or not.

Have a link to this contract, by any chance? Any proof that the contract that you link to is legit?

BrettStah · 04-06-2006, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgar

I think that one vote per phone and you vote for who to send home rather than your favorite might work better. The one vote per phone would keep the power dialers from running up negative votes on one of the contestants.

I partially agree. They won't every limit it to one vote per phone because they don't want to cause family fights about who gets to vote. But they could limit it to maybe 5 votes per number.

I also think they should reverse the voting methodology, and have people vote for the person that they want to see kicked off.

NYGD1424 · 04-06-2006, 06:02 PM

It was in a USA Today story in the first season when the show came out.

murdoc158 · 04-06-2006, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgar

I think that one vote per phone and you vote for who to send home rather than your favorite might work better. The one vote per phone would keep the power dialers from running up negative votes on one of the contestants.

If they limit you to 1 vote per phone how would Cingular stay in business? The last thing we need is more of the American Idols singing about an asthmatic Ford product.

BrettStah · 04-06-2006, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYGD1424

It was in a USA Today story in the first season when the show came out.

So no link?

danielhart · 04-06-2006, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrettStah

So no link?

Here are a couple of articles that delve pretty deeply into the AI contracts (apparently, the early versions did leak onto the web) - they are critical articles but they don't mention anything about the provision in question that would allow the producer to pick the winner regardless of the votes. I am not saying it isn't there, but you would think that a critical article would jump all over a provision like that........

Salon Article

JS Online

newsposter · 04-07-2006, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebonovic

My vote; After the Season... that way we will eventually know... but it won't influcence other weeks.

Why wasn't one choice 'during the show?'

Looking at any other time than that is pretty much anticlimactic. It's all good for the fairness aspect but if fox really wants ratings and to expand it to a 1 hr show, they can drag out the numbers for that hour.

Reading about the numbers even the day after just wouldn't be the same...but my 2nd vote would be to release them before next week.

I dont see a thing wrong with letting people know their fav person needed help. And I dont see the problem with it influencing other weeks, if indeed it would do that. It's about America's choice so if they choose to be influenced so be it. By definition that would be the will of America

cwmatthew · 04-07-2006, 11:14 AM

Link

Quote:

New Caller: Nigel, will American Idol ever reveal the weekly vote totals?

N. Lythgoe: I don’t think so. We do at the end of each of series, it is released, but not during the week. If you knew, for instance, that Clay Aiken was so far ahead every week, it would be a waste of time watching. You wouldn’t vote for anybody else because you would think, well, he’s never going to win; no one else is going to win. He is so far ahead of the game.

And yet that didn’t happen on the finale for whatever reason. And I think a lot of that was to do with Kimberly Locke’s votes went to Rueben as well, when they couldn’t vote for Kimberly. But if you had known those results each week, you just wouldn’t have bothered voting. He was that far ahead, is what I’m trying to say.

lander215 · 04-07-2006, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newsposter

Why wasn't one choice 'during the show?'

Because the voting doesn't open until the show is over. And, the voting takes place after the hour long show. Extending the results show to an hour serves no purpose in relation to divulging the numbers.

Interesting aspect - have a vote tally "update" in the show after AI that night...viewers would then be forced to watch the next show in order to get an update on how their favorite is doing.

marksman · 04-07-2006, 11:41 AM

Before reading Nigel's comments, those were my same thoughts. In some cases the vote is likely not even close, so if you are following someone who is in 3rd place but so far behind that they have no chance of ever winning, would you keep watching?

I think it would hurt interest in the show. At least by keeping them hidden they can keep the illusion of a competitive race.

richNYC · 04-07-2006, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lander215

Because the voting doesn't open until the show is over. And, the voting takes place after the hour long show. Extending the results show to an hour serves no purpose in relation to divulging the numbers.

Interesting aspect - have a vote tally "update" in the show after AI that night...viewers would then be forced to watch the next show in order to get an update on how their favorite is doing.

I think he meant during the results show, not the performance show.

aindik · 04-07-2006, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smak

Is it necessarily true that the 3 chosen to show at the end, where one is eliminated are the lowest 3 vote totals, or could they pick any 2 + the one with the lowest vote totals for dramatic effect.

Seacrest almost always says "bottom three." Assuming he's not out and out lying, "bottom three" means "bottom three." Sometimes, though, he will send one of the bottom three back to the couches and will not say the others are the "bottom two." This is probably done on purpose and for dramatic effect, unless he actually says "bottom two," and then it has to be legit (again, unless they're completely lying).

I think this happened last week with Katharine and Lisa Tucker. He never said "bottom two," so it's possible that Katharine got more votes than Ace.

lander215 · 04-07-2006, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richNYC

I think he meant during the results show, not the performance show.

Ah! duh on me! Yes, that makes more sense actually than "with in hours of the show" since then there would be no need for the "reveal" episode...everyone would know since the voting only lasts for two hours.

BadlyDrawnBoy · 04-07-2006, 12:33 PM

have you guys looked at dialidol.com ??

They are pretty much money at predicting who gets voted off, and who is in the bottom 3. to the point that the thread on dvdtalk where I hang out has decided that from here on out all dialidol talk is to be in spoilers.

If you check the webpage you can see the results, and pretty much figure out that one person has been dominating the proceedings, don't look if you don't want to know who.