I’m a fan of the show but that isn’t wrong. I recall one time a children’s choir got as far as 2nd place in the entire competition despite being very mediocre. However they were inner city kids from troubled backgrounds in Detroit so I’m sure most votes were because they were “inspiring”.
The story is great, yes. I think the program is fantastic. The kids deserved recognition. But it’s a talent competition and while they weren’t awful, they were nowhere near good enough to make it to even the finals let alone almost win.
In the first few rounds of the competition the judges decide who goes through but eventually it all comes down to a vote by the public. So it is literally a popularity contest. The most talented act is not guaranteed to win. On the other hand, I can’t think of an act in recent years that was the #1 pick that I don’t personally feel deserved it.
Helicopter crash, to be specific, she was on the same helicopter that killed Kobe Bryant and his daughter. She was mentioned on this board in this post:
Her name was Christina Mauser.