# Idol finale **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2009, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728 "2009-05-17T06:55:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/241 "2009-05-21T17:44:25Z")
MJs and other sites are reporting that it wasn’t a close vote at all - apparently Kris won by a pretty good margin, despite the statistical tie on DialIdol. Guess there was a lot of texting in AR. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/242 "2009-05-21T17:53:23Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > MJs and other sites are reporting that it wasn’t a close vote at all - apparently Kris won by a pretty good margin, despite the statistical tie on DialIdol. Guess there was a lot of texting in AR. Sometimes Ryan slips in a little tidbit about the voting. Last year, right before he announced David Cook as the winner, he said that the winning margin was 12 million votes. This year, sometime during last week’s result show, he said that the difference between number one and number two was less than one million votes. Does anyone else remember that? This says nothing about how many votes Danny had last week, of course, but we can assume he had some millions. Where would those voters go? Some would not vote, some would vote for Adam, some would vote for Kris. It wouldn’t surprise me if most of them went for Kris. It also wouldn’t surprise me if the vote was not close, but I guess we won’t get an authoritative answer on that. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/243 "2009-05-21T17:55:15Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I would like to introduce you to Mr. Plant and Mr. Jagger. While you can certainly make a case for Jagger being #1 (and he’s unquestionably one of the tops), Plant doesn’t even belong in the conversation (at least not by any measuring stick I’d use to describe a quality frontman). ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/244 "2009-05-21T17:57:26Z")
> [@Winston\_Bongo](#): > > Anyone else read this comment on [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/21/american.idol.scenes/index.html) from the always humble and charming Gene Simmons? > > Compliment or insult? Or both? Ah, Gene. Subtle as a sledgehammer, as always. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/245 "2009-05-21T18:13:05Z")
> [@Winston\_Bongo](#): > > Anyone else read this comment on [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/21/american.idol.scenes/index.html) from the always humble and charming Gene Simmons? > > Compliment or insult? Or both? I’d say compliment, since KISS is one of the least talented acts in the history of rock. Adam deserves to be in a better band. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/246 "2009-05-21T18:17:07Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > While you can certainly make a case for Jagger being #1 (and he’s unquestionably one of the tops), Plant doesn’t even belong in the conversation (at least not by any measuring stick I’d use to describe a quality frontman). Jagger definitley one can make an extremely strong case, but I agree Plant is a harder sell. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/247 "2009-05-21T18:32:20Z")
> [@kevja](#): > > I’d say compliment, since KISS is one of the least talented acts in the history of rock. > > Adam deserves to be in a better band. Yeah…the KISS performance just felt like Spinal Tap. I can’t believe these guys are still doing this schtick. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/248 "2009-05-21T19:06:15Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > My local Fox outlet just called the results “shocking” and an “upset”. Since there’s no polling, and the vote counts are never made public, this is complete nonsense. For all we know, Kris was the top vote getter every week. The perception is based on … what? The judges’ bias? Adam being on the cover of Entertainment Weekly? I think those who are calling it an upset are basing it entirely on the judges’ apparent preference for Adam. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/249 "2009-05-21T19:30:52Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I think those who are calling it an upset are basing it entirely on the judges’ apparent preference for Adam. [Rickey.org](http://www.rickey.org/?p=16323) posted a list of predictions about who would be eliminated before the results show. Almost everyone on there picked Adam as the winner. It’s not just the judges/producers who were expecting Adam to win. If you look at the SDMB pool, most of us picked Adam as well. BTW, the latest news is that that Arkansas TV station is retracting their statement about 38 million votes coming from AR. There goes the latest conspiracy theory out the window. 😉 Editing to add: I seriously need to stop reading Idol news now. I have work to do! ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/250 "2009-05-21T19:39:28Z")
> [@Barrett\_Bonden](#): > > Dialidol only polls phone calls, not texts. > > I doubt it was a dead heat. Thirty-eight million text votes came out of Arkansas; there were about one hundred million votes cast total. If Arkansas was 75 percent in support of Kris (which I think is conservative) and the non-Arkansas vote was split evenly down the middle, it would be about a 65 / 35 split overall. > > I have no backup for this opinion, but I think Arkansas turned out for Kris because he was their boy and they were proud of him. I don’t suspect the entire state of nefarious motives. 😃 Fair enough. I’m not really sure why I tacked that on to my post anyway, as it has nothing to do with what I wanted to say. :o The point I wanted to make was that there are many reasons why Kris may have won, and the idea that it absolutely has to be because the “fundies” voted for Kris because Adam is a Jewish gay man has no factual support. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/251 "2009-05-21T19:55:41Z")
Or even the support of reasonable intellectual contemplation. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/252 "2009-05-21T20:01:38Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Yeah…the KISS performance just felt like Spinal Tap. I can’t believe these guys are still doing this schtick. That must be why I LOVED it so much! Adam in those boots was a real high (no pun intended) moment! ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/253 "2009-05-21T21:23:07Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > I didn’t care who won, between Kris and Adam. I think they’ll both to well. > > I was impressed by Cyndi Lauper. She looked good and sounded great. Unlike Rod Stewart, who looked old and sounded croaky. My favorite song was the Steve Martin one. I may buy the album. I’ve always had a soft spot for bluegrass. I don’t think Kris and Adam cared either. Adam seemed okay with not winning and Kris seemed like he would’ve been okay not winning. I thought Rod Stewart was suprisingly good. He’s always had a croakiness. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/254 "2009-05-21T21:33:40Z")
They both suck, kris and adam. kris is limp, and adam sounds like a wayne newton on steroids. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/255 "2009-05-21T22:08:08Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > They both suck, kris and adam. kris is limp, and adam sounds like a wayne newton on steroids. Well, I don’t think you’re very handsome at all, so there. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/256 "2009-05-22T02:15:12Z")
Aren’t most AI winners from the south? ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/257 "2009-05-22T02:22:57Z")
Kelly- Texas Reuben- Alabama (born in Germany) Taylor- Alabama Fantasia- North Carolina Carrie- Oklahoma Jordin- Arizona David Cook- Missouri (born in Texas) Kris- Arkansas CONSPIRACY!!! ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/258 "2009-05-22T03:18:34Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > CONSPIRACY!!! Or just the natural superiority of those fortunate enough to be born in God’s own country. Jealously is such an ugly emotion… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/259 "2009-05-22T04:26:58Z")
I find it fascinating that folks are trying to parse the unparseable - Kris and Adam certainly seem to be popular; why is it so unfathomable that Kris could beat Adam, or vice-versa? I thought it was obvious that the judges preferred Adam. But I could see Kris having a broader appeal. Honestly, neither Idol inspires me to go out and buy their record - only Taylor Hicks came close to doing this for me. As others have said, winning this show doesn’t matter a whit. If you’re a top 10 finisher, you get the same exposure, and the public will determine the rest. I’m sure Adam isn’t worried about his finish. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728/260 "2009-05-22T04:49:06Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I don’t know that touring with Queen would really be the right decision for him. He sounded good with them, but they’re a retro act at this point. I think a band like Queen would be a good template for him, though. It’s the _kind_ of band he should be in. Well, this is interesting to speculate about. There’s no reason that a ‘retro’ act can’t find some relevance again. Carlos Santana managed it. So did Lynyrd Skynyrd to an extent. Rod Stewart re-invented himself for the third or fourth time and became a huge act again. The Rolling Stones haven’t done much for themselves artistically, but The Who was still tearing it up until John Entwhistle died. And Queen is exactly the kind of band that could re-invent itself, because it was never in a rut in the first place. Queen was one of the more inventive bands, and musically, they’re top-notch. Brian May is a fantastic guitarist. Roger Taylor is a great drummer. These guys should still be heard. Someone like Adam Lambert could revitalize them and bring them into the 21st century for another kick at the cat. And Queen split with temporary singer Paul Rogers a week before American Idol. What isn’t clear to me is whether or not Queen can find anything to say without Freddie Mercury at the helm. And we have no clue if Adam Lambert can write songs. I kind of doubt it, given his background and education. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idol-finale/496728.md?page=14)