by Marilyn Dunn

Created on: July 13, 2008

Vote for the Worst American Idol has Helped

Negative publicity is still publicity! I understand why the "Vote for the Worst American Idol" website was created. It was incredulous that William Hung or Sanjaya could get as many votes as they did. But the more unbelievable it was, the more people watched the show. It stirred up controversy and there is nothing better than a little controversy to keep up the ratings. People would have to tune in every week to see if that terrible contestant was actually going to make it another week, or if you were one of thousands who actually voted for that awful singer, well, then yes you would have to tune in also to see if it worked. Obviously, none of the candidates for worst ever won the show in the end but I'm sure it helped ratings and the number of votes that came in, which helped make money in advertising. Isn't that what it's all about? In that respect it definitely helped.

The other side of the debate was that the show was fake and "the worst" website showed American Idol to be a sham. I don't agree. One of the rules was that the contestants could not currently be signed to a record label. It never said they could never have in the past. Also, I don't know where it is written that the contestants have to be a "complete" unknown. Yes, some of the contestants had previously made records that perhaps didn't jump start their career and they found this opportunity to get in front of America and show what they had. Remember, you were still supposed to have talent to become the American Idol.

There has been some phenomenal talent that has been introduced to the world via this show. What would be the benefit to the producers deciding in advance who was to win? It is said that those who do not win are usually better off because they do not have the contract constraints, etc. that winning American Idol puts them under. Look at some of the "losers". There is Chris Daughtery, Clay Aiken, Kimberley Locke, Bo Bice, Kellie Pickler. Diana DeGarmo is performing on Broadway and we all know of the phenomenal talent of Jennifer Hudson that won her a best supporting actress for DreamGirls. None of these singers won American Idol but they certainly got their exposure to the world and their start up the ladder of success because of it.

The fact that the website encouraging all of us to vote for the worst American Idol was so popular, again, in my opinion, only helped to give more publicity to the show. More publicity, more of an audience, more votes, whether for the best or the worst made more money for the show. But, I think it's a great show. I think it brings great talent to the forefront. Whether the contestant of your choice wins or not, there is some great new talent out there for all of us after 7 years of being on the air and "the worst American idol" has only helped to sustain its popularity.

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