AT&T ‘Idol’ voting scandal is overblown

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

For the last time: It shouldn’t be much of a shocker that Kris Allen won “American Idol,” and it should not come as a surprise that voting blocs might have been part of the process because blocs happen regardless. They’re just not always so noticeable.

The latest "Idol" controversy erupted Wednesday, when AT&T revealed that overeager workers brought demo phones to viewing parties supporting Kris Allen. The company said the employees' actions did not affect Allen's victory.

What's the difference between AT&T employees giving tutorials on text messaging and the various voting blocs that spring up each year?

The biggest, strongest voting bloc might be the South itself. Among the eight winners of “American Idol,” only one — Jordin Sparks — does not hail from a state below the Mason-Dixon line (she’s from Arizona).

While only “Idol” and AT&T would have the empirical evidence to support the theory, it’s safe to say southerners are among the most loyal voters. Sites like votefortheworst.com mobilize large groups of voters, too.

The onus to actually vote is still on the person holding the phone.

Slideshow   Kris Allen plays it cool Whether strumming his guitar or playing the piano, the “Idol” winner always stayed low-key. more photos

The bottom line is this: it was a group of organized Allen fans who went to the trouble of getting AT&T to their viewing parties and Fox has a system in place to discard power votes.

Moreover, conspiracy theorists, Allen’s performance of that awful final song, “No Boundaries” outranks Adam Lambert’s fantastic rendition of “Mad World” on iTunes, according to the ranking for single download for the week ending May 25.

It’s an imperfect science, but all in all, Fox manages to keep the voting as fair as possible. Let’s put this controversy in the rearview mirror: The real worry should be why more of the “Idol” winners aren’t more commercially successful.

Keeping tabs: ‘Jon & Kate’ score for Us Weekly
For the fifth consecutive week, Us Weekly puts Jon and Kate Gosselin on the magazine's cover and you know what? There’s still nothing boring about this story. In fact, there’s an air of brilliance to the approach Us took.

At the beginning of the alleged cheating scandal, it was Jon who was portrayed as the guiltier party. This week Us advances the idea that he’s actually the victim with “What TV didn’t show: Inside Jon’s prison” as the headline. The cover chips are all relevant too: Robert Pattinson, the Jolie-Pitts and Kris Allen. Nothing not to like here.

Video   Kris, Adam ready to rock the Plaza May 28: Newly crowned “American Idol” Kris Allen and runner-up Adam Lambert talk to TODAY’s Natalie Morales before they take the stage on Rockefeller Plaza. Today show

On the opposite end of the spectrum is OK! magazine, and their baffling choice of Ashley Tisdale for the cover. It’s great that Tisdale has a “hot boyfriend, new album, and rockin’ body,” but she’s not relevant enough to be a newsstand success. Moreover, she looks vaguely like Ashlee Simpson in the photo, and Simpson happens to be in a cover chip — the net result is just confusing.

OK!’s sales are down considerably; several sources say the struggling weekly sold only 310,000 copies last week (it was selling in the 500,000 range this time last year). Tisdale is not going to help boost the mag’s profile, especially during this transition period in design and staffing. There’s been a rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic feel to the magazine in recent weeks. I’m pretty sure the sound I just heard was the captain calling for the lifeboats.

Suleman scores ghostwriter for memoir
There’s news on the Nadya Suleman book front.

The mother of 14, who has a reality show in the works, has found a ghostwriter for her memoir. Us Weekly reports that “Nadya found a London-based ghostwriter who is going to pen it for her.”

No word yet on how the London-based writer and Suleman, who is in California, will work out the logistics. Perhaps that’s being saved for the reality show.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter: @ courtneyatmsnbc.

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