On a Totally Different Subject -- American Idol

OK, I might be old, but I still enjoy American Idol. 

However, it is getting difficult to watch the shenanigans occurring with it's flawed voting methods.  (Of course in their defense, they never said they were choosing the best singer.)  If you've ever voted for your favorite, you probably know you can just keep on voting.  I mean really, the estimate is that 16.3 million people were watching this week.  What did they say the vote count was, 50 million?

My guess is that teenage girls from the Southern United States are the ones picking the winner.  To support that I am including below some of the data available on recent, past winners and the current season finalists.  I include Colton Dixon as he was my pick for the second spot after Phillip Phillips.

American Idol season 7 winner, David Cook, age 25

Blue Springs, Missouri, population 52,575

Total final voting 97 million

American Idol season 8 winner, Kris Allen, age 23

Conway, Arkansas, population 58,908

Total final voting 100 million votes

American Idol season 9 winner, Lee DeWyze, age 24

Mount Prospect, Illinois, population 54,167

Total final voting 96 million votes

American Idol season 10 winner, Scotty McCreery, age 19

Garner, North Carolina, population 25,745

Total final voting 122 million votes.

Season 11 final four

Phillip Phillips, age 21

Leesburg, Georgia, population 2965

Joshua Ledet, age 19

Westlake, Louisiana, population 4668

Jessica Sanchez, age 16

San Diego, California, population 1,301,617

Hollie Cavanagh, age 18

McKinney, Texas, population 131,117

Eliminated - Colton Dixon, age 20

Murfreesboro, Tennessee, population 108,755

What do those Mid-western and Southern boys have? Jessica Sanchez would have been gone but for the judges using their one save.  She is beating the odds.  She is possibly this year's Katharine McPhee, a much better singer than the guy who beat her out in the final on season 5. And then, Holly Cavanagh could be another Kelly Clarkson, winner of season 1.  

No, I have to stick with Phillip, he hasn't been singing for 3 weeks now, and he's still there.