www.VotefortheWorst.com Failed - Now We Get to Vote For the Best

I suppose I should not have been surprised when my hit counter went off the charts today. By 4pm CDT I had 129 hits, more than twice my normal daily traffic, most going to my American Idol Post about about www.votefortheworst.com's attempt to hijack the voting in this year's Idol competition by encouraging "fans" to "vote for the worst" rather than the best singer each week. The idea being that the Idol producers would then get stuck trying to promote a mediocre, at best, singer and fall flat on their faces.

While I wondered at first whether this was dreamed up by one of the kids of an exec at one of the other networks, it was probably doomed to failure from the start because:
1) People are generally honest as a large group, and
2) The audience of negative voters is self-selecting, those who got their way and had people they did not like on the show would increasingly lose interest and stop watching the show and therefore stop voting (maybe a weak argument), and
3) The Final 3 Bo, Carrie and Vonzelle were so overwhelmingly strong that it made attempts to swamp the voting futile.

In the end, the site's overall impact was probably mostly to add to the buzz and the fun surrounding the event (except for the producers and singers) and the former had more to worry about this season than the website.

So inspired by the great interest, I thought I would add my thoughts on the finalists Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood, now that they have reached the final two.

I suppose it is cheating a little to wait until now to say it, but I felt that both Bo and Carrie had strong chances from the beginning. Calling tonight's vote will be rough though, because it is not just a singing contest it is a popularity contest as well.

Speaking as a singer Bo is extremely professional and probably has the more expert and flexible voice. He is hitting is stride and is ready to become a major star RIGHT NOW. He really knows how to work an audience and is very comfortable in varying styles of music.

Carrie Underwood has an amazing voice that has a lot of power behind it but is not as polished or as secure on stage as Bo. This gives her an underdog quality that may help her with the voters. She has a bit of the scared Kelly Clarkson triumphing thing which could lead to an unforgettable moment when the winner is announced. While not quite as flexible as Bo musically, in Country Rock she is in her element and Carrie is masterful.

What neither of these two have to worry about, more so than any of the previous Idol Winners in fact, is a carreer. And in that sense, and I do not mean this in any kind of a smarmy way at all, they have already both won, as has, I think Vonzelle. These three certainly have strong musical careers ahead of them and I see hit after hit coming both Bo and Carrie's way.

They make a good couple in fact, don't you think? Hmmmmmnnnn. Wonder how a double album would do. My guess is pretty damn good.

So, why am I going to watch tonight? Only slightly to guess who wins. At this point, I am so pleased with season 4 I just want another chance to hear these two sing again. That's the singer in me. When you find a new good singer you don't really care about competitions - you just want to hear them try new stuff.

Other Factors

Carrie has been popular and out in front for most of the last few weeks. Her only bad slip was probably McArthur Park, but then every singer has had their bad moments. She is also as the kids would say, "really hot" which should get her some votes from fans who want to be like her and/or have a crush on her.

Bo has this whole I am cooler than cool thing down and is the kind of guy that every teen guy would love to grow up to be. Also, Search Engine Journal reports that AOL predicts that Bo will win because searches on Bo are leading searches on Carrie 61% to 39%. Of course this kind of activity is not the same as a random-digit dial telephone survey - we have no idea of how well those searching correspond to those likely to vote - but it is interesting.

Also, I don't know if AOL took into account international markets where curiosity might be high but the show is not yet on the air, not unlike the new Dr. Who series on the BBC which is now airing in Britian, but is not yet available here.

(Note: If anyone has burned a discs of the new Dr. Who and wants to lend them to me, my player plays all formats, I'll get them back to you ASAP - really!)

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So thanks for checking out my blog site. Hope you enjoyed my thoughts. While you are here why not check out a few posts, bookmark my site and tell your friends to come visit me?

Here are some pages worth visiting:

The Peter Files Visits the International School of Blog Repair Technician and Technician Groupie Training

Batman: Dead End, A Short Film

New Mac Server Uses Hyper Malted Technology

Help a Family Idol Deal With Cancer and a Young Teenage Idol Raise Cancer Research Dollars In Memory of Her Fallen Friend Even a very small donation will make a huge difference.

It's a Wonderful Life in 30 Seconds With Bunnies!

Who's Hu's on First?

Robin Williams, Leslie Stahl, Bill Mahr and More on Gannongate or "Guess Who's Coming to the Press Briefing?"

I hope you enjoy these links and will be back soon!

Peter, the Peter Files

P.S. Bo, Carrie, whichever of you wins, give Paula a nice loooong hug for me! Break a leg! Be sure to have fun out there!

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