Does it sound legit for a fan to be able to vote for a contestant 10,840 times?
What about producers lying to contestants to psyche them out?
Pretty shady, right?
Those behind-the-scenes tales and more paint a pretty ugly portrait of why American Idol
might be fake.
Former judge spills
After a few shake-ups at the judges' table, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, and Keith Urban
joined O.G. host Randy Jackson in 2013.
Carey and Minaj didn't last long, though they both left the show after that one season.
During their time on the series, the two women bumped heads multiple times, pulling the focus
away from the contestants.
In 2015, Carey appeared on Australia's Kyle and Jackie O radio show, and when she was
asked if she would return to American Idol for its final season on FOX, she said,
"Hell no.
Absolutely not.
That was the worst experience of my life."
She then addressed the speculation that her beef with Nicki Minaj was orchestrated to
boost the ratings.
"It should have been about the contestants instead of some nonexistent feud that turned
into even more ridiculousness."
She went on to call the show, quote, "so boring and so fake."
"When I say it's fake I mean it's just like, you have to make up things to say about people.
Half the time the performances are good.
You'd just be like, 'It was good!'"
The diva has spoken.
Forced music
After snagging a spot on American Idol, contestants perform a song every week that will hopefully
impress the judges and save them from being eliminated.
According to Today, as of 2008, after the theme for the week is revealed, contestants
are given a sampling of around 50 songs to choose from.
So what's the deal with the sparse selection?
The available songs are reportedly cleared ahead of time to be performed on TV, and producers
also want to ensure the track is a song that isn't, quote, "too obscure" for the audience.
Doesn't it kind of take the fun out of the competition knowing the show has already pre-arranged
which songs can be performed and which ones can't?
Letter-coded rejections
A woman who goes by the name of Maria Saint revealed on her blog, True Dat 504, that while
auditioning for Season 10 in New Orleans, each contestant received a letter-coded golden
ticket that producers use to pre-judge how talented they are.
There are reportedly three letters used: N, K, and Y.
The Y is a "yes" for good singers.
The K is for a "keeper," who's also a good singer but not as good as Y's.
As for the "N" that was for the people who were considered "bad."
Saint warned future contestants that if they received a paper with an "N" on it, but they
still wanted to go through the process with the judges, they would need to be prepared
to, quote, "be humiliated."
She added,
"I promise you, if you are marked as an N, they already have their minds made up about
you and it will not change.
If you make it through to the end you will be presented unfavorably."
"My advice would be if you want to pursue a career in the music business, don't."
Producers' manipulation
The anonymous author of 2013's Elimination Night: A Novel creates a fictional series
called Project Icon to cast some very real shade at American Idol.
According to the New York Post, the author had, quote, "knowledge of the inner workings
of a top TV talent show," which was presumed to be FOX's juggernaut singing competition.
The book's fictional producers manipulate contestants before they appear in front of
the judges.
Singers are allegedly told lies to psyche them out.
The Post explained,
"So, if the singer is incredible, the producers tell her that she's probably not moving on.
If he stinks, well then they tell him he's the next Otis Redding."
Not only that, the judges are allegedly taught how to keep a tight poker face and give "negative
signals," such as, quote, "wringing their hands or shaking their heads" while some of
the better contestants are auditioning to increase the tension.
Alleged vote rigging
One of the most controversial voting results occurred in Season 8 a shady incident that
will forever be known as "textgate."
With Kris Allen and Adam Lambert as the last two contestants standing, Allen was victorious
after he was the, quote, "unwitting beneficiary of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of
illegal block votes cast" allegedly provided by the show's communications partner, AT&T,
according to The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Residents of Allen's hometown in Arkansas were reportedly given free phones and texting
services ahead of the show's final episode.
His fans were also allegedly instructed on how to send "10 or more votes at the touch
of a single button," with one woman even claiming she voted for the hometown hero "10,840 times."
The phone company issued an apology, claiming their employees were simply, quote, "caught
up in the enthusiasm," but the network later went on the record to claim Allen had won
fair and square in a statement by FOX and the show's production companies.
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