Course it's Tuesday night and I'm jonesin' for some Idol like many of you, I suspect....funny how you get attached to certain rhythms and routines between the months of, say, January and May?! If the weather were warmer than 45 degrees here in Chicago, it might feel like the May it should be, with Idol over and me onto something else, preferably outside, but it feels like March, and makes me want to snuggle in with Cookie, Archie, Jason and the rest of the gang. (Okay, even Simon!)
I've got a burning issue on my mind and I just have to get it out and discuss (I hope, but you have to help with that so I'm not just talking to myself). Every single bit of AI finale press coverage used the word "landslide". If you Google the words "landslide" and "Idol" together, you will get 2,680,000 hits. Just to recap, David Cook reportably got 56% of the finale vote and David Archuleta got 44% of the votes.
As I've mentioned, I've watched this show since Season 2. And I've got to admit, I can't accept the definition of a 56% to 44% vote as being a landslide! Dictionary.com defines the term as being an "overwhelming victory." I've got an issue. Idol does not typically reveal any vote tallies, so I have nothing to look up on this.
We know that Season 1 was a close vote. I read that Kelly Clarkson got 58% of the votes to Justin Guarini's 42%....and NOBODY called that a landslide, but talked about how close it was.
Season 2, which pitted Clay and Reuben, was a close race since Idol told us that only a few hundred thousand votes separated the two contestants. (Note to self: during free time this summer, research a "few hundred thousand" votes compared to the total votes for Season 2 versus the 12 million separating Season 7's finalists...same proportion?)
Let's take the Season 3 finale. Now, my good friend Susie was not around for that season nor for that spectacular finale, and she is scratching her head after watching the Exorcist Bunny (AKA Fantasia's) performance a couple weeks ago (happily quoting Michael Slezak at Ew.com) and wondering, this chick won?!! YES, she wasn't like that on the show, dawg, and she was good. And my point is, there is no way the season 3 contest was as close between Diana DeGarmo and Fantasia as it was this season, yet they didn't call that one a "landslide" vote. I'm guessing that DeGarmo got, at most, 30% of the votes to Fantasia's 70%, which I would have defined as a landslide victory for Fantasia. DeGarmo was an accomplished singer, yes, but at 17 years of age, just didn't offer the artistry and energy and raw talent that Fantasia consistently delivered.
Likewise, Season 4's matchup between Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice might have been a bit closer than Season 3, but I'll bet it wasn't 56-44, and if it was, I don't recall them announcing it as a close vote or a landslide. Bo got lots of votes for sure; his unconventionality and down home personality were refreshing, and I love him to this day. But Carrie was never in the B3 and had more voting fans. I'm also guessing that despite his talent, Blake Lewis didn't fetch 44% of the votes last season, nor did Kat McPhee in Season 5 up against Taylor Hicks. So why now the "landslide?" It feels to me like salt in David Archuleta's wounds. Or really, I don't know what the intent is by the continued use of this term.
Conclusion? I felt this to be a very close vote, by Idol standards, and a very fair matchup compared to most seasons past where clearly one contestant was favored for whatever reason (talent, popularity, consistency of performances) than the other. I feel that to pronounce this season's final vote as a lopsided effort discredits Archuleta and his supporters and undermines the future of voting for AI.
So, am I totally off here? How is the term landslide defined in political terms? Dear Friend, where art thou?
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2 comments:
It's a landslide. Since 1964, three U.S. presidential elections have been considered landslides: 1964, 1972 and 1984. In 1964, Johnson beat Goldwater 61 to 37 percent. In 1972, Nixon beat McGovern 61 to 38 percent. In 1984, Reagan beat Mondale 58 to 41 percent (54 million votes to 38 million votes). Cookie came pretty close to that feat. What seals the deal is when you consider that no winning U.S. President has ever won more than 61 percent of the popular vote. Only 6 of 43 U.S. Presidents have gotten more than 56 percent of the popular vote. Lincoln did not even hit 56 percent, although he came close. I am not sure what the basement is for something to be considered a landslide, but I believe that 56 percent is a landslide. Sorry Idolmama.
I knew you could resolve that :) I'm actually happy that Cookie had a decisive victory, I just wonder what they would call the other seasons that were farther apart than 56-44, moltonhotlava blowouts??!! I'm guessing they weren't as close as this year, or they would have given out the numbers. The only season I recall numbers/percentages being supplied for was Season 1, and then with Clay and Reuben they publicized that it was a close vote, but have been mum on the final votes until this year.
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