Sanjaya is safe for another week. In fact, he's not even in the bottom three. According to the AOL poll he's at the top of the pack. What's going on?Besides having earned a lot of true-blue Fanjayas, the SanMan is also being supported by Vote for the Worst and Howard Stern. In his Sanjaya-for-Idol Campaign, Stern has admitted he's not just messing around. He wants to topple the #1 show. But despite whipping his loyal whack-packers into a frenzy, does Stern really have that much influence on Idol's outcome?
Idol producer Ken Warwick doesn't think so.
Warwick recently addressed the controversy, and stated that Stern's effect on the competition is "Very minimal to be truthful. There is very little hype anybody can do that will affect the vast numbers of votes that we get."
Warwick also said "I think if every single person that listened to Howard Stern voted, the gap above and below Sanjaya is so big, that it swallows that up and it doesn't affect the outcome at all."
I am an American Idol fan AND a Howard Stern fan myself. And I can say that there is one thing both audiences have in common -- complete devotion and loyalty to their programs. Stern may not have the sheer numbers that American Idol has, but his fans might just be a bit more extreme. I think some of them would do anything Stern tells them to do. And I wouldn't underestimate Stern's power or influence.
I also don't think Ken Warwick really believes Stern has no impact on the outcome of the show. If he did, he wouldn't be bothering to make a comment. Whether Stern's callers are making an actual numerical impact in voting or not, they are clearly sending a message to the show's producers: this show is a joke! As long as Stern continues his campaign, he risks destroying Idol's credibility. But what I find ironic (or hypocritical) is that the producers are complaining about someone influencing the votes when the producers and judges try to manipulate the results all the time. They clearly try to sway our votes. And now they're angry that one man has found a way to do what they can't -- tell us directly how to vote.But honestly, the producers shouldn't be sweating it so much. They should be happy that Stern is talking about their show every day, drumming up more interest, and boosting the ratings even higher. After all, the Sanjaya controversy is all anyone is talking about on the internet. And as the old saying goes, "it doesn't matter what they are saying, as long as they are saying it."
What happens when Sanjaya is eventually booted? Won't the competition become a bit duller? How many ways can you rave about Jordin's or Melinda's impeccable vocals? The shocking eliminations and sometimes terrible performances provide the show with much needed drama and comedy. And without any controversy, doesn't Idol become just another boring talent showcase?
Really, once Sanjaya goes home, what the heck are we going to complain about?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-05-2007 @ 2:25PM
Clint said...
They aren't affecting it THAT much, as Sanjaya was in the middle 3, so obviously they may be having an effect, but not so much of one that we should really worry about Sanjaya winning the whole thing.
I just love how Seacrest is so done with him and has no problem showing it on air.
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4-05-2007 @ 2:31PM
Tim in Augusta said...
Once what's-his-name is sent packing, hopefully we'll be talking about how great the final four are: Blake, Jordin, Melinda and LaKisha. I fear, however, that they might play safe too much (I'm looking at YOU, LaKisha!) and not give us really fun, entertaining performances.
Of course, this depends on a couple of my personal wishes coming true. I don't want to still be talking about how Phil of the Dead is being scouted by vampire-movie-makers or how much cleavage and leg Haley Skankato is showing.
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4-05-2007 @ 2:44PM
const said...
wow, howard stern trying to oversell his self-worth? This is standard operating procedure for him. What impact did he have in the past with VFTW?
Puh-leaze. Howard is the King of Self Promotion. He's very much like Trump in that regard.
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4-05-2007 @ 5:28PM
Mitch said...
Stern has, at best, a million listeners these days. He can't swing that many votes. He is taking credit for the work that was started long ago by Vote for the Worst.
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4-05-2007 @ 5:47PM
Shark said...
It would be great if Sanjaya won, and the entire show collapsed. It is not only the worst show on TV right now, it's the worst in history. And when he does get voted off, because "the fans" will vote him off, i hope there is an investigation the likes of "Twenty One".
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4-05-2007 @ 2:57PM
bgdc said...
Amused by the snarky comments. Yeah Stern is great at self-promotion. He signed a $500 million deal. Apparently self-promotion and hyperbole can pay off!
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4-05-2007 @ 3:00PM
LC said...
Did it have an impact? I'm sure it did. Whether it was significant or not I don't know. I do know that Sanjaya has a pretty huge teenage girl following.
While the point of this show is to find a person who has singing talent and the pop star look, sometimes a great singer with no looks wins, sometimes someone with both wins, this time it appears someone with the right look but not much talent may make it.
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4-05-2007 @ 3:03PM
F Story said...
To be honest, this does nothing more than make me feel bad for Stern. He (and the author of this post) might be the only two people in America who don't realize that the guy is no longer relevant. I'm sure that tucked away in his studio with his sycophantic cronies constantly telling him how great he is that Stern does sincerely and genuinely believe he has some remaining relevance, but in reality the guy wastes his days talking about how great he is, shooting the audio out into empty space, delusional in his belief that anyone's listening or anyone cares. Ultimately, the self-proclaimed "king," through insulation and self-obsession, has lost touch with reality. It's really quite sad.
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4-05-2007 @ 3:04PM
Curt said...
He may not be having a huge impact, but I'm sure Stern is helping out quite a bit.
Look at what Opie and Anthony did for (to) Jerry Springer on Dancing with the Stars. They sent their listeners on a voting frenzy to keep Springer on for weeks after he would've been voted off. In fact, ABC changed the rules of the show so people could only vote a max of 8 times just so they "pests" couldn't keep Springer on any longer.
So you can't say Stern is effecting the outcome.
That being said, I still don't get what everyone sees in American Idol. I've yet to see one episode this season and only know about this Sanjaya kid from what I read on the nets.
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4-05-2007 @ 3:30PM
Danny said...
This is why I think that they should change the voting to vote for who you want to see gone. Therefore, most people would only have to make 1 phone call, but the people trying to keep Sanjaya (for example) alive would have to call for everyone else. At least it would make it more difficult for the people trying to sabotage the voting process.
That being said, they will never do it because then they can no longer say "We had a record 33 million votes".
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4-05-2007 @ 3:24PM
Nola said...
You are all underestimating the impact of certain talk show hosts and their fans. Oprah routinely makes products best sellers simply by telling people she likes them.
Stephen Colbert has proved that his little show, that some people dismissed when he first started, can have an impact if they like one of his whacked out ideas.
I think it's unwise of anyone to underestimate fandom and the people who know how to weild them. Hell I don't even watch American Idol, or listen to Howard Stern, but I'm sick of Idol ruining so many of my fav shows in the ratings and getting them cancelled so I'm all for anything that could place the show on shaky ground.
I might just vote for Sanjaya myself and I've never even heard him sing.
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4-05-2007 @ 3:36PM
Matt said...
It's funny how much hatred people have for Howard. It's also funny how much denial those people are in. Millions of people listen to his show. Many of them call into the show and claim to have voted hundreds of times. It's possible some of them are just blowing smoke, but I guarantee the show is having an impact on the vote. Sanjaya was in the bottom 2 (I'm pretty sure, at least) before Howard started pushing for him and since then he hasn't been in the bottom 3.
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4-05-2007 @ 3:32PM
Elliott said...
So Stern is backing Sanjaya. Now we need Oprah to express her love for Melinda, Stephen Colbert/Jon Stewart to tell viewers to vote for Chris, Fox News to start a "Save Lakisha" campaign, President Bush to start firing people for not supporting Jordin, and Madonna to show some love for Blake.
Sure we won't end up with the most talented "idol", but we'll finally know who's rabid fans are the most loyal to their masters. And isn't that what's it's all about?
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4-05-2007 @ 3:35PM
Elliott said...
Ha, it looks like Nola and I were on the same page when it comes to recognizing that Stern is the only one using thousands of people as his puppets.
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4-05-2007 @ 3:42PM
lynn said...
I agree that talk show hosts can make a huge impact on people's decisions in life. Oprah's book club is just one example....she says read and people run out to buy the book. It's kind of scary that people can be so easily swayed by some one famous. Come on people.....think(and vote)for yourselves!
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4-05-2007 @ 3:43PM
myGoodness said...
I doubt very seriously if Howard Stern's listeners can dial a phone
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4-05-2007 @ 3:59PM
Nola said...
lynn, I don't think it's that people can't think for themselves. Far from it, it's merely that they're entertained by other people's opinions. The people who go out and buy the books that Oprah likes aren't braindead and blindly following her instructions. They're merely following recommendations. Like Amazon recommends books based on your past purchases. You buy the book if you chooose, you read it and then decide for yourself whether it was worth it or not.
Only then can you actually form an opinion of your own. You'd be a fool to form one prior to that.
So the people who would follow Stern and vote for Sanjaya, do so because they have reasons for doing it. For some it's fun to mess with a huge show like Idol, for others it's sheer hatred (that's me) of the show for it's affect on other shows. And so on and so forth.
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4-05-2007 @ 4:19PM
bgdc said...
myGoodness wrote: "I doubt very seriously if Howard Stern's listeners can dial a phone"
What an unbelievably ignorant thing to write. You base this on what exactly? Right, your judgmental view that the show is puerile and therefore beneath anyone intelligent enough to perform the ultra-complex action of dialing a phone.
Get over yourself. You may not appreciate his humor but some intelligent folks must be listening as his show is on pay-for-service sat radio.
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4-05-2007 @ 4:33PM
lynn said...
I'm not saying that people can't think for themselves, I'm saying that sometimes they just don't think for themselves. I think that they often jump on a bandwagon and not always for the right reasons.
So you are saying that those who follow Stern, because they want to mess with the show or because they hate the show, don't give a damn about hurting other people. I'm not just talking about the contestants that have lost out to Sanjaya, I'm talking about Sanjaya himself. Howard Stern is like the pied piper to those who won't think for themselves. They think because he is popular that he is right......WRONG! And that's a bandwagon no one should jump on for any reason.
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4-05-2007 @ 4:55PM
LC said...
Lynn, you are taking this way too seriously. His fans aren't drones obeying his orders. They are simply having fun being part of a prank by goofing on a show that some people take too seriously.
Who cares if the contestants on that show have hurt feelings. They went on AI to fast track their way to stardom while serious musicians have to do it the hard way. If they have true talent, then they got the recognition from being on the show and can market themselves to record producers. Hell, outside Kelly Clarkson, the losers of AI seem to be doing better than some of the winners.
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