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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, August 21, 2002

Viewers will decide 'American Idol' winner

Kelly Clarkson Tamyra Gray Justin Guarini Nikki McKibbin

By David Bauder
Associted Press Television Writer

NEW YORK — Barring a catastrophic failure of Fox's phone-in voting system, American TV viewers — not show producers — will still decide the winner of "American Idol," the network said yesterday.

Advertiser 'American Idol' informal poll results

Hawai'i has spoken. Kelly Clarkson came out on top last against three other "American Idol" contestants in The Advertiser's informal online poll yesterday.

Clarkson received 103 votes; Tamyra Gray, 63 votes; Justin Guarini, 12 votes; and Nikki McKibbin, 11 votes.

Of course, ours is simply a local survey of viewers' preferences. TV viewers will learn tonight on Fox which of the contestants get to survive another week based on national phone calls.

The network says TV viewers, not the show producers as had been rumored, will decide the final winner on Sept. 3. The victor will be announced the following night.

Watch for another online poll Tuesday.

— Advertiser staff

Fox was responding to published reports that contestants on the talent show had to sign a contract agreeing that producers could ultimately decide the winner or change the rules in midstream.

The contract's standard legal language protects producers of the hit summer reality series if something unforeseen happens, said network spokesman Joe Earley.

"There is no nefarious intent," he said.

Indeed, Earley said, public participation is key to the show's success.

"If you mess with the vote, you destroy the franchise," he said. "And who would ever do that?"

"American Idol" has grown in popularity as it approaches its climax. The editions last Tuesday and Wednesday were among the four most-watched prime-time shows of the week, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was easily the most popular show among viewers age 12 to 17.

A record 14.5 million phone calls were made last week to decide which contestant would be voted off the game. There are four players left — Justin, Tamyra, Kelly and Nikki — and voters will decide the winner on Sept. 3. Fox will announce the victor on Sept. 4.

Contestants agreed, as part of their contracts for participation, to essentially give producers the right to change the rules whenever they wanted, according to reports in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today.

Rules were bent during an earlier edition in Britain to allow a singer who had became sick extra time to get his voice back, Earley said.

There were reports last week that about 100 "power dialers" were using Internet connections and autodialing software to make as many as 10,000 votes a night from a single phone line.

Producers said the fanatical dialers haven't influenced the outcome of the game, primarily because they are voting for different contestants and cancelling each other out.

Some experts have contended that Fox could have added more security to its phone system to stymie such callers.

Fox, which has already had to increase its phone system capacity to deal with the show's growing popularity, has backup plans in the event of a failure, Earley said. He declined to outline what they are.