The potential for an anti-gay backlash has been talked about and debated by nearly everyone from the NY Times to the bloggers to Bill Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢R. I think there has been a general consensus that an anti-gay sentiment is out there. The question was, would it effect the competition? With a margin this close, clearly the answer is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“yes.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Sadly, I believe this is true. Between Danny’s pastor’s Twitter and Bill O’Reilly, the Kris push was set up. Kris is not responsible for this and neither is Adam.

I reviewed the performances again today, and the main weakness for both Adam and Kris is the third song. Kara must have been embarrassed that neither one pulled it off. That is really sad when thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s so much at stake.

Looking back at the previous seasons’ Finals, Kris would not have made it to the Top 2 for any other season. He is talented and such an adorable guy, but looking at the winners and runner-ups of the past, he just wouldn’t have been in their finals.

I do believe Kris does have an excellent chance of winning; however, feel Adam was more deserving when considering the entire season.

http://www.voiceteacher.com/passaggio.html

If a singer can achieve a free jaw and “NG” against the hard palate (tongue root wide) with the back wall of the pharynx open, they can sustain this most difficult range. It is important to remember that Garcia’s concept of “one vowel” is actually the open pharynx; or the deep and open vowel sounds which are created beyond the back of the tongue. This is not to be confused with depressing the larynx with the root of the tongue. That is injurious to good singing. Without the open pyarynx, a singer will become vocally fatigued over a short period of time. The open pharyngeal throat space is the absolute “shock absorber” for the vocal cords.

This is why is tongue is out like that?

talent only and not because of his looksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦..this is completely outrageous!”"”"

This exactly, my 11 year old girl thinks Adam is so cute and sings so good, my 12 year old boy says he has the best voice, he was disapointed when Adam sang mad world because there were no “glory” notes but then he sang his second song and Dallas said, ok, THERE is Adam, he wondered if some girl in the audience was Adams girlfriend, they dont know of gay or straight, black or white, Christian or jewish, they just know what they like to hear and see on there and if they could get the phone from me they would be voting for him. NOW this tween thing peeps are talking about, seriously do you think that my 15 or 18 year old takes the time or wastes their precious texts on dorky American Idol, NO WAY jose. (

Astolat – well said

“”that and his screaming ainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t gonnaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ sell shità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦”"

Well, you are right there, IF what he was doing was actually “screaming”- there is a term for it – a rock wail is closer to the correct term (does anyone know the correct term?) but this is the tecnique he uses – passaggio –

http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.music.opera/2008-05/msg03492.html

Adam is able to use this technique to reach the notes he does so his voice is not damaged and the notes come out flawlessly

Really terrific post. Standing “O”, here!

The potential for an anti-gay backlash has been talked about and debated by nearly everyone from the NY Times to the bloggers to Bill Oà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢R. I think there has been a general consensus that an anti-gay sentiment is out there. The question was, would it effect the competition? With a margin this close, clearly the answer is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“yes.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

If there weren’t that consensus it would not have been such an issue. The sentiment is out there and ITA with your comment…..and it’s sad, very sad, especially in a country that prides itself so.

This season was a zzzzzzzzzz

In your opinion perhaps. I found it very exciting. Adam drew me back to AI after 6 years. I hadn’t watched since AI2. Different strokes I guess.

That said, Adam is also a talented, sweet guy, also with good looks and charm, with ludicrous vocals and amazing stage presence, who had one of the best runs ever on the show. If he loses, it’s going to be because despite his having everything else that normally brings the Idol audience to the yard, there were nevertheless fewer people who loved him for him and his talent.

And *that* is clearly influenced by homophobia. I don’t mean some movement of rabid bigots who powervoted against him (I don’t buy this), but the steady low-grade kind that expresses itself in things like the stupid banter between Ryan and Simon on the show, in the “too theatrical” and “Broadway” code words, in the jokes about Adam’s (coded-feminine) “shrieking”.

There are always going to be people who don’t like a given performer for all sorts of subjective reasons beyond the technical — tone of voice doesn’t appeal, genre of music, etc. But it is ridiculous to ignore that one big reason people wouldn’t have liked Adam is because the majority of people in this country are still to some extent uncomfortable with gay people and queer behavior and *especially* with femme queer behavior in a guy.

That said — I personally take it as a huge step forward anyway that he got *HERE*. That a flamboyant, sexually charged, openly queer performer wearing eyeliner and nailpolish with endless photos online of him dressed up and kissing boys and Bill O’Reilly culture-warrioring on his back might win this whole thing and at least made it seriously freaking close while competing against a picture-perfect candidate from the South. And judging by the incredible busy signal rate last night and the texting overload, he will have gotten more votes than most previous winners. So you know, that is a whole lot of yay from a social viewpoint even if he loses.

And if it is close enough, we can just blame Vote For The Worst. *g*

I think if kris wins it will be another Taylor Hicks. Sorryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦but Kris is boring.
Does it really matter?
Both can use this opportunity to move forward with their careers.
I always think its funny that people are all excited for a contestant, and the contestant never sells enough CDs. Where did all the fans go?

Uh ok. I love that you have a crystal all and can see into the future. No one is guaranteed anything right now, especially in this crappy economy. Even Adam could completely go nowhere. No one knows for sure. They are both talented. What you call boring, others like. What I may call over-the-top, others like. Can’t you just accept that not everyone will like the same style of music? I mean really.

Ted Haggard? Enough said. Don’t be a Hypocrite.
Vote for the person who moves you when they sing

This season was a zzzzzzzzzz

I think if kris wins it will be another Taylor Hicks. Sorry…but Kris is boring.
Does it really matter?
Both can use this opportunity to move forward with their careers.
I always think its funny that people are all excited for a contestant, and the contestant never sells enough CDs. Where did all the fans go?

Sunshinegirl:

Every winner to date, except maybe for Kelly Clarkson, has had hatred spewed towards them by bitter fans doing and saying anything they could think of to discredit the win.

I absolutely accept the fact that Kris has real fans. Tons of them. But for Adam, I would have been voting for Allison and/or Kris myself.

And I’m not spewing hatred towards Kris. I have enormous respect and love for his talent and his character. My “hatred” is reserved for those who judge and hate Adam, not because of who he is but because of what they think he represents.

If Kris were leading by a wide margin, I wouldn’t even be having this conversation. But he’s not, and seemingly the edge he may have is razor thin. Where you and I differ is that you seem to believe the pro-gay vote and the anti-gay vote cancel themselves out, effectively making neither one a factor. I simply don’t believe that, for the reasons I posted above. In a tightly contested race such as this one, I do believe the anti-gay sentiment is real and I also believe it had the ability to and did in fact impact the outcome of the vote last night, in favor of Kris and against Adam. This is not just some last ditch argument being made by a bitter fan. It’s an issue that the mainstream media has been making front and center for weeks now, asking, “can a gay man win AI?” The potential for an anti-gay backlash has been talked about and debated by nearly everyone from the NY Times to the bloggers to Bill O’R. I think there has been a general consensus that an anti-gay sentiment is out there. The question was, would it effect the competition? With a margin this close, clearly the answer is “yes.”

But like it or not, I think these issues will taint his win, if he does in fact win, and that is unfortunate. For both Adam and Kris.

I think either one of them winning will have some taint to it to be honest due to bull-headed people who can’t accept the fact that both of them could actually have real fans who like them for their music alone. Every winner to date, except maybe for Kelly Clarkson, has had hatred spewed towards them by bitter fans doing and saying anything they could think of to discredit the win. So I am not sure that this year will be any different, perhaps it might seem more heated, but I have seen some pretty raging firestorms of hatred in the past seasons, so I don’t know if it really will be.

Sunshinegirl:

Oh please. Like Adam wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get the gay vote. The argument of trying to discredit a Kris win with the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“societal issuesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  aspect is weak. Those issues will play into votes for both. And honestly, several devout Christians I know who think that being gay is not Godly love Adam. So you can argue it both ways really.

Examples of anecdotal evidence (“I personally know several Christians who love Adam!) do not really prove your argument. And, yes, I’m sure there are some gays who voted for Adam because he’s gay. Just as there are plenty of gays who voted for Kris because he’s “cute.” You can argue it both ways, but only to a limited degree.

What makes the anti-gay sentiment much more potent is the fact that it’s fueled by the twin fires of hate and religious fervor (albeit certain religions, not all). I think those fires also make it more likely that people will act on their feelings (i.e. voting against Adam by voting for the other guy), as opposed to sitting back thinking, “Jeez, I hope that gay guy doesn’t win.” OTOH, I don’t think gays are motivated to vote “for” Adam because he’s gay by a similarly strong emotion, i.e. hate. Yes, they may hate the prejudice that they’ve faced or that Adam’s faced but it’s not as if Kris embodies all that (since he himself seems pretty nonjudgmental) so it’s not such a direct correlation to vote against Kris (and all he doesn’t represent) by voting for Adam.

Also, let me emphasize again, I hold Kris blameless in all this. He’s done absolutely nothing wrong in terms of how he’s acted or represented himself on the show. But like it or not, I think these issues will taint his win, if he does in fact win, and that is unfortunate. For both Adam and Kris.

the mere fact that you refer to gays as being à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“not Godlyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  makes me ill.

I said that I know people who believe that, not that I do.

If you are going to make assumptions that a Kris win would be due in part to the Christian and/or anti-gay vote and then adamantly deny that there’s any basis to say that there could not possibly be any sort of pro gay vote out there, that shows how one-sided your thinking has become. Perhaps they want him to represent. I know people that I actually voted for Obama simply because he is black and they admitted it! They wanted to make history even though they didn’t necessarily agree with him on some major issues.

Anyway, I’m done with this. Idol wouldn’t be Idol without the yearly fanwars that erupt, especially near the end. I knew that the Kradam fan love fest would wear off once these two got closer to having to go head to head against one another. Good luck to them both. Glad they can get along even if some of their fans are hellbent on bullying others into agreeing with them that one of them is so superior to the other. Not gonna happen. Just understand that people have different tastes in music. That is all.

helaena May 20th, 2009 at 1:23 pm

kansasfemale dear, i read your post properly, and they way i understand it, your point was adam winning is because of pure talent and kris is because of talent and some other factors like looks or the anti-gay or christian thingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

partly
never mentioned looks or the superficial…but….

organized groups outside of the realm of the show….yep

I’ve received personal emails, copies of mass mailings from mega churches, tweets, read article after article about the whole gay issue, read abusive post after post after post

never did I come across an
anti-straight guy post
or
anti-Christian get-out-the-vote contingent

never received an email telling me to vote for the guy who isn’t MARRIED (god forbid)

it’s subtle, it’s pervasive, it’s cunning, it’s prevalent….

It may be acknowledged as “an issue”, but not really accepted as yet another major fight against injustice and inequality

of course neither was the race argument or gender argument at the beginning either

when people start spuewwwwing “not Godly” crap at me, I get my feathers ruffled….how dare someone say that….gays aren’t Godly

are blacks “not Godly”
are women “not Godly”

how on earth can someone stand up tall and tell me that gays “aren’t Godly”

we ARE one, but we are different
and we do have to carry each other through all this mire and muck

I’m hopeful that one day being gay will matter as much on an Idol stage as being black, or a single-mother, or straight, or married, or a father, or Christian, Jewish, or atheist

…………..and to be honest the mere fact that I live in a society where I even have to have these kinds of discussions makes me disappointed and saddened

Kris has been downplaying all the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“other shità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  as much as one person possibly can

puhlease! kris in his very nature is reserve and to quote matt à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“mellowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , he is not downplaying ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦plus he was very very much understated this whole seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦. despite giving such superb performances, the judges were lukewarm towards himà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.this is pure manipulation from the TPTB, kris was only meant as a canon fodder, simon himself said he was most surprised by kris, obviously they were not expecting him to be that good, and they still continued on their à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“scriptà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  with adam-danny finale which obviously didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t workà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

and now with kris fighting against adam, we hear all this bull? come on peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Huh? OK I’m not sure what you’re trying to say. Yesterday morning Kris was asked about “the Christian vote” and the expectation that he would get the support that previously went to Danny. He clearly said “I hope no one is voting for me because I’m Christian, this is about music and I want people to vote for me because they like my music.” I dont think Kris or Adam are or have been “fighting”. I’m an Adam fan, but I cant believe I’m going to defend Kris – he’s a very talented musician. I’m tired of the “mellow sound” personally but I do think he’s MUCH more talented than Danny Gokey. Was he bussed more than once? Yup. They didn’t taken him seriously but y’know it was never obvious to me that Kris took himself seriously either. His personality slipped under the radar for along time. Danny “jumped the shark” with Scream On and there you have it.

Too many people on too many sites have just received their Adam text confirmations in the last hour. If they already stopped the count, they canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have counted those texts.

Actually, my read is they got bombarded this a.m. with inquiries about whether votes were received and why no confirmations. So they sent out confirmations in bulk – note they don’t read the same at all as they typically do on voting night, so I seriously doubt it was a delay in AT&T receiving the votes as opposed to their delay in confirming. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

FWIW, midway through voting, I sent out a test txt for Kris. I received no confirmation during voting, but did receive one this a.m. identical to the one I received for my Adam votes. So, I think we’re good.

Kris has been downplaying all the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“other shità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  as much as one person possibly can

puhlease! kris in his very nature is reserve and to quote matt “mellow”, he is not downplaying it……plus he was very very much understated this whole season…. despite giving such superb performances, the judges were lukewarm towards him….this is pure manipulation from the TPTB, kris was only meant as a canon fodder, simon himself said he was most surprised by kris, obviously they were not expecting him to be that good, and they still continued on their “script” with adam-danny finale which obviously didn’t work….

and now with kris fighting against adam, we hear all this bull? come on people…

why can’t you just accept that people have different preferences, and for whatever reason or influence, and this holds true to both camps….

But arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t you making assumptions about gay men when youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re reducing them to people who will vote for the cute guy? Weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re not all alike, you know, and even if you reduce this to which guy weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re most attracted to, gay men donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t always like the cute twink.

And yes, there are are some gay people who are voting for Adam partly because heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a gay man who can represent the gay community well.

I was being sarcastic, sorry if it didn’t come across that way. Of course, it’s ridiculous to generalize that anyone based SOLELY on their sexual orientation -and NOTHING ELSE – would vote for anyone. And, of course we’ll all vote for the contestant whose music ‘resonates” with us and with whom we identify. That’s kind of the point of AI. If there’s a contingent of gays who voted because they hope that Adam is going to represent the Gay Community…I dunno what to make of that…I’ve never been aware that there was such a thing as “Gay Music” (although there IS Christian music). I just dont see the connection. But OK, if you say so, I’ll certainly defer to your knowledge as a member of that community.

And yet it looks like he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t win. So unfair. So wrong.

Ah, but I believe he did win. At least let’s wait and see. Such a waste of emotional energy to be depressed prematurely by perceived societal ills, when if Adam wins we can instead cry tears of joy for how far we’ve presumably come.

I stand by my prior remarks that a Kris win will signify nothing about whether prejudice was a deciding factor in the result. But that won’t stop me from being sad about a very real possibility (however remote and unprovable) that it was.

I’m just ready to feel good…

helaena May 20th, 2009 at 12:52 pm

If Adam wins it will be because of his talent

If Kris wins it will be because of his talent plus a host of other societal issues

OMG! kansasfemale, that is just really really UNFAIR

donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t tell me no kids adore adam and voted for him like crazy..if youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re reading the on-scene reports of EW, youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll know there are 8 yr olds too who likes adam, and puhleease donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t tell me that they like him because of his talent only and not because of his looksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦..this is completely outrageous!

so it is really UNFAIR to say kris gets his votes because of his talent plus other factors because i know for sure, both camps have these other factors too, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not just KRIS so stop judging!

please go back and read my entire original post
unfair?….I’m not going to even GO there…
I am not talking about looks dear…..nothing quite so superficial I assure you

Sunshinegirl May 20th, 2009 at 12:28 pm

Oh please. Like Adam wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get the gay vote. The argument of trying to discredit a Kris win with the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“societal issuesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  aspect is weak. Those issues will play into votes for both. And honestly, several devout Christians I know who think that being gay is not Godly love Adam. So you can argue it both ways really. The generalizations are just lame IMO. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not any different than people in the contestantsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ home states voting for their own simply because they are from the same area.

I think you might need to go back and read my post again. You’ve missed the point I fear.

I also think your understanding of a “gay vote” is skewed, but indicative of what the entire gay community has to deal with.

I believe I referenced your “several devout Christian” friends in my original post, however…the mere fact that you refer to gays as being “not Godly” makes me ill.

I have to hold on to the firm belief and dream that one day people will become wise to this “issue”, and once and for all actually SEE.

“A Change is Gonna Come” was so good to. His high notes were not screams, they’re so controlled.

so it is really UNFAIR to say kris gets his votes because of his talent plus other factors because i know for sure, both camps have these other factors too, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not just KRIS so stop judging!

It is unfair, but it’s unfortunately true. Kris has been downplaying all the “other shit” as much as one person possibly can (The nail polish – as way to distance himself from the Danny fanbase). And I love him for it but the thing is – Kris’ “other shit” inspires voting for Kris and Adam’s “other shit” tends to detract from voting. You cant just ignore that a Pastor tweeted 1,000’s of people to “Vote for Kris” because he’s the next best Christian to Danny. It’s iirefutable. Danny did get some “Christian bashing” but not Kris. Adam has had a TON of anti-Adam sentiment. Hell, it was all over Bill O’Reilly last night before the show.

Quite the contrary – if there was such a thing as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the gay voteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ , they would MOST ASSUREDLY would be voting for Kris, the adorable pocket Idol.

But the idea that there exists right now someone who believes that people whose commonality is their sexual orientation, and based on that fact alone, would be voting for Adam, makes me feel a bit ill.

But aren’t you making assumptions about gay men when you’re reducing them to people who will vote for the cute guy? We’re not all alike, you know, and even if you reduce this to which guy we’re most attracted to, gay men don’t always like the cute twink.

And yes, there are are some gay people who are voting for Adam partly because he’s a gay man who can represent the gay community well.

If Adam wins it will be because of his talent

If Kris wins it will be because of his talent plus a host of other societal issues

OMG! kansasfemale, that is just really really UNFAIR

don’t tell me no kids adore adam and voted for him like crazy..if you’re reading the on-scene reports of EW, you’ll know there are 8 yr olds too who likes adam, and puhleease don’t tell me that they like him because of his talent only and not because of his looks…..this is completely outrageous!

so it is really UNFAIR to say kris gets his votes because of his talent plus other factors because i know for sure, both camps have these other factors too, it’s not just KRIS so stop judging!

Oh please. Like Adam wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get the gay vote.

Not for anything, but you apparently know very little about popular gay culture (if there is such a thing) to make that statement.

Quite the contrary – if there was such a thing as “the gay vote”, they MOST ASSUREDLY would be voting for Kris, the adorable pocket Idol.

But the idea that there exists right now someone who believes that people whose commonality is their sexual orientation, and based on that fact alone, would be voting for Adam, makes me feel a bit ill. I just threw up in my mouth a bit actually.