American Idol Tell All Book Coming?

I wouldn't be surprised if they did force them to sing certain songs. It's most likely the songs that the judges slam for being poor choices. Possibly, even the sacred "only the famous artist should ever sing that one" songs which causes the judges to virtually spit on the contestants for singing.

Ya know, a few things have bothered me about Idol...

1) According to the FCC, it is considered "entertainment" and not subject to the regulations that a "gameshow" would be. This means that they don't have to use the votes at all to determine the winner, but we are meant to think they do.

2) They won't post the vote totals. Ever. Why not? They won't even discuss how the voting process works or the technology they use to handle that volume of calls.

3) If the votes really mattered, they would have handled the Top 13 sex line issue way ahead of time.

I think the sham is that the votes have never directly determined who wins. Sure, indirectly in that they cant boot someone who got a landslide of votes, but the producers are deciding who stays and who goes. Its not that they are using the votes to determine who would sell music, but rather they are using the pimping to promote the folks that they want to sell.

I would like to know if all the top 36 had to sign a contract with Idol and what they are allowed to do. I can imagine that Idol will get a cut of anything that Jesse or Ricky Braddy does in the next year or so. Thoughts?

It takes Juan to know Juan. Thanks Juan. You're number Juan. Juan more thing, I was Juandering if this book was written by someJuan who Juan the show? If anyJuan knows, that would be Jaunderful.

I call shennanigans! Where is Price Waterhouse when you need them?

lol thats the thing about them not being a "gameshow" according to the FCC. Unlike the Quiz Show scandal, they are not subject to FCC regulation as far as their contest being rigged. They could crown someone the Idol Champion tomorrow and there is nothing anyone can do about it....other than stop watching the show of course.

I guess its kinda like Pro-wrestling. Vince McMahon should be running this thing.

OMG!!!11!!!! I am shocked that there is manipulation in this show. This is very unchristian!!

I really think this is the breaking point year for AI. With the horrible singers, obvious plants, obvious producer pimping and now the un-democratic rule change, I think people are going to go too far this year. I don't think it will end this year, but I feel like it is about to run its course. I've always enjoyed the show knowing that there is some manipulation, but this year it is in my face and I can't take it anymore. The order of elimination is like 99% determined already! This book could blow the door off the hinges if the press gets strong enough. Let's pray.

It's interesting that sometimes Ryan says "You got the least votes" (which is rare), but more often he says "America voted and so-and-so you are safe" or "America voted and so-and-so you will be leaving us tonight". Most of the time he doesn't actually say that someone got the least votes, and that might be their fallback if they get caught. Hey, all we said was that America voted, and then we sent someone home. We never said that he got the least votes.

since fantasia was illiterate when she signed her contract , i would love for her to be the one to blow it wide open ! she cant be held responsible or liable if she signed a contract with not knowing what it said. i know this was long time ago. i bet the contracts have an immature "never ever" clause in them about talking about their experiences during "private" non televised behind the scenes production decisions .

I'm seconding shenanigans. When I called this week, the recorded robot voice simply said "Thanks for voting. Tune in tomorrow..." This is the first time the voice failed to mention exactly which contestant I was voting for. Legally, this would allow Ryan to announce the vote totals (they did record that I voted), but gives the producers free reign to pick their own winner. Which makes the whole show seem even more staged when you consider that the judges have the new "Get out of Jail Free" pass. What would be better for ratings than for the producers to put a top contender in death seat, only to have them saved by the judges.