Suspicion

-Yeah..that's an Elvis song...(he did it in '62 before sound-alike Terry Stafford had the hit with it in '64) but its also how I feel about the outcome of this year's American Idol. I suspect that the better performer lost because his competitor's total was fueled by prejudice-laden supporters. I wrote about this a few weeks ago when the competition was starting to boil down...and my opinion is no different today. Adam Lambert, the San Diego glam-rocker, was beaten by Kris Allen and the conservative masses. I'm guessing they voted more against Adam than for the new Idol. Kris alluded to the possibility himself earlier in the week in an interview saying he hoped people would vote based on talent...and nothing else. We all know what that "nothing else" is. Allen also practically apologized after being named the Idol saying Lambert should have been standing where he was.

And I'll bet it wasn't even close. Why? You'll remember in past seasons Ryan Seacrest would open the show...and usually remind us several times...about how close the voting was. He'd say something like..."After X-million votes were cast, the winner was decided by less than y-thousand votes"..or something to that effect. Last night there was no mention of how close the voting was. If so, I apologize because I missed it. I'm thinking the AI producers were likely embarassed by the final tally...and didn't want to feed any post-announcement controversy that it might have created.

I think I can safely say that America...and the American Idol voting system...failed the test of whether or not our country is ready to accept, and put the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval on, a performer who is obviously representative of an alternative lifestyle.

I'm not writing this to belittle Kris Allen or knock his talent in any way. In fact, if Adam were not more deserving, I would be totally thrilled with Kris as this year's Idol. He's head and shoulders more deserving than several previous winners. Heck, so is Danny Gokey who finished third. Both Kris and Adam have bright futures ahead in their own genre if managed correctly. But, both were in this year's competition...and the better man...the one some compared to a new Elvis...didn't win.

Suspicion torments my heart,
Suspicion keeps us apart,
Suspicion why torture me?