A flap over a few phones in Arkansas has forced American Idol to defend the validity of its voting procedures.
After reports surfaced that AT&T employees taught Kris Allen fans how to cast multiple votes by "power-texting" on demo phones, Fox and the show's producers issued a statement Wednesday reaffirming Allen's victory.
"The results of this competition are fair, accurate and verified," the statement read. "Kris Allen is, without a doubt, the American Idol. We have an independent third-party monitoring procedure in place to ensure the integrity of the voting process. In no way did any individuals unfairly influence the outcome of the competition."
Allen, 23, of Conway, Ark., the competition's underdog, beat out Adam Lambert, 27, of San Diego, who had been heavily favored to win Season 8.
At issue was a story from The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette describing how AT&T representatives brought about 80 phones to two viewing parties in Allen's hometown and Little Rock and showed fans how to cast 10 or more votes at a time via text-messaging.
In its own statement Tuesday, AT&T said a few local employees were invited to parties organized by the community and "provided texting tutorials to those who were interested."
"Going forward, we will make sure our employees understand our sponsorship celebrates the competition, not individual contestants. That said, it's quite a leap to suggest that a few individuals could have impacted the final results."
Idol, which releases limited information about its voting totals, has been dogged with questions about the process for years. The show encourages multiple votes by phone and texting but also runs a disclaimer saying block votes placed via "technical enhancements" can be thrown out. It's unclear whether power-texting would fall into that category or whether such votes would be counted.
Last year, host Ryan Seacrest said 12 million votes separated winner David Cook and second-place finisher David Archuleta. Though Seacrest announced that voting reached almost 100 million for this year's finale, he didn't reveal how those votes were split.
The lack of specifics has fueled rampant speculation and frustration among the show's die-hard fans.
"I don't think Kris won by two viewing parties," says Sue Brody, 46, an Adam Lambert supporter from Boston. "Now, if there were hundreds of viewing parties through the whole state, then there definitely is a problem."
AT&T and Idol could embrace the controversy as a way to keep viewers engaged in the show beyond the finale, says strategist Richard Levick.
"Say, 'OK, here's the vote differential; here's how many phones we gave away,' " says the CEO of Levick Strategic Communications, a Washington, D.C.-based public-relations firm. "If you've got a large disparity between the two, the issue clearly goes away. It's a mouse in a thunderstorm. But if it is a closer election, it's an exceptional marketing opportunity if handled properly."
After reports surfaced that AT&T employees taught Kris Allen fans how to cast multiple votes by "power-texting" on demo phones, Fox and the show's producers issued a statement Wednesday reaffirming Allen's victory.
"The results of this competition are fair, accurate and verified," the statement read. "Kris Allen is, without a doubt, the American Idol. We have an independent third-party monitoring procedure in place to ensure the integrity of the voting process. In no way did any individuals unfairly influence the outcome of the competition."
Allen, 23, of Conway, Ark., the competition's underdog, beat out Adam Lambert, 27, of San Diego, who had been heavily favored to win Season 8.
At issue was a story from The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette describing how AT&T representatives brought about 80 phones to two viewing parties in Allen's hometown and Little Rock and showed fans how to cast 10 or more votes at a time via text-messaging.
In its own statement Tuesday, AT&T said a few local employees were invited to parties organized by the community and "provided texting tutorials to those who were interested."
"Going forward, we will make sure our employees understand our sponsorship celebrates the competition, not individual contestants. That said, it's quite a leap to suggest that a few individuals could have impacted the final results."
Idol, which releases limited information about its voting totals, has been dogged with questions about the process for years. The show encourages multiple votes by phone and texting but also runs a disclaimer saying block votes placed via "technical enhancements" can be thrown out. It's unclear whether power-texting would fall into that category or whether such votes would be counted.
Last year, host Ryan Seacrest said 12 million votes separated winner David Cook and second-place finisher David Archuleta. Though Seacrest announced that voting reached almost 100 million for this year's finale, he didn't reveal how those votes were split.
The lack of specifics has fueled rampant speculation and frustration among the show's die-hard fans.
"I don't think Kris won by two viewing parties," says Sue Brody, 46, an Adam Lambert supporter from Boston. "Now, if there were hundreds of viewing parties through the whole state, then there definitely is a problem."
AT&T and Idol could embrace the controversy as a way to keep viewers engaged in the show beyond the finale, says strategist Richard Levick.
"Say, 'OK, here's the vote differential; here's how many phones we gave away,' " says the CEO of Levick Strategic Communications, a Washington, D.C.-based public-relations firm. "If you've got a large disparity between the two, the issue clearly goes away. It's a mouse in a thunderstorm. But if it is a closer election, it's an exceptional marketing opportunity if handled properly."
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