American Conspiracy Theory
Blog by Sean Gehon, Friday, May 18, 2007
One of my favourite reality shows of all time was The Mole. The Mole was a show about ten strangers who compete in challenges to win money for ‘the pot’. One contestant however, was hired by the producers to sabotage the contestants and help to keep the amount of money in the pot as low as possible. At the end of every episode the contestants were quizzed on what they knew about the “Mole”, the person with the lowest score would be eliminated from the competition. After two seasons and two celebrity editions, The Mole is over, but according to conspiracy theorists, American Idol may have a mole of their very own.
With two wannabe hit-makers left on the show, the pressure is on for both Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks leading up to Tuesday’s final round for this season. Everyone has their favourites; whether you love Blake’s beat boxing or Jordin’s perky attitude and big voice, one of them is going home a winner, and the other will be forgotten by the end of the summer. With last weeks ‘shocking’ departure of ‘front-runner’ Melinda Doolittle, conspiracy theorists are saying that seventeen year-old Jordin Sparks may have this one in the bag.
As I searched through the internet this morning I found an article questioning the authenticity of Jordin Sparks’ involvement in American Idol. The theory has several different interesting points including the fact that Jordin already won Arizona Idol, securing her an audition in front of Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. Previously in 2004, Jordin was the winner of Coca-Cola’s Rising Star award, and Coca-Cola is one of the biggest sponsors for FOX’s talent competition. The final mysterious piece of the puzzle, and one I don’t really give much credit to, is the fact that Paula Abdul, who can barley string a sentence together on a good day, was able to name Jordin’s famous father, Phillipi Sparks (He played for some football team), and the position that he was famous for playing. So, is there any weight to these accusations, or is Jordin just a victim of coincidence?
From the very first episode of this season’s top twenty-four on American Idol, Jordin Sparks was my favourite contestant. Jordin has always shone during her performances, not only with her big voice, but also with her sparkling smile and personality. Here at Star! Daily I find we talk about American Idol often. Whether Husein is giving love to Sanjaya for his lack of talent and crazy hairstyles, or the interns are supporting Blake Lewis. Or even when I’m booing Melinda Doolittle for being boring, Idol is one of the hottest topics at our watercooler. I’ll probably continue to support Jordin whether or not in can be proved she was in fact planted by producers, but in the mean time, I think it’s just an internet joke gone badly.
There is no way that producers planted Jordin Sparks to win the competition. For starters, they claim the show is based on votes. If American Idol was in fact rigging the votes, they could be sued for more money than the show is probably worth. There have been a few shocking ‘vote offs’ in American Idol history, as fan favourites Tamyra Gray (Season one), Jennifer Hudson (Season three) and Chris Daughtry (Season five) were all given the boot when they were expected to win the show. Idol is about more than just votes and money and talent, it’s about giving the people the drama they want.
Jordin Sparks is going to win American Idol, and I’m willing to put money on it. For conspiracy theorists everywhere, any coincidence is reason enough to jump the gun and make assumptions. Whatever reason Jordin is in the final two is a good enough reason for me. If the producers want her to win, then I agree. If they placed her in the final on purpose, I’m certainly not about to complain. Maybe it’s just time for those of us on this planet who try to find the drama behind every television spectacle to just sit back, breathe deep, and enjoy the show.
Sean – (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2QnRskDlAA gotta love her.)
