Cross-season poll, Seasons 1 to 15
Overall popularity of the most popular singers across all 15 seasons
Below are the
final results
for the cross-season poll up through Season 15.
(If your favorite singer is not in this poll, it's because he or she did not rank high enough in previous years.)
Popularity |
Choice |
VoteFair
ranking
score |
Traditional
vote count
(for comparison) |
First-most popular |
Kelly Clarkson (season 1) |
|
|
Second-most popular |
Carrie Underwood (season 4) |
|
|
Third-most popular |
Jennifer Hudson (season 3) |
|
|
Fourth-most popular |
Adam Lambert (season 8) |
|
|
Fifth-most popular |
David Cook (season 7) |
|
|
Sixth-most popular |
Haley Reinhart (season 10) |
|
|
Seventh-most popular |
Trent Harmon (Season 15) |
|
|
Eighth-most popular |
Candice Glover (season 12) |
|
|
Ninth-most popular |
LaPorsha Renae (Season 15) |
|
|
Tenth-most popular
is a tie among these choices |
Jena Irene (season 13) |
|
|
Jax Cole (season 14) |
|
|
11th-most popular |
Joey Cook (season 14) |
|
|
Season 15 poll
Top 2 results
It's a wrap!
This season was much fairer than what has happened in some other seasons,
and with a final pairwise contest between the two most popular singers,
we have a deserving winner.
Congratulations
Trent Harmon!
To those of you who have been voting in these VoteFair polls, thank you!!!
Top 3 results
No surprise this week. Now we are down to a pairwise comparison between the two top singers.
In a pairwise comparison, vote splitting cannot happen.
Each week in these VoteFair polls your ranking of contestants makes it possible to do pairwise comparisons,
and that's why the results here are not vulnerable to vote splitting.
In other words, vote splitting can only happen when voting only allows us to indicate a single favorite choice.
As a clarification, the official voting does allow us to split our support into various numbers of votes to second and third (etc.)
singers, but that is still using single-mark ballots because each such “vote” is a different ballot with just a single
singer's name being marked.
Top 4 results
No surprises this week. The fact that
LaPorsha Renae
was in the bottom two reveals that,
in the official voting,
fans who prefer a male singer significantly outnumber fans who prefer a female singer.
This means that fans of the two remaining male singers might cast so many votes that
LaPorsha Renae
could be eliminated next week, even though she is more popular than third-most-popular
Dalton Rapattoni.
Expressed another way, in this VoteFair poll the fans of both male singers can indicate that
LaPorsha Renae
is their second choice,
but in the official voting those male-singer fans cannot afford to waste any of their official votes on her.
Here is yet another example of the difference between pairwise counting and first-choice only counting.
Gender-biased stuffed ballots
A few voters in
Denham Springs Louisiana,
Woodstock Georgia,
Frisco Texas,
Honolulu Hawaii,
and
Angola Indiana
have attempted to stuff the VoteFair ballot box
with their highest support for
Trent Harmon
and
Dalton Rapattoni,
and with low rankings for
LaPorsha Renae.
After removing those ballots, plus some outside-the-United-States ballots,
here (below) are the current rankings.
Popularity |
Choice |
VoteFair
ranking
score |
Traditional
vote count
(for comparison) |
First-most popular |
Trent Harmon |
|
|
Second-most popular |
Dalton Rapattoni |
|
|
Third-most popular |
LaPorsha Renae |
|
|
Fourth-most popular |
MacKenzie Bourg |
|
|
Normally vote splitting among the three males would keep LaPorsha Renae relatively safe, but there is heavy official voting
by female fans who strongly prefer a good-looking male singer, and they are likely to vote using multiple accounts (such as both Facebook and Google),
so LaPorsha Renae is not safe.
As stated here in previous weeks, every vote counts — just as it does in close government elections when the differences are significant.
Top 5 results
The elimination of Sonika Vaid leaves us with three male singers and one superb female singer.
Next week, if nothing goes wrong with the official vote counting, vote splitting among the males combined with
the superb singing skill of LaPorsha Renae will cause one of the three remaining males to be eliminated.
This assumes that too many viewers do not assume that LaPorsha Renae is getting plenty of votes from other viewers.
Top 6 results
The fact that Sonika Vaid was in the bottom two — instead of slightly less-popular MacKenzie Bourg — indicates the typical bias
in favor of male singers.
Top 6 commentary
This week's current VoteFair results (Wednesday night) indicate that
Tristan McIntosh and/or MacKenzie Bourg
will be eliminated this week.
If any of the other singers gets the fewest official votes, then the judges should save that singer.
The biggest risk is that lots of fans might assume that
LaPorsha Renae
is getting plenty of votes from other voters,
and that could cause her to get the fewest votes.
This would be similar to what happened years ago the week that
Jennifer Hudson
was eliminated early in the competition.
Please remember this lesson when you vote in the U.S. Presidential election:
don't assume that other voters will make the right choice! Every vote does count!
Top 8 commentary
No big surprises this week.
This week's “greediest voter” award goes to a voter in South Hadley, Massachusetts, who attempted to cast 10 ballots. Apparently he or she does not realize that just using a different ranking on each ballot does not make them come from different places.
Top 10 results, and what's happening in the U.S. Presidential primary election
Yup, vote-splitting happened this week. And with vote-splitting going on in the U.S. Presidential election among the Republican candidates, it's a good time to remind you how it works.
Among the Top 10 there were 6 females and 4 males. If we guess that the preference for a male winner versus a female winner is somewhat equal,
then the half of the voters who prefer a female are splitting their votes among 6 contestants, whereas the half of the voters who prefer a male are only splitting their votes among 4 contestants. The result is that each female gets fewer votes compared to each male, which makes the elimination of two female singers more likely compared to the non-gender-biased result of eliminating one male and one female.
Again the important concept is that the contestant with the fewest first-choice votes is not necessarily the least-popular contestant.
In this case, Olivia Rox, in the VoteFair poll, was not the second-least-popular singer, but the least-popular male singer, Lee Jean, received more first-choice votes. And apparently either she did not sing as well as usual, or Tristan McIntosh and Avalon Young sang better than usual (I don't know which because I don't watch on Thursday nights), so Olivia Rox was eliminated early.
[Clarification from Mrs. Dale Wester: “Olivia had to be hospitalized for the flu during Top 10 week; I doubt she was fully recovered last Thursday. This week, her biggest problem was song choice. In exit interviews, Olivia explained that she had a different song prepared but changed based on recommendations given during rehearsals.”]
The elimination of Gianna Isabella was fair, because she was at the bottom of the Top 10.
In the Republican presidential election, the presence of three main candidates is causing vote splitting because each voter can only mark the name of one candidate. If instead each voter could indicate a second choice, pairwise counting could be done, and pairwise counting is not vulnerable to vote splitting. What does this really mean?
The writers of the U.S. Constitution knew about vote splitting, so they set up the electoral college voting method. At the time, without having even mechanical devices that could do sophisticated counting, that's the best they could do. Yet the founders of our nation would be dumbfounded by the stupidity of today's Congress. The founders expected that when better counting methods became practical — which they are now, because of computer technology — the members of Congress would update the Constitution to use better counting methods. Alas.
This summer many voters will see in action the process of delegate voting that has mostly remained unchanged since the early days of our nation. At the Republican convention there will be a first round of voting, and in that first round, none of the Republican candidates will receive a majority of votes — from the “delegates” who are supposed to represent us, the actual voters. Besides the unfairness that the delegates are insiders who get chosen as a reward for having done political favors, the bigger unfairness is that those delegates have no idea who the voters really prefer the most, overall. Why do they not know? We, the voters, or at least the “Republican” voters, were never asked for our second choice. (Of course a second choice is not needed for the Democratic convention.) The long-standing tradition is to assume that the delegates are smart people, and that the delegates who promised to vote (on the first round) for their candidate will, when necessary, shift their vote to the best of the remaining candidates. Ha! What really happens is that in back-room meetings delegates (and the unpopular candidates who only have a few delegates) are promised something they want in exchange for switching their vote, usually to the candidate who the party insiders prefer. And that person would be Marco Rubio, because he is a puppet of special interests. This does not mean that Marco Rubio will win. It means that Republican insiders will try to use the convention's vote-shifting process to defeat Donald Trump because his political views are unknown (and have changed dramatically over time). To a lessor extent, insiders will also try to defeat Ted Cruz because he is motivated by some personal prejudices that are in conflict with party “traditions.”
What can be done? Learn more! And please point out to family members and close friends that marking only a single candidate's name on an election ballot is primitive! For a clear explanation of the problem and the solution, please read the Declaration of Election-Method Reform Advocates, which is a document signed by a few of us who fully understand vote-counting methods. Thank you for learning! For that you are a hero!
Top 10 poll
Now that we can fit both the males and females into the same poll, we can compare the popularity of the males versus females. But remember that the show uses unfair single-mark balloting, so don't assume that the elimination order will be gender unbiased. In fact, a female is likely to be eliminated next, even if she is a better singer than all the males, simply because currently there are fewer males. The pairwise counting done in these VoteFair polls do not have that vote-splitting unfairness.
A few people voted in the Top 24 poll after the Thursday show started on the East coast, and those votes were removed. (Please wait for the new poll to start. Sometimes I'm busy on Thursday night and cannot close the poll until later that night, and cannot start the next poll until mid-day Friday.)
Top 24 commentary
The judges and producers were wise to abandon their original plans to have the judges choose almost all the top 10 contestants. Based on the results of this last week's VoteFair poll, the judges made wise decisions when they chose the four top singers, and this prevented the unfair results that otherwise would have happened with so many contestants and so many needed eliminations. The producers wisely allowed us, the viewers, to choose the other six.
Let's hope that TV producers do not forget the most important lesson from American Idol: It is popular because we, the viewers, get to vote, without the judges getting to have any voting influence. The TV shows that allow their judges to give extra points to their favorite(s) are so much less worthwhile to watch because it takes too many viewer votes to overcome those biases from the judges. At this point, the judges still can influence voting by what they say, and that's plenty of influence at this point (after they eliminated thousands of less-skilled singers).
Top 24 poll
The Season 15 VoteFair poll is now open! Share your preferences in this poll, so that next week you will know who to support with your official votes.
Ooops! Thank you Mrs. Dale Wester for pointing out my mistake in thinking the eliminated contestants were eligible as wildcard contestants. I admit that, although I watch (or just listen to) the show on Wednesday nights, I do not watch on Thursday nights. So I don't know what's said on the Thursday shows. As a fix, I have changed the word "wildcard" to "eliminated." It's still interesting to see which eliminated contestants are the most popular. (And if the show needs to pick a replacement for someone who can't continue, the results here could provide some info about who to consider.)
Season 15 summary table
Links to each week's results (with some exceptions) are in the summary table column headings.
The asterisk (*) below indicates the early elimination of
Olivia Rox due to having been hospitalized with the flu and switching songs at the last minute.
Contestant |
Eliminated |
Top females |
Top males |
Top 10 |
Top 8 |
Top 6 |
Top 5 |
Top 4 |
Top 3 |
Top 2 |
Final result |
Trent Harmon | — | — | 3 | 6 | 3 (tie) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Winner |
LaPorsha Renae | — | 3 (tie) | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Runner-up |
Dalton Rapattoni | — | — | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Out | — |
MacKenzie Bourg | — | — | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | Out | — | — |
Sonika Vaid | — | 2 | — | 2 | 3 (tie) | 4 | 5 | Out | — | — | — |
Tristan McIntosh | — | 4 | — | 8 | 6 | 6 | Out | — | — | — | — |
Avalon Young | — | 3 (tie) | — | 7 | 5 | Out | — | — | — | — | — |
Lee Jean | — | — | 4 | 9 | 7 | Out | — | — | — | — | — |
Olivia Rox | — | 1 | — | 4 * | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Gianna Isabella | — | 5 | — | 10 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Jenn Blosil | — | 6 | — | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Jeneve Mitchell | — | 7 | — | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Thomas Stringfellow | — | — | 5 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Manny Torres | — | — | 6 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Emily Brooke | (1) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Stephany Negrete | (2) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Amelia Eisenhauer | (3) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Adam Lasher | (4) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
CJ Johnson | (5) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Kory Wheeler | (6) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Jenna Renae | (7) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
James VIII | (8) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Shelbie Z | (9) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Jordan Sasser | (10) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Cross-season poll, Seasons 1 through 14
Gender bias? Yes!
This year's cross-season poll reveals a clear gender bias in favor of male contestants.
Ironically, in this gender bias, it is women who tend to prefer male singers,
and apparently (based on various evidence) they vote more often in the official voting,
so they tend to cause the winner to be a male.
In contrast to official voting, this poll limits each voter to just one ballot.
This two-question poll
— which admittedly is not statistically significant for many reasons —
shows that
Jax Cole
and
Joey Cook
are more popular than the winner Nick Fradiani,
and more popular than runner-up Nick Fradiani,
even though
Jax Cole
was eliminated one week earlier,
and
Joey Cook
was eliminated five weeks earlier.
As in previous years,
Kelly Clarkson
continues to be the most popular American Idol (among both winners and non-winners),
and Carrie Underwood is second-most popular.
Haley Reinhart (from Season 10) continues to rank high (third) because her fans regularly vote in this cross-season poll.
Interestingly this year's winner,
Nick Fradiani,
and runner-up,
Nick Fradiani,
are at the bottom of the overall poll,
where they are competing with the most popular singers from previous seasons.
Below are the
overall final results
and
Season-14-only results
for this year's cross-season poll.
Popularity |
Choice |
VoteFair
ranking
score |
Traditional
vote count
(for comparison) |
First-most popular |
Jax Cole (season 14) |
|
|
Second-most popular |
Joey Cook (season 14) |
|
|
Third-most popular |
Nick Fradiani (season 14) |
|
|
Fourth-most popular |
Clark Beckham (season 14) |
|
|
Fifth-most popular |
Rayvon Owen (season 14) |
|
|
Sixth-most popular |
Tyanna Jones (season 14) |
|
|
Seventh-most popular |
Sarina-Joi Crowe (season 14) |
|
|
Popularity |
Choice |
VoteFair
ranking
score |
Traditional
vote count
(for comparison) |
First-most popular |
Kelly Clarkson (season 1) |
|
|
Second-most popular |
Carrie Underwood (season 4) |
|
|
Third-most popular |
Haley Reinhart (season 10) |
|
|
Fourth-most popular |
Adam Lambert (season 8) |
|
|
Fifth-most popular |
David Cook (season 7) |
|
|
Sixth-most popular |
Jennifer Hudson (season 3) |
|
|
Seventh-most popular
is a tie among these choices |
Jena Irene (season 13) |
|
|
Candice Glover (season 12) |
|
|
Eighth-most popular |
Jax Cole (season 14) |
|
|
Ninth-most popular |
Angie Miller (season 12) |
|
|
Tenth-most popular |
Clark Beckham (season 14) |
|
|
11th-most popular |
Nick Fradiani (season 14) |
|
|
Please help measure gender bias by voting in the cross-season poll
Please vote — just once! — in this year's cross-season poll.
Your ballot will help measure the gender bias that is explained in the What's goin' on? section at the top of the
Season 14 commentary page.
Thanks!
Season 14 (2015)
Season 14 summary table
The asterisks (*) below indicate the early eliminations of
Sarina-Joi Crowe and Joey Cook and Jax Cole,
and the somewhat delayed elimination of
Rayvon Owen.
For poll results, click on the column headings in this summary table.
Contestant |
Top 24, First weekmales & females |
Top 24, Second weekmales & females |
Top 16males & females |
Top 12 |
Top 11, First week (data lost) |
Top 11, Second week |
Top 9 |
Top 8 |
Top 7 |
Top 6 |
Top 5 |
Top 4 |
Top 3 |
Top 2 |
Nick Fradiani | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ? | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Winner |
Clark Beckham | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ? | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Out |
Jax Cole | 1 (tie) | 2 | 2 | 3 | ? | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 * | Out |
Rayvon Owen | 9 | 6 | 5 | 7 | ? | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 * | 5 | 5 * | 4 * | Out | — |
Tyanna Jones | 1 (tie) | 3 | 3 | 2 | ? | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | Out | — | — |
Quentin Alexander | 8 (tie) | 3 | 2 | 5 | ? | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | Out | — | — | — |
Joey Cook | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | ? | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 * | Out | — | — | — | — |
Qaasim Middleton | 7 | 4 | 4 | 11 | Saved | 9 | 8 | 8 | Out | — | — | — | — | — |
Daniel Seavey | 3 | 5 | 6 | 12 | ? | 11 | 9 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Adanna Duru | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | ? | 7 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Maddie Walker | 8 | 7 | 5 | 10 | ? | 10 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Sarina-Joi Crowe | 6 (tie) | 1 | 1 | 8 * | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Alexis Gomez | 10 | 6 (tie) | 8 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Mark Andrew | 6 | 9 | 8 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Loren Lott | 7 | 10 | 6 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Adam Ezegelian | 4 | 11 | 7 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Katherine Winston | 6 (tie) | 5 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Riley Bria | 10 | 7 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lovey James | 5 | 8 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Savion Wright | 8 (tie) | 8 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Trevor Douglas | 11 | 10 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Shannon Berthiaume | 2 | 11 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Michael Simeon | 2 | 12 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Shi Scott | 3 | 12 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Cross-season poll, Seasons 1 through 13
Kelly Clarkson continues to be the overall most popular American Idol. Lots of Haley Reinhart fans vote here every year,
so she is tied with ever-popular Carrie Underwood.
At the bottom are Caleb Johnson and Jessica Sanchez and Alex Preston,
so they will be eliminated from the next cross-season poll.
Invalid votes were removed before calculating
these final results.
|
|
Popularity |
Choice |
VoteFair
ranking
score |
Traditional
vote count
(for comparison) |
First-most popular |
Kelly Clarkson (season 1) |
|
|
Second-most popular
is a tie among these choices |
Haley Reinhart (season 10) |
|
|
Carrie Underwood (season 4) |
|
|
Third-most popular |
Jena Irene (season 13) |
|
|
Fourth-most popular |
Adam Lambert (season 8) |
|
|
Fifth-most popular |
Jennifer Hudson (season 3) |
|
|
Sixth-most popular |
Angie Miller (season 12) |
|
|
Seventh-most popular |
Candice Glover (season 12) |
|
|
Eighth-most popular |
David Cook (season 7) |
|
|
Ninth-most popular |
Caleb Johnson (season 13) |
|
|
Tenth-most popular |
Jessica Sanchez (season 11) |
|
|
11th-most popular |
Alex Preston (season 13) |
|
|
|
Season 13 (2014)
Season 13 summary table
For poll results, click on the column headings in this summary table.
Contestant |
Top 13 |
Top 12 |
Top 11 |
Top 10 |
Top 9 |
Top 8, First week |
Top 8, Second week |
Top 7 |
Top 6 |
Top 5 |
Top 4 |
Top 3 |
Top 2 |
Final result |
Caleb Johnson | 5 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | Winner |
Jena Irene | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Runner-up |
Alex Preston | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Out | — |
Jessica Meuse | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 (tie) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | Out | — | — |
Sam Woolf | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 (tie) | 5 | 6 Saved | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | Out | — | — | — |
CJ Harris | 10 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | Out | — | — | — | — |
Dexter Roberts | (omitted) | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | Out | — | — | — | — | — |
Malaya Watson | 12 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Majesty Rose | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 7 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
MK Nobilette | 8 | 12 | 11 | 9 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ben Briley | 9 | 8 | 10 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Emily Piriz | 7 | 7 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Kristen O'Connor | 11 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Cross-season poll, Seasons 1 through 12
Kelly Clarkson continues to be the overall most popular American Idol. Next, because of lots of her fans voting here, is
Haley Reinhart. Next are Carrie Underwood, Angie Miller, and Candice Glover.
|
|
Popularity |
Choice |
VoteFair
ranking
score |
Traditional
vote count
(for comparison) |
First-most popular |
Kelly Clarkson (season 1) |
|
|
Second-most popular |
Haley Reinhart (season 10) |
|
|
Third-most popular |
Carrie Underwood (season 4) |
|
|
Fourth-most popular |
Angie Miller (season 12) |
|
|
Fifth-most popular |
Candice Glover (season 12) |
|
|
Sixth-most popular |
Jessica Sanchez (season 11) |
|
|
Seventh-most popular |
Jennifer Hudson (season 3) |
|
|
Eighth-most popular |
Adam Lambert (season 8) |
|
|
Ninth-most popular |
Phillip Phillips (season 11) |
|
|
Tenth-most popular |
David Cook (season 7) |
|
|
11th-most popular |
Kree Harrison (season 12) |
|
|
12th-most popular |
Amber Holcomb (season 12) |
|
|
|
Detailed results of VoteFair cross-season poll, Seasons 1 through 12
Season 12 (2013)
Season 12 summary table
The asterisks (*) below indicate
the delayed elimination of
Lazaro Arbos
and the slightly early elimination of
Aubrey Cleland.
(The elimination of first-ranked Angie Miller was not a significant surprise because
many votes in this poll were cast before the performance night when
Candice Glover gave especially great performances,
and because Kree Harrison got lots of official votes from Country-music fans who do not vote in this poll.)
For poll results, click on the column headings in this summary table.
The ranking information in parentheses is the official vote-count order that was announced on the show.
Contestant |
Top 10 females
Top 10 males |
Top 10 |
Top 9 |
Top 8 |
Top 7 |
Top 6 |
Top 5 |
Top 4, first week |
Top 4, second week |
Top 3 |
Top 2 |
Finale |
Candice Glover | 3 (f) | 2 (in top 3) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 (top 2) | 1 | 2 (bottom 2) | 2 | 2 | 1 | Winner |
Kree Harrison | 2 (f) | 3 (in top 3) | 2 | 1 | 1 (in top 3) | 2 (top 2) | 3 (bottom 2) | 3 (top 2) | 3 | 3 | 2 | Runner-up |
Angie Miller | 1 (f) | 1 (in top 3) | 1 | 3 | 3 (in top 3) | 3 | 2 | 1 (top 2) | 1 | 1 * | Out | — |
Amber Holcomb | 4 (f) | 4 (in 5th) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 (bottom 2) | 4 | 4 (bottom 2) | 4 | Out | — | — |
Janelle Arthur | 6 (f) | 6 (in 6th) | 5 | 5 | 5 (in bottom 2) | 5 | 5 | Out | — | — | — | — |
Lazaro Arbos | 2 (m) | 9 (in 4th) | 9 * | 8 * | 7 * (in top 3) | 6 | Out | — | — | — | — | — |
Burnell Taylor | 3 (m) | 7 (in 7th) | 6 | 6 | 6 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Devin Velez | 1 (m) | 5 (in 9th) | 7 | 7 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Paul Jolley | 5 (m) | 8 (in 8th) | 8 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Curtis Finch Jr. | 4 (m) | 10 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Aubrey Cleland | 5 * (f) | Out | (on tour as 11th) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Charlie Askew | 10 (m) | Out | (in 12th place) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nick Boddington | 6 (m) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Breanna Steer | 7 (f) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Vincent Powell | 7 (m) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Adriana Latonio | 8 (f) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Cortez Shaw | 8 (m) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Tenna Torres | 9 (f) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Elijah Liu | 9 (m) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Zoanette Johnson | 10 (f) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Cross-season poll, seasons 1 through 11
Here is a link to this cross-season poll results
On June 6 more than half the ballots (55%) in this cross-season poll had been cast by voters who are outside the United States. Those ballots have been removed. The results did not change much. Jessica Sanchez is still in first place. That does not necessarily mean that she is more popular than Phillip Phillips; rather it means that her fans vote here more than the fans of Phillip Phillips vote here.
Season 11 (2012)
Season 11 summary table
The asterisks (*) below indicate the very early elimination of Colton Dixon, and (in the preceding week) the early near-elimination (and judges' saving) of Jessica Sanchez. The numbers in parentheses indicate a different ranking based on re-calculating the results with a more-rigorous removal of non-US voters (from many countries around the world, but especially from the Philipines).
Contestant |
Pre-singing |
Top 25 |
Top 13 |
Top 12 |
Top 10 |
Top 9 |
Top 8 |
Top 7, first week |
Top 7, second week |
Top 6 |
Top 5 |
Top 4 |
Top 3 |
Top 2 |
Winner |
This row has results with non-US votes removed: |
|
|
Top 13 |
Top 12 |
Top 10 |
Top 9 |
Top 8 |
Top 7, first week |
Top 7, second week |
Top 6 |
Top 5 |
Top 4 |
Top 3 |
(same) |
|
Phillip Phillips | 3 (m) | 1 (m) | 1 (m) | 2 (3) | 2 | 2 (1) | 2 | 3 | 2 (1) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Winner |
Jessica Sanchez | 1 (f) | 1 (f) | 1 (f) | 1 (tie) (2) | 1 | 1 (2) | 1 | 1* Saved | 1 (2) | 1 | 1 (2) | 1 | 1 | 1 | Runner-up |
Joshua Ledet | 6 (m) | 2 (m) | 3 (m) | 3 (4) | 5 | 6 | 7 (6) | 5 (6) | 5 (6) | 5 | 4 | 3 (2) | 3 | Out | — |
Hollie Cavanagh | 2 (f) | 2 (f) | 2 (f) | 1 (tie) (1) | 3 (4) | 5 | 6 (7) | 7 | 7 (5) | 4 | 2 (1) | 2 (3) | Out | — | — |
Skylar Laine | 3 (f) | 3 (f) | 3 (f) | 5 (6) | 7 (6) | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | Out | — | — | — |
Elise Testone | 7 (f) | 4 (f) | 5 (f) | 7 | 6 (7) | 4 | 4 | 6 (5) | 6 (7) | 6 | Out | — | — | — | — |
Colton Dixon | 1 (m) | 3 (m) | 2 (m) | 4 (5) | 4 (3) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3* | Out | — | — | — | — | — |
DeAndre Brackensick | 4 (m) | 10 (m) | 5 (m) | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Heejun Han | 2 (m) | 4 (m) | 4 (m) | 9 | 10 | 8 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Erika Van Pelt | 6 (f) | 8 (f) | 4 (f) | 6 (8) | 8 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Shannon Magrane | 5 (f) | 6 (f) | 6 (f) | 10 | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Jermaine Jones | 5 (f) | 6 (f) | 6 (f) | 10 | Kicked out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Jeremy Rosado | 7 (m) | 8 (m) | 6 (m) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Reed Grimm | 5 (m) | 5 (m) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Jen Hirsh | 4 (f) | 5 (f) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Creighton Fraker | 8 (m) | 6 (m) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Aaron Marcellus | 9 (tie) (m) | 7 (m) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Hallie Day | 9 (f) | 7 (f) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Adam Brock | 10 (m) | 9 (m) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Chelsea Sorrell | 11 (f) | 9 (f) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Haley Johnsen | 8 (f) | 10 (f) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Baylie Brown | 10 (f) | 11 (f) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Chase Likens | 11 (m) | 11 (m) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Eben Franckewitz | 9 (tie) (m) | 12 (m) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Brielle Von Hugel | 12 (f) | 12 (f) | Out | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Cross-season poll, Seasons 1 through 10
Many fans of
Haley Reinhart
found, and voted in, this cross-season poll.
They ranked
James Durbin,
Scotty McCreery,
and
Lauren Alaina
"insincerely" low,
which is an attempt to vote "strategically".
Fans of those and other singers failed to vote in this poll.
As in any poll, the results are controlled by who votes, and who doesn't.
|
|
Popularity |
Choice |
VoteFair
ranking
score |
Traditional
vote count
(for comparison) |
First-most popular |
Haley Reinhart (season 10) |
|
|
Second-most popular |
Carrie Underwood (season 4) |
|
|
Third-most popular |
Kelly Clarkson (season 1) |
|
|
Fourth-most popular |
David Cook (season 7) |
|
|
Fifth-most popular |
Adam Lambert (season 8) |
|
|
Sixth-most popular |
Kris Allen (season 8) |
|
|
Seventh-most popular |
Jennifer Hudson (season 3) |
|
|
Eighth-most popular |
Siobhan Magnus (season 9) |
|
|
Ninth-most popular |
James Durbin (season 10) |
|
|
Tenth-most popular |
Scotty McCreery (season 10) |
|
|
11th-most popular |
Lauren Alaina (season 10) |
|
|
12th-most popular |
Lee DeWyze (season 9) |
|
|
|
Detailed results of cross-season poll
Why is there no VoteFair poll for the X-Factor show?
A fan of this site has asked "why is there no VoteFair poll for the X-Factor show?" Here is the answer:
For the American Idol show, the role of the VoteFair polls is to assist voters, who in turn are meaningfully helping their favorite singers.
Note that on American Idol the judges do not win or lose.
In contrast, the X-Factor show amounts to four music producers being the contestants.
The show calls them "judges", but they aren't. They control the singers.
And each producer/"judge" favors "his" or "her" singers.
That's too much intervention for the voters to feel like their votes are the only factor in determining who wins.
For a similar reason there are no VoteFair polls for shows in which the "judges" get to vote;
that makes it difficult for audience votes to override the judges' votes.
TV producers who try to replicate the success of American Idol are failing to realize that
the popularity of American Idol is due to the fact that the voters are the only people who determine who wins.
(The So You Think You Can Dance show does handle the voting reasonably fairly,
but a VoteFair poll for that show did not get enough voters here to justify offering a VoteFair poll in later seasons.)
Why not vote for the worst?
A website visitor has asked "why not vote for the worst?" There are several reasons, including these:
- Most voters would pretend that their most-disliked choice is the contestant who is the biggest competitor to their favorite, and they would try to "bury" that competitor in an attempt to protect their favorite. Even with first-choice-only voting such a strategy is unlikely to put the competitor into the bottom. If this kind of voting were used officially, it would lead to bigger surprises than what now occur.
- In the VoteFair American Idol poll, anyone can start at the bottom of the ballot and mark their most-disliked choice, and work upward toward their favorite choice. The voting and the counting method are symmetrical. As for the results, usually they would come out about the same, particularly in terms of who is most popular and who is least popular.
- Perhaps the most important reason for not voting for the worst is that it fosters hatred, which is already in excessive abundance around the globe. Contests are intended to be entertaining, and mean-spiritedness detracts from the enjoyment. Remember that enjoyment is more important than who wins and who loses. (Part of the reason the American Idol TV show is so popular is that it is fun to watch, and fun to talk about.)
This topic brings up an interesting question. When you are in an audience clapping for performers, and the loudness of the clapping is being used to determine who is most popular, is it ethical to clap loudly for your favorite choice and then only pretend to clap (with very little sound) for all the other contestants? That's an ethical question for you to consider. Fortunately the antidote to that technique is to recognize that measuring the loudness of clapping usually does not produce fair results when there are more than two choices, just as using first-choice-only ballots (and "plurality" counting) usually does not produce fair results when there are more than two choices.
Season 10
Below is a table that summarizes the main causes of Season 10's early and delayed eliminations.
Contestant |
Early or delayed elimination |
Vote splitting or concentration |
AT&T text- messaging issues |
Phone voting issues |
Online voting issues |
Country-music voting bloc |
Haley Reinhart |
Early (slightly) |
Vote splitting (slight, three ways) |
Non-viewers voting |
Saturated lines (texting advantage) |
|
Disliked (versus Lauren) |
James Durbin |
Early |
Vote splitting (James/Haley/Lauren) |
Non-viewers voting |
Phone-system failure |
(Reports of failures) |
Disliked (relatively) |
Jacob Lusk |
Delayed |
Concentration |
Power voting? (demographic unknown) |
|
|
|
Pia Toscano |
Very early |
Vote splitting (not first choice of enough fans) |
|
|
|
|
Casey Abrams |
Early (then saved) |
Vote splitting (not first choice of enough fans) |
|
|
|
|
Thia Megia |
Delayed |
Concentration (online votes) |
|
|
Votes from Philipines |
|
Season 10 summary table
The asterisks (*) below indicate
the early elimination of
Haley Reinhart
and
James Durbin,
the very early elimination of
Pia Toscano,
the almost-elimination-and-saving of
Casey Abrams,
and the delayed elimination of
Jacob Lusk.
For poll results, click on the column headings
in the summary table below.
Contestant |
Top 12 females Top 12 males |
Top 7 females Top 6 males |
Top 12 |
Top 11 First Week |
Top 11 Second Week |
Top 9 |
Top 8 |
Top 7 |
Top 6 |
Top 5 |
Top 4 |
Top 3 |
Top 2 |
Winner |
Scotty McCreery | 2 (m) | 3 (m) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Winner |
Lauren Alaina | 3 (f) | 2 (f) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Runner-up |
Haley Reinhart | 4 (f) | 4 (f) | 10 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1* | Out | -- |
James Durbin | 3 (m) | 2 (m) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1* | Out | -- | -- |
Jacob Lusk | 4 (m) | 6 (m) | 9 | 9 | 8 (tie) | 9* | 8* | 7* | 6* | 5 | Out | -- | -- | -- |
Casey Abrams | 1 (m) | 1 (m) | 4 | 4* | 4 Judge's save! | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Stefano Langone | 6 (m) (wildcard) | 5 (m) | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Paul McDonald | 5 (m) | 4 (m) | 8 | 8 | 8 (tie) | 8 | 7 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Pia Toscano | 1 (f) | 1 (f) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3* | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Thia Megia | 2 (f) | 3 (f) | 7 | 6 | 9 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Naima Adedapo | 7 (f) (wildcard) | 5 (f) | 12 | 11 | 10 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Karen Rodriguez | 5 (f) | 6 (f) | 11 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Ashthon Jones | 9 (f) (wildcard) | 7 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Lauren Turner | 6 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Robbie Rosen | 7 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Tim Halperin | 8 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Julie Zorrilla | 8 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Brett Loewenstern | 9 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Jovany Barreto | 10 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Kendra Chantelle | 10 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Clint Jun Gamboa | 11 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Rachel Zevita | 11 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Jordan Dorsey | 12 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Ta-Tynisa Wilson | 12 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Cross-season poll, Seasons 1 through 9
Below are the final results
(and detailed results)
for the cross-season poll (after removing multiple votes from the same voter).
Lee DeWyze is ranked insincerely low by the more-numerous (in this poll) Siobhan Magnus fans,
but he is not popular enough compared to Kris Allen to become the second-most-representative choice.
As usual, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood are near the top.
The popular non-winners — Siobhan Magnus, Jennifer Hudson, and Clay Aiken —
who are (here) more popular
than their season's winner reminds us of the unfairness caused by vote splitting
— and voting irregularities.
|
|
Popularity |
Choice |
VoteFair
ranking
score |
Traditional
vote count
(for comparison) |
First-most popular |
Kris Allen (season 8) |
|
|
Second-most popular |
Siobhan Magnus (season 9) |
|
|
Third-most popular |
Kelly Clarkson (season 1) |
|
|
Fourth-most popular |
Carrie Underwood (season 4) |
|
|
Fifth-most popular |
Adam Lambert (season 8) |
|
|
Sixth-most popular |
Jennifer Hudson (season 3) |
|
|
Seventh-most popular |
David Cook (season 7) |
|
|
Eighth-most popular |
Lee DeWyze (season 9) |
|
|
Ninth-most popular |
Casey James (season 9) |
|
|
Tenth-most popular |
Clay Aiken (season 2) |
|
|
11th-most popular |
David Archuleta (season 7) |
|
|
12th-most popular |
Crystal Bowersox (season 9) |
|
|
|
Season 9
The asterisks (*) below indicate the early eliminations of
Lilly Scott,
Alex Lambert,
Katelyn Epperly,
Lacey Brown,
Didi Benami,
Katie Stevens,
and Siobhan Magnus,
the almost-elimination-and-saving of Michael Lynche,
and the delayed eliminations of Paige Miles and Tim Urban.
Contestant |
Top 12 females Top 12 males |
Top 10 females Top 10 males |
Top 8 females Top 8 males |
Top 12 |
Top 11 |
Top 10 |
Top 9 First Time |
Top 9 Second Time |
Top 7 |
Top 6 |
Top 5 |
Top 4 |
Top 3 |
Top 2 |
Winner |
Lee DeWyze | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Winner |
Crystal Bowersox | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Runner-up |
Casey James | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Out | -- |
Michael Lynche | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5* Saved | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | Out | -- | -- |
Aaron Kelly | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | Out | -- | -- | -- |
Siobhan Magnus | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1* | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Tim Urban | 12 | 8 | 7* | 12* | 9* | 10* | 9* | 8* | 7 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Katie Stevens | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5* | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Andrew Garcia | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Didi Benami | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7* | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Paige Miles | 11 | 8 | 8* | 11* | 11 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Lacey Brown | 10 | 9 | 6 | 8* | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Lilly Scott | 3 | 3 | 3* | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Alex Lambert | 8 | 4 | 3* | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Katelyn Epperly | 6 | 5 | 5* | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Todrick Hall | 7 | 7 | 8 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Michelle Delamor | 7 | 7 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
John Park | 10 | 9 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Jermaine Sellers | 11 | 10 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Haeley Vaughn | 12 | 10 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Tyler Grady | 6 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Janell Wheeler | 8 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Ashley Rodriguez | 9 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Joe Muñoz | 9 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Cross-season poll for seasons 1 through 8
The results of this cross-season poll (after removing duplicates) reveal that fans of Clay Aiken and David Archuleta are well-networked and telling one another to vote here. Each season, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood are at or near the top because they are popular among all the people who vote here, even though they don't get as many first-choice votes.
Adam Lambert appears to be less popular, but the VoteFair representative ranking results reveal that he would be the most popular if the ballots from Clay Aiken fans were ignored. This also means that most Clay Aiken fans rank Adam Lambert insincerely low.
Overall, notice that this kind of comparison—where every ballot counts, and every voter ranks all the candidates—reveals true popularity more accurately than simply counting first-choice votes. (If your favorite wasn't in this poll, note that they didn't do well in previous cross-season polls.)
(Detailed results)
Popularity |
Choice |
VoteFair
ranking
score |
Traditional
vote count
(for comparison) |
First-most popular |
Clay Aiken (season 2) |
|
|
Second-most popular |
Kelly Clarkson (season 1) |
|
|
Third-most popular |
Carrie Underwood (season 4) |
|
|
Fourth-most popular |
David Cook (season 7) |
|
|
Fifth-most popular |
David Archuleta (season 7) |
|
|
Sixth-most popular |
Kris Allen (season 8) |
|
|
Seventh-most popular |
Adam Lambert (season 8) |
|
|
Eighth-most popular |
Allison Iraheta (season 8) |
|
|
Ninth-most popular |
Jennifer Hudson (season 3) |
|
|
Tenth-most popular |
Jordin Sparks (season 6) |
|
|
11th-most popular |
Elliott Yamin (season 5) |
|
|
12th-most popular |
Danny Gokey (season 8) |
|
|
Season 8 poll
The asterisks (*) below indicate the early eliminations of Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta, and Alexis Grace.
Contestant |
Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, Wild card |
Top 13 (pre-vote) |
Top 11 |
Top 10 |
Top 9 |
Top 8 |
Top 7 |
Top 7, again |
Top 5 |
Top 4 |
Top 3 |
Top 2 |
Winner |
Kris Allen | 4 (g2) | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Winner |
Adam Lambert | 1 (g2) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1* | Runner-up |
Danny Gokey | 1 (g1) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | Out | -- |
Allison Iraheta | 2 (g2) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2* | Out | -- | -- |
Matt Giraud | 6 (g2) (2 in wc) | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 (saved) | 5 | 5 | Out | -- | -- | -- |
Anoop Desai | 3 (g1) (1 in wc) | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Lil Rounds | 1 (g3) | 4 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Scott MacIntyre | 2 (g3) | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Megan Corkrey | 3 (g2) (2 in wc) | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Michael Sarver | 5 (g1) | 11 | 11 | 10 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Alexis Grace | 2 (g1) | 5 | 6* | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Jasmine Murray | 8 (g2) (5 in wc) | 12 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Jorge Nunez | 3 (g3) | 13 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Ricky Braddy | 4 (g1) (4 in wc) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Felicia Barton | 4 (g3) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Mishavonna Henson | 5 (g2) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Ju'Not Joyner | 5 (g3) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Ann Marie Boskovich | 6 (g1) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Kristen McNamara | 6 (g3) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Tatiana Nicole Del Toro | 7 (g1) (8 in wc) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Jesse Langseth | 7 (g2) (6 in wc) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Von Smith | 7 (g3) (7 in wc) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Brent Keith | 8 (g1) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Kendall Beard | 8 (g3) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Jackie Tohn | 9 (g1) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Kai Kalama | 9 (g2) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Taylor Vaifanua | 9 (g3) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Stephen Fowler | 10 (g1) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Nick Mitchell | 10 (g2) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Arianna Afsar | 10 (g3) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Casey Carlson | 11 (g1) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Matt Breitzke | 11 (g2) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Alex Wagner-Trugman | 11 (g3) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Stevie Wright | 12 (g1) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Jeanine Vailes | 12 (g2) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Nathaniel Marshall | 12 (g3) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Cross-season poll for seasons 1 through 7
The results of this cross-season poll (after removing duplicates) reveal that fans of David Archuleta are well-networked and telling one another to vote here. Also notice that some of the first-place winners are at or near the bottom. This demonstrates the unfairness of using (primitive) single-mark ballots. The more popular singers would have been the winners if official voting used order-of-preference ballots. (Detailed results)
Popularity |
Choice |
VoteFair
ranking
score |
Traditional
vote count
(for comparison) |
First-most popular |
David Archuleta (season 7) |
|
|
Second-most popular |
Carrie Underwood (season 4) |
|
|
Third-most popular |
Kelly Clarkson (season 1) |
|
|
Fourth-most popular |
Elliott Yamin (season 5) |
|
|
Fifth-most popular |
Jordin Sparks (season 6) |
|
|
Sixth-most popular |
Clay Aiken (season 2) |
|
|
Seventh-most popular |
David Cook (season 7) |
|
|
Eighth-most popular |
Jennifer Hudson (season 3) |
|
|
Ninth-most popular |
Ruben Studdard (season 2) |
|
|
Tenth-most popular |
Blake Lewis (season 6) |
|
|
Eleventh-most popular |
Taylor Hicks (season 5) |
|
|
Twelfth-most popular |
Fantasia Barrino (season 3) |
|
|
Season 7 commentary
The final VoteFair poll results indicated that David Archuleta was slightly more popular than David Cook, so why did David Cook win?
Having the phone lines open for four hours surely limited the late-night and after-midnight calls from younger fans. David Archuleta has more young fans than David Cook, so this gave an advantage to older fans, and therefore David Cook. This alone could account for the surprise result.
In a broader sense, the VoteFair poll cannot predict this kind of surprise because this poll does not attempt to duplicate the same conditions—especially limited hours and multiple votes—that characterize the official voting. These different conditions easily account for the different results. Also remember that this was a close race in both the official results and the VoteFair poll. When a race is close, anything can happen.
Why was Michael Johns eliminated early?
Unlike the other seven singers (still there when he was eliminated), Michael Johns did not receive a concentration of first-choice votes from an established large fan base willing to continuously dial his phone number. That happened because, relatively speaking, he does not appeal to any ready-made, well-defined, and well-networked fan base. In contrast, keeping in mind that averages do not apply to individuals, consider that rock-music fans would tend to concentrate votes on David Cook, country-music fans would tend to concentrate votes on Kristy Lee Cook, African Americans would tend to concentrate votes on Syesha Mercado, female pre-teens and teens would tend to concentrate votes on Jason Castro and David Archuleta, fans of female musicians would tend to concentrate votes on Brooke White (as the most popular female singer), conservative adults would tend to concentrate votes on David Archuleta and Brooke White, and rebellious teenagers and vocal-quality-conscious musicians would tend to concentrate votes on Carly Smithson. Why didn't the previous week's VoteFair poll predict his early elimination? Because in this poll each voter votes only once, whereas the official voting allows dedicated fans to vote as many times as the phone system can handle. Note that vote concentration is the flip side of vote splitting.
This table summarizes the VoteFair poll results. To view any week's poll rankings and details, click the link(s) in that week's heading. Asterisks indicate cases where vote splitting or vote concentration caused a delayed elimination—in the case of Kristy Lee Cook and Syesha Mercado—or early elimination—in the case of Michael Johns.
Contestant |
Top 12 females Top 12 males |
Top 10 females Top 10 males |
Top 8 females Top 8 males |
Top 6 females Top 6 males |
Top 11 |
Top 10 |
Top 9 |
Top 8 |
Top 7 |
Top 6 |
Top 5 |
Top 4 |
Top 3 |
Top 2 |
Winner |
David Cook | 5 (m) | 5 (m) | 4 (m) | 2 (m) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Winner |
David Archuleta | 1 (m) | 1 (m) | 1 (m) | 1 (m) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Runner up |
Syesha Mercado | 2 (f) | 3 (f) | 4 (f) | 4 (f) | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 * | 6 | 6 * | 5 * | 4 * | 3 | Out | -- |
Jason Castro | 3 (m) | 3 (m) | 3 (m) | 4 (m) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Out | -- | -- |
Brooke White | 4 (f) | 2 (f) | 2 (f) | 1 (f) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | Out | -- | -- | -- |
Carly Smithson | 6 (f) | 5 (f) | 3 (f) | 2 (f) | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Kristy Lee Cook | 10 (f) | 8 (f) | 6 (f) | 6 (f) | 11 * | 10 * | 9 * | 8 * | 7 * | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Michael Johns | 2 (m) | 2 (m) | 2 (m) | 3 (m) | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 * | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Ramiele Malubay | 1 (f) | 1 (f) | 1 (f) | 3 (f) | 7 | 8 | 8 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Chikezie Eze | 11 (m) | 8 (m) | 6 (m) | 6 (m) | 8 | 9 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Amanda Overmyer | 7 (f) | 10 (f) | 8 (f) | 5 (f) | 10 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
David Hernandez | 6 (m) | 4 (m) | 5 (m) | 5 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Asia'h Epperson | 3 (f) | 4 (f) | 5 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Danny Norriega | 7 (m) | 7 (m) | 7 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Kady Malloy | 8 (f) | 7 (f) | 7 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Luke Menard | 9 (m) | 9 (m) | 8 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Alaina Whitaker | 5 (f) | 6 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Robbie Carrico | 4 (m) | 6 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Alexandréa Lushington | 9 (f) | 9 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Jason Yeager | 10 (m) | 10 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Colton David Berry | 8 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Joanne Borgella | 11 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Amy Jean Davis | 12 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Garrett Haley | 12 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Cross-season poll for seasons 1 through 6
In this summary table, notice that some of the first-place winners are at or near the bottom. This demonstrates the unfairness of using (primitive) single-mark ballots. The more popular singers would have been the winners if official voting used order-of-preference ballots. (Detailed results)
Popularity |
Choice |
VoteFair
ranking
score |
Traditional
vote count
(for comparison) |
First-most popular |
Carrie Underwood (season 4) |
|
|
Second-most popular |
Kelly Clarkson (season 1) |
|
|
Third-most popular |
Jordin Sparks (season 6) |
|
|
Fourth-most popular |
Elliott Yamin (season 5) |
|
|
Fifth-most popular |
Melinda Doolittle (season 6) |
|
|
Sixth-most popular |
Blake Lewis (season 6) |
|
|
Seventh-most popular |
Clay Aiken (season 2) |
|
|
Eighth-most popular |
Jennifer Hudson (season 3) |
|
|
Ninth-most popular |
Katharine McPhee (season 5) |
|
|
Tenth-most popular |
Taylor Hicks (season 5) |
|
|
Eleventh-most popular |
Ruben Studdard (season 2) |
|
|
Twelfth-most popular |
Fantasia Barrino (season 3) |
|
|
Season 6
In season 6, vote splitting and vote concentration (which is the flip-side
of vote splitting) caused the long-running delay in eliminating Sanjaya Malakar,
and caused the slightly early elimination of Melinda Doolittle. (They are marked with asterisks in the table.)
In this VoteFair poll, Sanjaya was correctly identified
as being the least popular every week for 8 weeks.
During that time he was designated
by the "vote for the worst" website
and radio-show host Howard Stern as "the worst", and worthy
of votes to make the show entertaining.
This concentration of votes is the flip-side of vote-splitting.
As in politics, which also uses single-mark ballots,
money is concentrated on a single candidate in each U.S. primary
election, and if necessary money is used to temporarily back a
candidate who is politically similar to the candidate who is
most disliked by the biggest sources of money.
There was never any chance of Sanjaya winning.
The strategy of concentrating votes in contests
where only first-choice preferences are considered
can work when there are lots of other contestants among whom
the other voters split their votes. However,
the strategy fails when there are fewer choices.
Melinda was eliminated before Blake Lewis because she and Jordin
split the primitive single-mark (official) votes of the voters who preferred
a female winner, while voters who preferred a male winner
concentrated their votes on the same person.
(If voting had been split into two-way ("pairwise") contests,
Jordin would have won over Blake, and Melinda would have won
over Blake.)
Nevertheless, Melinda is not as popular as a first choice,
and that's all that counts in single-mark-ballot voting.
The lesson?
The person with the most (first-choice) votes is
not necessarily the most popular,
and the person with the fewest (first-choice) votes
is not necessarily the least popular.
Learn more about vote splitting at Wikipedia.
(Asterisks indicate delayed or premature eliminations.)
Contestant |
Top 12 males Top 12 females |
Top 10 males Top 10 females |
Top 8 males Top 8 females |
Top 12 |
Top 11 |
Top 10 |
Top 9 |
Top 8 |
Top 7 |
Top 6 First week |
Top 6 Second week |
Top 4 |
Top 3 |
Top 2 |
Winner |
Jordin Sparks | 4-tie (f) | 3 (f) | 3 (f) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Winner |
Blake Lewis | 1 (m) | 1 (m) | 1 (m) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | Out |
Melinda Doolittle | 2 (f) | 2 (f) | 1 (f) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 * | Out | -- |
Lakisha Jones | 1 (f) | 1 (f) | 2 (f) | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | Out | -- | -- |
Phil Stacey | 3 (m) | 3 (m) | 4 (m) | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | Out | -- | -- | -- |
Chris Richardson | 4 (m) | 4 (m) | 3 (m) | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | Out | -- | -- | -- |
Sanjaya Malakar | 10 (m) | 10 (m) * | 8 (m) * | 12 * | 11 * | 10 * | 9 * | 8 * | 7 * | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Haley Scarnato | 7-tie (f) | 7 (f) | 7 (f) | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Gina Glocksen | 4-tie (f) | 6 (f) | 6 (f) | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Chris Sligh | 2 (m) | 2 (m) | 2 (m) | 5 | 6 | 7 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Stephanie Edwards | 6 (f) | 4 (f) | 5 (f) | 8 | 8 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Brandon Rogers | 5 (m) | 7 (m) | 6 (m) | 10 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Sabrina Sloan | 3 (f) | 5 (f) | 4 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Sundance Head | 11 (m) | 5 (m) | 5 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Jared Cotter | 8 (m) | 6 (m) | 7 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Antonella Barba | 11 (f) | 10 (f) | 8 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Leslie Hunt | 7-tie (f) | 8 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Nicholas Pedro | 7 (m) | 8 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Alaina Alexander | 10 (f) | 9 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
A. J. Tabaldo | 6 (m) | 9 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Nicole Tranquillo | 7-tie (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Amy Krebs | 12 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Rudy Cardenas | 9 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Paul Kim | 12 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Results of cross-season polls
Five-season poll results based on 2,000 votes
(after repeat votes eliminated)
(detailed results)
- Clay Aiken
- Kelly Clarkson
- Taylor Hicks (second-most representative)
- Carrie Underwood
- Elliott Yamin
- Chris Daughtry
- Bo Bice
- Ruben Studdard
- Katharine McPhee
- Constantine Maroulis
- Fantasia Barrino
Four-season poll results based on 6,338 votes
(after repeat votes eliminated)
(detailed results)
- Clay Aiken
- Kelly Clarkson
- Carrie Underwood
- Bo Bice
- Constantine Maroulis
(second-most representative)
Season 5 summary
In season 5 there were three unfairly early eliminations. (They are marked with asterisks in the table.)
- Elliott Yamin: Slightly more popular than Katharine McPhee in the VoteFair poll,
but the official first-choice-only votes caused the vote for males to be split two ways.
- Chris Daughtry: Eliminated one show too early because
the official (first-choice-only) votes for males were split three ways,
whereas voters who preferred a female
had their official votes concentrated on Katharine.
- Mandisa: The person with the fewest first-choice votes
isn't necessarily the least popular.
Contestant |
Top 12 females Top 12 males |
Top 10 females Top 10 males |
Top 8 females Top 8 males |
Top 12 ranking |
Top 11 ranking |
Top 10 ranking |
Top 9 ranking |
Top 8 ranking |
Top 7 ranking |
Top 6 ranking |
Top 5 ranking |
Top 4 ranking |
Top 3 ranking |
Top 2 ranking |
Final result |
Taylor Hicks | 1 (m) | 1 (m) | 2 (m) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Winner |
Katharine McPhee | 3 (f) | 1 (f) | 1 (tie) (f) | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Out |
Elliott Yamin | 4 (m) | 4 (m) | 3 (m) | 6 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 * | Out | -- |
Chris Daughtry | 3 (m) | 2 (m) | 1 (m) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 * | Out | -- | -- |
Paris Bennett | 1 (f) | 2 (f) | 4 (f) | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | Out | -- | -- | -- |
Kellie Pickler | 4 (f) | 4 (f) | 1 (tie) (f) | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Ace Young | 2 (m) | 3 (m) | 4 (m) | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Bucky Covington | 9-tie (m) | 5 (m) | 5 (m) | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Mandisa | 5 (f) | 6 (f) | 3 (f) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 * | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Lisa Tucker | 2 (f) | 3 (f) | 6 (f) | 7 | 8 | 10 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Kevin Corvais | 6 (m) | 7 (m) | 7 (m) | 12 | 11 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Melissa McGhee | 7 | 7 (f) | 7 (f) | 11 | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Gedeon McKinney | 8 (m) | 9 (m) | 6 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Ayla Brown | 6 (f) | 5 (f) | 5 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Will Makar | 5 (m) | 6 (m) | 8 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Kinnik Sky | 10 (f) | 9 (f) | 8 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Jose "Sway" Penala | 9-tie (m) | 10 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Brenna Gethers | 12 (f) | 10 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
David Radford | 7 (m) | 8 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Heather Cox | 8 (f) | 8 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Patrick Hall | 11 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Stevie Scott | 11 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Bobby Bennet | 12 (m) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Becky O'Donohue | 9 (f) | Out | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
The biggest surprise elimination
In Season 3 Jennifer Hudson was eliminated
unfairly early. There were seven contestants
remaining. She and Fantasia Barrino — who was the
final winner — and LaToya London
were female, African-American, excellent singers. All
three of these previously popular singers ended up
in the "bottom three" that night. This was a
classic demonstration of vote splitting in which
the presence of similar choices reduces the votes
for each of the similar choices.
(This effect was clear from looking at the VoteFair poll results for that season,
but alas that poll data is now lost.)
The vote-splitting effect is well-known,
but the solution — order-of-preference voting
and VoteFair ranking — is only beginning to
be recognized.
Remember: The person with the fewest votes
is not necessarily the least popular!
As a clarification, Constantine Maroulis was not
eliminated early because of vote-splitting, but rather because of
a phone-system failure.
(A statistical analysis of the phone-call data could have
identified the time and place of the failure.
This analysis also could have identified
who really had the fewest first-choice votes.)
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