Do you think american idol is talent contest or popularity contest?

I used to love watching American Idol. I think the last season I actually watched was when Carrie Underwood won. I agree with you it is nothing more than a popularity contest. Yes, all the contestans are very talented, but it comes down to who has the bigger fan base. It is not right and I really think the way the voting is done should be changed. And American Idol is not the only reality show that is like this. Most of the other shows where the home viewers get to vote, are nothing but popularity contests.

when was american idol a singing contest? remember jennifer hudson, latoya london, melinda dolittle, michael johns, carly smithson, all of these contestants sang very, very well but were still booted. and to add insult to injury, the contestants who are comfortably seated in safety are those that didn't perform as good as those booted off. heck, i can't believe brooke was not in the chopping block! well, that's reality TV! i really can't understand why i'm soo affected, i'm not even eligible to vote...

I think its become more of a popularity contest than a talent one as after last weeks show, I thought Brooke or Jason were sure to go. Neither sang their songs well as opposed to Saiesha and the other one (sorry forgot her name) who didn't deserve to go home. I didn't vote last week because I was away overseas but will again this week.

Hi and thanks for the friend request. I accepted it. I am not a fan of American Idol by a close gal-pal has watched it from the beginning. So I will pass on my second hand opinion from her 'perspective.' In her view it is much more of a popularity contest than a talent contest because the fans have more bearing on the results than anything else. In her years of watching she says she has continually seen talented people voted off and the more popular ones staying on. So even though it is not my opinion...it is an offering to your topic. Raia

American idol is both a talent contest and a popularity contest but one of the two outweighs the other. For me, it is more of a popularity contest. I remembered the episode when Syesha and Carly Smithson became the bottom two even if they received the best comments from the judges. Yes the contestants in American idol are talented but at the end of the day, what really matters is how many fans you have got. You need to get votes. It is not fair when Carly Smithson was the one who left. She has a powerful voice. She can sing very well and she is more talented than the other contestants but she did not garner enough votes to get her to the next level. American idol is more of a popularity contest than a talent contest. I have to agree with you borneocraft.

American Idol, in my opinion, "was" a talent contest before Carly was voted out. After Carly was out (and I'm sure everyone's shocked) I now think that American Idol is now more of a popularity contest... I mean, Carly was great!

The issue does become who is the one people can relate more to than someone else. That is for sure. Just because you may not have liked the choice who was booted off, there are people who might not have liked Carly as well as some of the other contestants. Personally, she was not one of my favorites. But I did like Michael Johns, and was sad to see him leave so soon. But both him and Carly are good enough to where they will get somewhere now to where they had no real exposure before this. I will admit as well as any other, even though I have liked Brooke from day one, she should have been the one Voted off this last week due to performance. I honestly think her days are numbered unless she pulls something Big out of her hat this week. But then I know not many, including me, have never been fond of Syesha either, so it depends on how she does this week as well to who will make it to the Final 4. I know we all have our favorites on here, and that is part of the deal here. The main issue this yr. over a lot of the other yrs, is there is a lot of Good talent there, and that makes it even harder to see someone go.

Some of it yeah i feel like it is more popularity.Even this round. Some of it for sure is popularity. Which is sad. Even season 5 and 6 were a lot the same way.

i think that it has become a popularity contest. the fate of the contestants are totally in the hands of how many viewers they are able to charm to vote for them. i can't believe it when such a good talent like michael johns got voted out. that's a proof that it has become a popularity contest. but hey, there are still a lot of ai contestants that didn't win but are more famous than the champions. i hope that the judges could be a part of the elimination.

Here is my two cents for what it's worth...lol. Isn't the success of any celebrity pretty much a popularity contest? Sure they all can act or sing (well...ok not all but I am just making a point...) but which ones win the big paychecks? The ones who bring in the most fans...the ones most people LIKE...or, the ones who are popular. Every one of these finalists have good voices. Some I prefer more than others- as does everyone. Some do better on some nights than on others. But, because they are all generally good vocally...being personable and charming and nice and, yes, sometimes even nice to look at, are all important factors at this stage of the game.

Probably the blend of both. Talent is a must. but popularity also a must. When you become a celebrities, you had to had something, charisma, attitude, in you so people wanted to see you or hear you sing. It not that diffrent in American Idol also. Look at Brooke as example: she did not perform very well past 2-3 weeks but save to top 5 cause of her attitude. Although I didnot know how far it will carry her.