Kris Allen won American Idol last night in what many considered an upset, and much of this morning’s analysis ponders what could have caused it. Much of it surrounds speculation that the wholesome Christian vote for Allen far surpassed the support for the “controversial, theatrical and incredibly ‘out there'” Adam Lambert:
So was it the Christian vote that prevailed in Allen’s favor?
The 23-year-old UCA student has been on the worship team at New Life Church for years and helps with their outreach programs, but unlike previous winners such as Jordin Sparks and Carrie Underwood who made their faith very well known, Allen consciously refrained from making mention of his virtuous values throughout the competition.
“This is a singing competition, not a church thing,” Allen told Tarts earlier this week while Lambert added that the “vote is based on talent and performing, not religion.”
With Allen having shied away from the sectarian spotlight, his local church made up for it. The New Life Church in Greater Little Rock, Arkansas urged churchgoers to prayer and vote for the ‘Idol’ finalist, created a Facebook link on the church Web site in support of their hometown hero and his proud Pastor, Rick Bezet, flew to Los Angeles for the momentous finale.
A blogger for the Examiner in Little Rock, Arkansas, wondered:
Did Adam Lambert lose because he was just a bit too flamboyant, too gay or misunderstood?
And the Gay & Lesbian Issues Examiner blogger adds:
Bill O’Reilly said that the final vote probably came down to religion, and as much as I hate to agree with him, I think he makes a good point. Kris is practically a poster boy for heterosexual, white-bread Christianity, while Adam is an in-your-face Jewish gay man. That could very well have played a significant role in the final voting among red state voters with texting capability.
From my perspective, although I align myself ideologically with the Christians, I thought Lambert was far more talented. Perhaps only one difference in the show this year could have changed the outcome: adding Perez Hilton as the fourth judge instead of Kara DioGuardi. He could have asked the question of all questions of Kris, and still could have penned a song that wouldn’t have been any worse than “No Boundaries.”
