Ken Warwick says that even if all of Howard's listeners voted-- or if any other radio campaign was started-- they wouldn't make up the difference that Sanjaya has over the contestants below him-- or above him-- in the weekly phone-in votes.
"There is very little hype anybody can do to affect the vast numbers of votes we get," he says.
Warwick also tells the New York Daily News that Idol's technical staff has the ability to trace each of the 40 million calls the show receives each week--and to identify or stop electronic voting-- though they've not spotted a problem so far.
Howard has reportedly bragged that he and a website that urge people to vote for the worst contestants have kept Sanjaya in the running-- to ruin Idol's credibility. We reported that the claim was probably unfounded, due to the fact that Stern has virtually disappeared from the pop culture radar screen since he left radio and millions of listeners for big money but a small audience on a pay-satellite show.
Howard has also ignored Sanjaya's obvious audience appeal, which crosses generations and cultures, his attention-getting showmanship-- and his vocal talent, which was praised last night by no less than Tony Bennett, the music great who Frank Sinatra called "the best singer in the business."
Comments (12)
The show was so boring last night, I almost voted for Sanjaya strictly because everyone else was so bad. He wasn't good but at least he cut some of his hair off.
1 of 12 | Posted by Megolopolis | Posted on April 4, 2007 12:06 PM
I think VFTW has some impact. Not as big as they think but enough to save him when he was at the bottom.
Stern is kidding himself if he thinks HE makes a difference, though I like Howard Stern On Demand itself.
2 of 12 | Posted by Zharak![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.tvgasm.com/newsgasm/nav-commenters.gif)
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Posted on April 4, 2007 12:27 PM
Sweatband man has it right. Sanjaya is keeping himself in the competition all on his own.
Take it from me -- I am a person who has NEVER bothered to vote for any of these tools on any of these idiotic shows. Yet Sanjaya makes me smile, he's the only interesting part of the show, and I find myself shouting, "RUDY! RUDY! RUDY!" at the TV when he's on -- if he takes this thing (he won't, but its fun to imagine), it'll be the little underdog making the game-winning touchdown.
I don't vote for him because he'e the worst -- I vote for him because Ryan says to vote for the person you'd most like to see come back. Why would I vote for the boring Melinda or LaKisha or the total douchebaggery and Justin rip-offery of Blake Lewis when Sanjaya is the best performer they have?
GO SANJAYA!
3 of 12 | Posted by Die_MediaWhores![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.tvgasm.com/newsgasm/nav-commenters.gif)
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Posted on April 4, 2007 4:48 PM
i hope every person who voted for this gay paki eats shit and dies!
4 of 12 | Posted by Anonymous | Posted on April 4, 2007 9:47 PM
Yes, an Idol producer would admit to his show being hijacked ... poor flame, TB.
5 of 12 | Posted by theworldidnotenough![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.tvgasm.com/newsgasm/nav-commenters.gif)
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Posted on April 5, 2007 12:01 PM
i like everyone else wanted sanjaya gone weeks ago but the longer he hangs on the more i find myself softening on my thoughts about him--the kind ain't that bad actually! and he's definitely a showman!
6 of 12 | Posted by jim | Posted on April 5, 2007 6:16 PM
I think what they mean is that a movement to keep someone "bad" on the show is not going to compete with all the votes from people just voting for their favorites, since those numbers are greater. 1 vote always counts, but if a billion trillion want Melinda or Lakisha, 50,000 aren't necessarily going to keep Sanjaya on the show.
7 of 12 | Posted by audreeeee | Posted on April 9, 2007 7:16 AM
Actually, if the Sanjaya "fans" (whether genuine or for the sake of "ruining" the show) (wow I'm using too many quotation marks) were to convince the Melinda and Lakisha fans that their votes don't count, then perhaps Sanjaya could win. Conspiracy!!!
8 of 12 | Posted by Anonymous | Posted on April 9, 2007 7:19 AM
For all their complaining about Sanjaya, the AI judges have no one to blame but themselves for the fact that he made the final 24. I really don't care for Sanjaya, but I have to admit that his showmanship is better than Haley Scarnato's obvious ploy: show some T&A to distract people from her singing.
9 of 12 | Posted by Write Man | Posted on April 11, 2007 7:04 AM
I'll admit it. I am the reason Sanjaya is still alive. OK, maybe not JUST me, but I had never watched a full episode of "AI" before all this controversy. And last night I voted 60 times for Sanjaya. I don't like how an overblown karaoke contest has become the arbiter of musical "excellence" for our generation, and I'd like to see this show exposed for what it is. I know I'm not the only one.
10 of 12 | Posted by Bandwagoneer | Posted on April 11, 2007 5:42 PM
I personally vote for Sanjays because of Stern and I think it does have an effect. Stern fans are rabid and will vote 100-200 times each.
Think about it... there are 7M Sirius Subscribers. Say 1/2 (3.5M)of those catch Stern during the week and 1/2 (1.7M) of those vote 5 times each (and most are voting 50+), thats 8.5M vites.
And for those that dont know, the great thing about Stern on Sirius is that it runs 24x7. If you miss a show, you can pick up where you left off at another point during the day.
11 of 12 | Posted by Joey Gallo | Posted on April 15, 2007 4:20 PM
That's ridiculas. There is no way, statistically, that that many votes would result from Stern's campaign.
12 of 12 | Posted by M G Bush | Posted on April 19, 2007 7:43 PM