Report Raises Questions About Idol Vote

LOS ANGELES: The New York Times reported today that AT&T may have influenced the outcome of this year’s American Idol vote by providing phones for free text messaging and tutorials on "power texts" at parties held by fans of Kris Allen.

The 23-year-old singer was named this year’s American Idol last week over frontrunner Adam Lambert. The Times reports that representatives of AT&T—one of the show’s main sponsors and the only service that Idol viewers can use to vote via text messaging—provided free texting services at two parties in Allen’s home town of Arkansas after the final performances. The AT&T reps reportedly showed Allen’s fans how to "power text"—sending ten or more text messages at the touch of a button. It seems that a similar opportunity was not provided to fans of Lambert, who many had expected to win the show.

The Times quoted a spokesman from AT&T as saying: "In Arkansas, we were invited to attend the local watch parties organized by the community. A few local employees brought a small number of demo phones with them and provided texting tutorials to those who were interested.”

It is not clear if AT&T’s promotion of "power texting" and the offer of free texts ran afoul of Idol voting rules, which state that block votes made using "technical enhancements" could be thrown out, and that AT&T subscribers will be subject to "standard messaging rates" when they vote via text messaging.