4.27.2005: America Witnesses the Impossible... why Constantine Maroulis was NOT voted off of AI
4/27/2005: America witnesses the impossible
On Wednesday, April 27th, 2005, the American public witnessed the impossible on national television. They witnessed something so impossible, in fact, that the only logical conclusion is that something is amiss; something was rigged.
With his unfailing brilliant performances, growing popularity and devoted fan base, there is no way that Constantine Maroulis could truly be voted off of American Idol at this point in the game. There has obviously been foul play, and Fox chose the wrong contestant and wrong fan base to attack.
Three primary topics will be discussed, all of which indicate foul play against Constantine and his fans by Fox: polls, AI forums, and theory.
The weekly polls given by idolmedia indicate two things:
1. Constantine should still be on AI, and was not voted off.
2. Constantine had a high chance of actually winning AI.
Idolmedia.tv, the #1 resource to AI media, is a highly trafficked site containing not only the contestant’s performances, but also weekly polls. Assuming these polls are at least somewhat accurate, Constantine should have been one of the most confident contestants. Here are the poll results, from the Top 24 to the Top 6. It doesn’t take much research or intelligence to detect a trend in Constantine’s performances and their popularity.*
Top ten Male:
Bo: 36.92%
Constantine: 23.23 % (Hard to Handle)
Anwar: 8.52%
Top 8 Male:
Anwar: 34.5%
Constantine: 23.10% (Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic)
Bo: 13.56
Top 12: Constantine: 36.32% (You Make Me So Very Happy)
Bo: 19.58%
Top 11:
Carrie: 33.67%
Constantine: 26.07% (I Think I Love You)
Bo: 10.84%
Top 10:
Constantine: 36.25% (I Can’t Make You Love Me)
Carrie: 18.63%
Top 9:
Constantine: 52.01% (My Funny Valentine)
Carrie: 11.53%
Scott: 1.19%
Top 8:
Constantine: 59.98% (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Bo: 28.10%
Scott: 1.99%
Top 7:
Constantine: 33.73% (Nights on Broadway)
Bo: 28.10%
Scott: 2.32%
Top 6:
Bo: 30.14%
Constantine: 22.27% (How You Remind Me)
Scott: 2.13%
Constantine’s performances were rated number one during the Top 10, Top 9, Top 8 and Top 7 performances. After the Top 6 performance, which ended up being his final performance on AI, he was in second place. Over the past month, he has had such an incredibly strong lead on AI, and has repeatedly been voted the best performer. Although ‘How You Remind Me’ was a weak performance for him vocally, he was still a favorite, and in second place in the polls! Once again, there is no way that he was voted off.
Another important poll on idolmedia is the ‘Who is your American Idol?’ poll. As of 4/27/2005 (before Anthony fans figured out how to vote multiple times, and before Constantine left AI) Constantine was in first place in this poll, with 39.77%. Bo followed in second place with 20.29%. Again, assuming these polls were somewhat accurate, there is no way Constantine could have been voted off of AI.
In addition to proving that Constantine was the strongest overall AI contestant, these polls also prove that there is no way Scott should still be on the show. When posting these polls, I decided to include only the most important scores: those of the highest performer, the lowest performer and Constantine. This is not intended to bash Scott, but to show an important pattern that emerged: Scott has been last place for the past month. I encourage you, the reader, to come to your own conclusions…
The AI discussion boards are another indicator that there is no way Constantine was truly voted off last week. With each performance, Constantine gained fans and quieted bashers. Although there have always been bashers, the overall number of Constantine-bashers has definitely diminished in the past couple of weeks. The overall attitude towards him has been positive.
Another important aspect of the AI forums is the number of posts devoted to Constantine. Each of the Top 12 contestants has a personal folder in the AI forum, with their total number of posts displayed. Not only does Constantine’s entire folder have the most threads, but one of his threads actually contained more posts than other contestant’s entire folders. As of April 30, 2005, 14:09, Constantine’s folder contained 395,257 messages. To put this in perspective, Bo has the second largest folder, with 165,145 messages. Scott has 77,104 messages; Carrie has 71,828; Anthony has 62,657; and Vonzell has 33,893. Constantine’s folder literally has over 200,000 more posts than any other contestant; he is not only in the lead, but he has left everyone else in the dust. There is no way a contestant with as much popularity as Constantine could have been voted off.
The former GGG thread in Constantine’s folder is yet another testimony to his success and popularity. Although the first GGG thread, which contained 60,000 posts, was deleted by the moderators, the second thread alone had 140,000 posts. This puts the total number of posts for the GGG thread at 200,000. That is more than all other contestant have in their entire folder! Again, this proves that there is no way he could legitimately have been voted off; his fan base is simply too large, and too devoted.
The GGG thread was not the only permanent fan thread in Constantine’s folder. It was the first and most obsessive fan thread, but others also emerged over time. The Boston Conservatory (aka BoCo) thread is one such place, and is a home to the more intellectual and musically trained Constantine fans. Begun by a skeptic who wanted to compare Constantine’s pre-AI voice and performances with his current voice and performances, the BoCo thread has served as a haven to analyze and discuss Constantine’s vocals and performance on a theoretical level. Many BoCo members have seen Constantine’s pre-AI performances, specifically Rent. Begun on 3/11/2005, this thread had 16,545 posts as of 4/30/2005.
One more important and much-referenced thread is ‘The undoing of SC and SF’ (aka SC/SF). This is an artistic and rather eccentric group of fans, who write of his spiritual, mystical and sensual powers. Begun by an eloquent artist and clairvoyant, this thread seeks to discuss how Constantine has “undone” Simon Cowell, Simon Fuller, and AI in general. His artistic and musical abilities are discussed, as is his intangible energy and charisma. This thread was begun 3/26/2005, and had 560 posts as of 4/30/2005.
The fact that these threads have been opened for months indicates that Constantine’s fans are a loyal and devoted group of people, who have even developed friendships over the course of the show. These numbers, along with the polls, obviously point towards AI rigging the show and deciding to force Constantine to leave, without “America’s consent.”
There are also several conspiracy theories circulating, regarding Constantine’s shocking dismissal.
First, fans must ask themselves if it was mere coincidence that Constantine left the very week after Pray for the Soul of Betty signed with Koch records. Constantine was smart enough to sign his rights over to his fellow-band members before going on AI, ensuring that Simon Fuller, the AI producer, would not get a cut if the band sold any records. Being the mass-producing pop-music entity that AI is, it is no surprise that Betty’s success would frustrate Fuller. Making money, not music, is his goal, and Constantine threw a wrench in it.
Another interesting thought is that Constantine is too hard for Fuller and AI to handle. The AI machine needs someone they will be able to mold and manipulate into a clean and tidy little pop singer. Constantine is indeed “hard to handle.” He is an extremely versatile and eccentric musician, and would be impossible to box up and mass-produce. He is a threat to Fuller, and is a challenge that AI will not, and arguably can not, handle. Why can’t AI handle Constantine?
1. Constantine has a mind of his own, a true knowledge of music, and a love for music. Fuller needs a puppet that will do and sing whatever the Machine tells it to do.
2. Constantine is a singer/songwriter. Fuller wants someone that he himself can control; he does not want someone with originality or creativity, because that would mean he has less control of the situation.
3. Constantine crosses musical genres with an incredible beauty and grace. Fuller needs someone who will be easily mass-marketed into only one genre: the pop industry. If AI were truly about music, then finding Constantine would be like striking gold. He can do absolutely anything, musically.
4. Constantine already has a top-selling record with Betty, and Fuller isn’t getting a cut. Fuller wants a “virgin”, if you will; he wants someone who has no experience, who will be easily malleable, and who will owe all their musical prosperity to Fuller himself.
5. Fuller is terrified because he can not make or break Constantine. Again, Fuller wants someone he can control; he wants to be in charge, and he wants to reap the profit. Constantine is already selling records; Betty is taking over the airwaves; and the Betty/Constantine fan base is growing like a psychotic wildfire.
Last Wednesday, Ryan Seacrest did not say the usual, “America voted…” or “…you have the lowest number of votes.” In the past, he has made a huge deal of reiterating that America has voted, and the contestant who is about to leave has the lowest number of votes. He did not do this with Constantine, however.
Other rumors that are circulating involve the phone lines and actual voting system. At this point, I don’t have the time or energy to actually develop an opinion, so instead I will simply list some theories that I have heard.
1. There was a physical problem with the phone lines. Many who voted for Constantine reported not hearing the recording (“Thank you for voting for contestant number 5, yada yada yada…”), constant busy signals, and reaching a recording that said “this line cannot be reached.”
2. Scott and Constantine’s phone lines were crossed.
3. The website votefortheworst.com, which calls everyone to vote for Scott, is having a hugely negative impact on the more talented and appealing contestants.
America witnessed the impossible last Wednesday evening. There is no way that Constantine was voted off of AI by “America.” He has been a consistently brilliant, talented and versatile performer, with a vast fan base. He has arguably had some of the best performances not only on AI4, but on the entire show’s history.
America loves him; even Ryan admitted on his radio show this week that there has never been such an uproar over a contestant being “voted” off. Why? Because Constantine was not voted off. Fuller and his AI machine decided that it was time for him to go, so they maliciously gave the most talented and beautiful contestant the axe. There is no excuse for this vindictive behaviour. Fox, AI and Simon Fuller chose the wrong contestant and the wrong group of fans to attack and insult. This is only the beginning for Constantine Maroulis.
*Poll results, unless otherwise indicated, were taken from idolmedia.tv on 4/27/2005
On Wednesday, April 27th, 2005, the American public witnessed the impossible on national television. They witnessed something so impossible, in fact, that the only logical conclusion is that something is amiss; something was rigged.
With his unfailing brilliant performances, growing popularity and devoted fan base, there is no way that Constantine Maroulis could truly be voted off of American Idol at this point in the game. There has obviously been foul play, and Fox chose the wrong contestant and wrong fan base to attack.
Three primary topics will be discussed, all of which indicate foul play against Constantine and his fans by Fox: polls, AI forums, and theory.
The weekly polls given by idolmedia indicate two things:
1. Constantine should still be on AI, and was not voted off.
2. Constantine had a high chance of actually winning AI.
Idolmedia.tv, the #1 resource to AI media, is a highly trafficked site containing not only the contestant’s performances, but also weekly polls. Assuming these polls are at least somewhat accurate, Constantine should have been one of the most confident contestants. Here are the poll results, from the Top 24 to the Top 6. It doesn’t take much research or intelligence to detect a trend in Constantine’s performances and their popularity.*
Top ten Male:
Bo: 36.92%
Constantine: 23.23 % (Hard to Handle)
Anwar: 8.52%
Top 8 Male:
Anwar: 34.5%
Constantine: 23.10% (Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic)
Bo: 13.56
Top 12: Constantine: 36.32% (You Make Me So Very Happy)
Bo: 19.58%
Top 11:
Carrie: 33.67%
Constantine: 26.07% (I Think I Love You)
Bo: 10.84%
Top 10:
Constantine: 36.25% (I Can’t Make You Love Me)
Carrie: 18.63%
Top 9:
Constantine: 52.01% (My Funny Valentine)
Carrie: 11.53%
Scott: 1.19%
Top 8:
Constantine: 59.98% (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Bo: 28.10%
Scott: 1.99%
Top 7:
Constantine: 33.73% (Nights on Broadway)
Bo: 28.10%
Scott: 2.32%
Top 6:
Bo: 30.14%
Constantine: 22.27% (How You Remind Me)
Scott: 2.13%
Constantine’s performances were rated number one during the Top 10, Top 9, Top 8 and Top 7 performances. After the Top 6 performance, which ended up being his final performance on AI, he was in second place. Over the past month, he has had such an incredibly strong lead on AI, and has repeatedly been voted the best performer. Although ‘How You Remind Me’ was a weak performance for him vocally, he was still a favorite, and in second place in the polls! Once again, there is no way that he was voted off.
Another important poll on idolmedia is the ‘Who is your American Idol?’ poll. As of 4/27/2005 (before Anthony fans figured out how to vote multiple times, and before Constantine left AI) Constantine was in first place in this poll, with 39.77%. Bo followed in second place with 20.29%. Again, assuming these polls were somewhat accurate, there is no way Constantine could have been voted off of AI.
In addition to proving that Constantine was the strongest overall AI contestant, these polls also prove that there is no way Scott should still be on the show. When posting these polls, I decided to include only the most important scores: those of the highest performer, the lowest performer and Constantine. This is not intended to bash Scott, but to show an important pattern that emerged: Scott has been last place for the past month. I encourage you, the reader, to come to your own conclusions…
The AI discussion boards are another indicator that there is no way Constantine was truly voted off last week. With each performance, Constantine gained fans and quieted bashers. Although there have always been bashers, the overall number of Constantine-bashers has definitely diminished in the past couple of weeks. The overall attitude towards him has been positive.
Another important aspect of the AI forums is the number of posts devoted to Constantine. Each of the Top 12 contestants has a personal folder in the AI forum, with their total number of posts displayed. Not only does Constantine’s entire folder have the most threads, but one of his threads actually contained more posts than other contestant’s entire folders. As of April 30, 2005, 14:09, Constantine’s folder contained 395,257 messages. To put this in perspective, Bo has the second largest folder, with 165,145 messages. Scott has 77,104 messages; Carrie has 71,828; Anthony has 62,657; and Vonzell has 33,893. Constantine’s folder literally has over 200,000 more posts than any other contestant; he is not only in the lead, but he has left everyone else in the dust. There is no way a contestant with as much popularity as Constantine could have been voted off.
The former GGG thread in Constantine’s folder is yet another testimony to his success and popularity. Although the first GGG thread, which contained 60,000 posts, was deleted by the moderators, the second thread alone had 140,000 posts. This puts the total number of posts for the GGG thread at 200,000. That is more than all other contestant have in their entire folder! Again, this proves that there is no way he could legitimately have been voted off; his fan base is simply too large, and too devoted.
The GGG thread was not the only permanent fan thread in Constantine’s folder. It was the first and most obsessive fan thread, but others also emerged over time. The Boston Conservatory (aka BoCo) thread is one such place, and is a home to the more intellectual and musically trained Constantine fans. Begun by a skeptic who wanted to compare Constantine’s pre-AI voice and performances with his current voice and performances, the BoCo thread has served as a haven to analyze and discuss Constantine’s vocals and performance on a theoretical level. Many BoCo members have seen Constantine’s pre-AI performances, specifically Rent. Begun on 3/11/2005, this thread had 16,545 posts as of 4/30/2005.
One more important and much-referenced thread is ‘The undoing of SC and SF’ (aka SC/SF). This is an artistic and rather eccentric group of fans, who write of his spiritual, mystical and sensual powers. Begun by an eloquent artist and clairvoyant, this thread seeks to discuss how Constantine has “undone” Simon Cowell, Simon Fuller, and AI in general. His artistic and musical abilities are discussed, as is his intangible energy and charisma. This thread was begun 3/26/2005, and had 560 posts as of 4/30/2005.
The fact that these threads have been opened for months indicates that Constantine’s fans are a loyal and devoted group of people, who have even developed friendships over the course of the show. These numbers, along with the polls, obviously point towards AI rigging the show and deciding to force Constantine to leave, without “America’s consent.”
There are also several conspiracy theories circulating, regarding Constantine’s shocking dismissal.
First, fans must ask themselves if it was mere coincidence that Constantine left the very week after Pray for the Soul of Betty signed with Koch records. Constantine was smart enough to sign his rights over to his fellow-band members before going on AI, ensuring that Simon Fuller, the AI producer, would not get a cut if the band sold any records. Being the mass-producing pop-music entity that AI is, it is no surprise that Betty’s success would frustrate Fuller. Making money, not music, is his goal, and Constantine threw a wrench in it.
Another interesting thought is that Constantine is too hard for Fuller and AI to handle. The AI machine needs someone they will be able to mold and manipulate into a clean and tidy little pop singer. Constantine is indeed “hard to handle.” He is an extremely versatile and eccentric musician, and would be impossible to box up and mass-produce. He is a threat to Fuller, and is a challenge that AI will not, and arguably can not, handle. Why can’t AI handle Constantine?
1. Constantine has a mind of his own, a true knowledge of music, and a love for music. Fuller needs a puppet that will do and sing whatever the Machine tells it to do.
2. Constantine is a singer/songwriter. Fuller wants someone that he himself can control; he does not want someone with originality or creativity, because that would mean he has less control of the situation.
3. Constantine crosses musical genres with an incredible beauty and grace. Fuller needs someone who will be easily mass-marketed into only one genre: the pop industry. If AI were truly about music, then finding Constantine would be like striking gold. He can do absolutely anything, musically.
4. Constantine already has a top-selling record with Betty, and Fuller isn’t getting a cut. Fuller wants a “virgin”, if you will; he wants someone who has no experience, who will be easily malleable, and who will owe all their musical prosperity to Fuller himself.
5. Fuller is terrified because he can not make or break Constantine. Again, Fuller wants someone he can control; he wants to be in charge, and he wants to reap the profit. Constantine is already selling records; Betty is taking over the airwaves; and the Betty/Constantine fan base is growing like a psychotic wildfire.
Last Wednesday, Ryan Seacrest did not say the usual, “America voted…” or “…you have the lowest number of votes.” In the past, he has made a huge deal of reiterating that America has voted, and the contestant who is about to leave has the lowest number of votes. He did not do this with Constantine, however.
Other rumors that are circulating involve the phone lines and actual voting system. At this point, I don’t have the time or energy to actually develop an opinion, so instead I will simply list some theories that I have heard.
1. There was a physical problem with the phone lines. Many who voted for Constantine reported not hearing the recording (“Thank you for voting for contestant number 5, yada yada yada…”), constant busy signals, and reaching a recording that said “this line cannot be reached.”
2. Scott and Constantine’s phone lines were crossed.
3. The website votefortheworst.com, which calls everyone to vote for Scott, is having a hugely negative impact on the more talented and appealing contestants.
America witnessed the impossible last Wednesday evening. There is no way that Constantine was voted off of AI by “America.” He has been a consistently brilliant, talented and versatile performer, with a vast fan base. He has arguably had some of the best performances not only on AI4, but on the entire show’s history.
America loves him; even Ryan admitted on his radio show this week that there has never been such an uproar over a contestant being “voted” off. Why? Because Constantine was not voted off. Fuller and his AI machine decided that it was time for him to go, so they maliciously gave the most talented and beautiful contestant the axe. There is no excuse for this vindictive behaviour. Fox, AI and Simon Fuller chose the wrong contestant and the wrong group of fans to attack and insult. This is only the beginning for Constantine Maroulis.
*Poll results, unless otherwise indicated, were taken from idolmedia.tv on 4/27/2005
posted by Mary Elizabeth at
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