Geographical, Ethnic, and Gender Bias
Since the show's inception in 2002, eight of the eleven Idol winners, including its first five, have come from the Southern United States. The three exceptions are: Jordin Sparks, who hails from Arizona; David Cook, hails from Missouri (which is considered part of the "Upland South", and he was born in Houston and living in Tulsa at the time of his audition); and Lee DeWyze from Illinois. A large number of other notable finalists during the series' run have also hailed from the American South, including Clay Aiken, Kellie Pickler and Chris Daughtry, who are all from North Carolina. In 2012, an analysis of the 131 contestants who have appeared in the finals of all seasons of the show up to that point found that 48% have some connection to the Southern United States.
The show itself is popular in the Southern United States, with households in the Southeastern United States 10% more likely to watch American Idol during the eighth season in 2009, and those in the East Central region, such as Kentucky, were 16 percent more likely to tune into the series. Data from Nielsen SoundScan, a music-sales tracking service, showed that of the 47 million CDs sold by Idol contestants through January 2010, 85 percent were by contestants with ties to the American South.
Theories given for the success of Southerners on Idol have been: more versatility with musical genres, as the Southern U.S. is home to several music genre scenes; not having as many opportunities to break into the pop music business; text-voting due to the South having the highest percentage of cell-phone only households; and the strong heritage of music and singing, which is notable in the Bible Belt, where it is in church that many people get their start in public singing. Others also suggest that the Southern character of these contestants appeal to the South, as well as local pride. According to season five winner Taylor Hicks, who is from the state of Alabama, "People in the South have a lot of pride ... So, they're adamant about supporting the contestants who do well from their state or region."
For five consecutive seasons, starting in season seven, the title has been given to a white male who plays the guitar – a trend that Idol pundits call the "White guy with guitar" or "WGWG" factor. Just hours before the season eleven finale, where Phillip Phillips was named the winner, Richard Rushfield, author of the book American Idol: The Untold Story, said, “You have this alliance between young girls and grandmas and they see it, not necessarily as a contest to create a pop star competing on the contemporary radio, but as…who’s the nicest guy in a popularity contest,” he says, “And that has led to this dynasty of four, and possibly now five, consecutive, affable, very nice, good-looking white boys.”
Read more about this topic: American Idol
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