To my surprise four of five winners are from the South. Kelly Clarkson is from Texas which isn't really the proper South. Sure it's on the southern border with Mexico but it's Texas.
Of the runners-up, only Katherine McPhee was from outside the South. She was from Los Angeles.
Looking at the final four this season, Blake is from The Great Northwest, specifically Washington state. Jordin comes Arizona in the Southwest. Suddenly trends look bad for these two.
Melinda and LaKisha are our Southern contestants. The former from Tennessee and the later from Maryland.
Blessedly Burmingham, Alabama, isn't represented this season. They already can claim winners Hicks and Studdard, along with runners-up Digarmo and Bice. Digarmo was living in Georgia when she was on Idol but was born in Burmingham. Four of ten finalists is a huge number for one city for what purports to be a national contest.
So why is this so? One theory at Forbes.com is text voting.
Some observers also wonder if (Idol) partnering exclusively with (AT&T) Cingular has influenced the show's results. According to NPD Group, 44% of Cingular subscribers are in the South. All five former Idol winners hail from below the Mason-Dixon line.
Oddly enough, if you extend the Mason-Dixon line across to the Pacific, Jordin comes back in. With L.A. falling below that imaginary line too, McPhee makes it a clean sweep for all 10 finalists. Makes you wonder about the "American" part of American Idol, doesn't it.
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