Faith-based support for the American Idol?
Did the Evangelical vote put Kris Allen over the top in the American Idol finale? That’s one of the theories that has emerged in the hours after the surprise ending Wednesday to the pop music competition.
The discussion is premised on the widely held expectation that Adam Lambert, adventurous in both performance and appearance, would win the final vote.
Certainly the falsetto-prone glam rocker left a deeper impression than the humble church singer from Arkansas. Even Allen, a worship leader at New Life Church in Conway, Ark., appeared taken aback by the result; when host Ryan Seacrest called his name, his first words were “Adam deserves this.”
But a legion of Christian voters is saying the right man won. Chief among them: Allen’s pastor at New Life, who has been boasting of a faith-based campaign for Allen.
“Churches go crazy with support!” the Rev. Rick Bezet told Fox News. “Thousands of churches twittering and facebooking! It’s been a blast.”
Fox News and other speculate that Allen got a boost from supporters of Danny Gokey, who was eliminated in the week before the final. Another evangelical Christian, Gokey was worship leader at Faith Builders International Ministries in Milwaukee and Beloit, Wisc., prior to qualifying for American Idol.
There is also the question of America’s comfort with Lambert’s presumed sexual orientation. Blogger Danielle Berrin of the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles summarized the matchup thusly:
Lambert is the dark knight. He has raven hair, wears dark eyeliner, black nail polish and leather trench coats. His style recalls classic rock stars, school serial killers and vampires all at once. Beyond his trademark flamboyance, Lambert possesses a sexual ambiguity he’s hardly interested in dispelling: When photos of him dressed in drag and kissing other men leaked on the Internet, he responded with indifference: “I am who I am,” he said, and left his detractors to their own devices. And, if that wasn’t enough to jilt the evangelical crowd, Lambert is also Jewish.
Allen, by contrast, is clean-cut and pristine looking. He wears tshirts and jeans, sings sweetly and leads worship services at New Life Church back home. One look at him and you can imagine the hordes of teenage girls virtuously gathering their friends to call up and vote for him. Allen is the all-American boy, as inoffensive (and unexciting) as vanilla cream pie.(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Comments
If this is indeed the case, this is what is wrong with this country. Just another example of why I dislike Christians and Christian "culture."
Posted by: GBA1 | May 22, 2009 2:36 PM
So why is this so different than Jewish voters voting for a Jewish contestant (candidate)? Or African American voters voting for an African American contestant (candidate)? If they can identify with someone based on the person's religious beliefs then they should vote for him. And if they want to organize a campaign for him, why should that offend anyone? Allen has a better chance of selling more CDs than Lambert with his broad appeal.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 23, 2009 7:55 AM
What is this; a talent contest? And the Christians are at it like in the time of the Crusades-trying to grab the prize for their fellow pilgrim. Does a Muslim, an atheist or a homosexual who has not hewed to the edicts of the Bible stand a chance in the face of this kind of Christian tempest in the Idol teapot?
This Lambert guy is Jewish? God help his Jewish parents! He seems the antithesis of all the things my Jewish friends want from their children. A Jewish man in drag who wears his sexual ambiguity like a casual caftan--what next? Just when I think I've seen it all life socks me in the eye one more time.
But I still think the Christians were wrong to put their less talented guy over the top. They should have let the audacious Jewish lad-lass get to the finish line first. This Lambert or should I say Lamberta looks a lot like Boy George who now looks a lot like a vapid blimp. Dissipation has a nasty way of catching up.
Defunct and out of touch
Posted by: defunct and out of touch | June 10, 2009 12:20 AM