A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

THE THUMB ON THE SCALES: Candor compels a confession here. As happy as I am that Adam Lambert has reached the American Idol finals, the role of the producers/judges in manipulating the show to encourage this result is, in a word, troubling. Indeed, had they done all this on behalf a less worthy (IMHO) contestant, we'd be livid right now. Let's review:

• Adam performed in the final slot (i.e., "the pimp slot") the last three weeks in a row, plus one more finals slot ("Mad World") plus his semifinal performance. Other than Anoop (in the double elimination week - so he wasn't necessarily last), no performer has ever been eliminated prior to the final four from the pimp slot. By comparison, Danny wasn't pimp-slotted after the semifinals, and Kris only once half-way through the finals.
• The explicit call for voting on Adam's behalf Tuesday night.
• The EW cover -- the first time a singer got a solo cover during the competition.
• Simon and others doing media interviews professing their belief that Adam should win.
• Adam had a full audition promo package, as did ten of the other twelve finalists. Kris (and Allison) didn't, and it matters.

So, yes, America voted, and we've got the most talented, likeable and evenly-matched final pairing since Carrie Underwood-Bo Bice ... but let's concede that one candidate got his posters and field workers placed a lot closer to the polling places than the others, and Idol wasn't exactly fair to Adam Lambert's rivals in the final three.