I always thought it would be fixed. I thought last year's was fixed. I think the whole voting thing is a scam. I think the producers were going to "crown" whomever they felt they could market better. Now...I don't see anything wrong with this. With or without the voting, it's still fun to watch. My only problem is charging people to text message if, in fact, the votes really don't count.
Let me be really clear here....I think Ruben deserved to "win." I, personally, like Clay better, but Ruben was not undeserving of a record deal and I might buy his CD if I hear a song on the radio that appeals to me. I liked all of the top 3. I think they put Ruben in the bottom two that time to get some drama out of the show because it was getting too predictable. I think it was decided in a meeting of record producers and not by the voting public. Again....there's nothing wrong with that, until you start charging for the text messaging.
Call me a skeptic, but I think any of these shows where you call in and vote are fixed by the people running the show. For example, on Star Search...when they do the finals and there are 3 junior contestants...almost always, the two that don't win are tied. No matter how it ends after the judges put in their 2 cents, once America votes, the two that lose are tied. Probably to make them feel better. Again, nothing wrong with that.
Geez....I never realized how paranoid I am!! In any event, I liked Clay better, but I really did like Ruben. He seems like a good guy and he does have talent, so fixed or not, it wasn't a complete rip off.