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Music pros, not TV viewers, should pick ‘Idol’ winner

Although I am hoping that Jessica Sanchez will get enough votes and emerge as the next American Idol, I firmly believe that viewers should not participate in the judging. It is true that the viewing audience only started voting when Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler whittled down the thousands of auditionees to the top 25. From this group, the top 5 males and the top 5 females with the most number of votes advanced to the next round. Each judge then had to pick one contestant from the wild card round to join them. Once the 13 were chosen, the judges could still save one contestant from elimination. Ultimately, however, it's the viewers who have the final say.

By adopting this system, "AI" has become more of a popularity contest than a talent show. At first glance, this may be a smart move since the winner is the singer who gets the most number of votes so it follows that he or she will also sell the most number of albums. Not true.

Of the 10 "Idol" winners who have embarked on a musical career, only Carrie Underwood (Season 4) has achieved superstardom. Kelly Clarkson (Season 1) has also had an outstanding career but not as phenomenal as Carrie. The other eight have either had moderate or minimal impact in the industry.

The also-rans did much better. Jennifer Hudson who landed in 7th place in Season 3 has won both an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2007 and a Grammy for Best R&B Album in 2009 and has fared much, much better than the winner, Fantasia Burrino. Adam Lambert, who landed in second place, has sold more albums than the winner of Season 8, Kris Allen. Chris Daughtry (4th place, Season 5) has outshone winner Taylor Hicks. Katharine McPhee, runner-up in Season 5, has a top rating TV series "Smash" and several movies to her name.

I am confident that "AI" will produce more musical stars if the choice of the next American Idol is left to seasoned judges, professionals who can spot potential chart busters. This group should be composed of representatives from different sectors of the industry—performers, composers, arrangers, record producers, sales people. I envision a jury of 12 people who will pass judgment on the contestants. Jimmy Iovine, AI's resident mentor, should be part of this group.

Win or lose, Jessica Sanchez already has a successful musical career waiting for her. Singer and record producer Akon is interested in signing her up. He has been quoted as saying that Jessica is overqualified for AI. Interviewed by E News during the recent Billboard Latin Music Awards, he said, ""I know I shouldn't be saying this, but I kind of want her to get voted off so I can sign her. She's beyond the talent that's supposed to be there. I think she's overqualified, I really do. And she's only 16. I've been around a lot of superstars. I haven't seen anyone at that age sing like that."

This week, we'll find out if Akon will get his wish. For sure, Filipino and Mexican communities in the US are working double time to make sure that Jessica makes it to the finale. What I'd like to know is who will get the votes of Skylar Laine who was eliminated last week. That's a huge block of votes that can help any of the remaining four finalists make it to the Top 3.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.