Controversies
In 2004, Mal Rodgers was eliminated by the judges during one of the early rounds, despite being an obvious fan-favorite (at this time, two finalists were eliminated each episode: one by the judges, one by fan-vote). At the taping, the audience loudly booed the decision to eliminate Rodgers, continuing after the show had gone off-air. For 2005, the elimination process was altered, completely removing the judges from the equation. The process was again altered in 2006, allowing judges to remove one finalist (two in 2007, back to one in 2008) on the premiere episode only, before fans get the chance to vote.
In 2005, finalist Tamika Tyler blamed producers for attempting to influence fans to vote against her, after she was voted off on an early-season episode. Tyler claims that video clips of a confrontation between her and eventual winner Erika Jo concerning the difference in their ages were doctored and taken out of context as they were presented on the show. The show's producers would refute the claims; however, in 2006, the focus of the videos shifted from interactions between finalists to a behind-the-scenes look at each finalist preparing for his or her performance.
During the fifth episode of the 2007 season, no finalist was eliminated. However, host Jewel teased an elimination several times from the beginning of the episode, only to reveal at the very end that the previous week's show experienced "technical difficulties" and the voting results were discarded. Neither USA Network, nor Reveille Productions, would comment publicly on the "technical difficulties". Interestingly, had the show eliminated a finalist that week, the finale episode would have only featured two performers, instead of the usual three.
As stated below and on this page, the winner of season 6 was supposed to perform at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, which was also shown on NBC in the U.S. However, that performance did not occur; no reason was ever given for the cancellation.
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