Poll: What factors into your vote?

[Son of Simon]

In another thread- the idea came up about my "psycho-babble character study" being some sort of poll. Enjoy!

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In order to understand why the votes and choices come out the way they do, we need to understand a few things about why people are chosen and the reasons why we vote for them.

The act of singing and witnessing the performance of song can have everything from a mild to powerful effect upon a person. It is well understood that music and song can have a range of responses to those listening. Besides voting for people someone may know or be related to in real life, there are other factors that go into the voting process.

- Some people listen to song and pay close attention to pitch, range, clarity, strength, and ability. These people might be considered "purists" for vocal skills alone. We can call them vocal connosieurs if you like. Connosieurs tend to prefer a performer's ability to handle a range of material and adapt to it, rather than taking liberations to make it their own.

- Other people are relationally affected by song. They want their American Idol to reach them on a personal level, so these voters are paying attention to what identifies with them, and vote accordingly.

- Some people are relationally affected, but only within a certain musical genre. If they like R&B they will vote for R&B singers, if they like country they will vote for country singers. Genre voters can deeply appreciate artistry and taking liberations when a performer uses a particular song.

- Some people vote for attraction. And when I say this- I'm saying vocal AND some type of physical or emotional attraction. They commonly say "This person's voice pierces my soul" or "This person's voice is soothing or sultry." They're enticed by what is attracted to them, and often vocals is simply part of the winning formula.

- Other people vote along moral lines, but don't assume these are always "positive" morals. Maybe they vote for someone because they believe they are the nicest, or they are the underdog. Some negative voters intentionally vote for who they believe to be the worst Idol they can imagine, because that is a moral statement in of itself.

- And finally, some people vote on an entertainment basis. They're not as interested in sheer vocal ability, they want to be entertained by things like fun or exciting song choices, they look for strong showmanship and consider the performance, song selection, and stage presence as a whole.

Generally speaking, your average Idol watcher factors in some or all of the above motivations, but generally has 1 or 2 more prominent "disciplines" that will dominate their choice. I for example, consider myself to prefer connosieur and attractive reasons to be the primary reasons behind my favorites.

What factors do you consider most when you vote? Post your answer!

[cloie4me]

Passion. Anyone who is able to stir up deep emotion in me. Whether it is an inspirational feeling, happiness, saddness, and so on. Anyone who moves me in song has my vote.

[sydneylovesace]

Hmm
Interesting thought.
I take the way a person makes me feel when they sing into serious account, its not all about looks because I listen to alot to CD's .
So bottom line, they must simply be pleasing to my ear and my heart.
One addition that I would say is I can appreciate a good moral person,
that could be one reason I respect Ace, I will get flack for that statement, but hes the only one I saw on a roof trying to pay his bills while out in Hollywood.
He seems incredibly thankful to be there. He' not all flash and I respect that.
I see lots of humility in him.

[Ciuma]

So Ace gets one vote from the working-class. Anyone here ever read "The Good Earth"? LOL... Well, it makes sense. I can see why that would make you like him. I'm a lazy American who needs to be forced into doing some dirty work. Maybe when I sacrifice 28 months of my incredibly valuable **pleasereadmysarcasm** life in Kenya. Yeah.

[carrierocks]

Ciuma, you are very mean, When I read your posts I think of someone with "grandiose." And it's not flattering.

[sydneylovesace]

So Ace gets one vote from the working-class. Anyone here ever read "The Good Earth"? LOL... Well, it makes sense. I can see why that would make you like him. I'm a lazy American who needs to be forced into doing some dirty work. Maybe when I sacrifice 28 months of my incredibly valuable **pleasereadmysarcasm** life in Kenya. Yeah.
Why would you say all that to me?
SOS started this thread with what I thought was a genuine interest.
Then, after reading that you support him, and even say you are going to go to other boards and try and them to answer this question, why would you still try and dog me and try to make me feel stupid.
Sorry I dont like the way "you play". :confused:

[Ciuma]

I was being sarcastic about myself, not about you. I'm on a hit list at this forum - can't even post anymore without everyone assuming I'm saying something "mean". Oh, why was I ever born?

[dolphingirl1119]

I have to like their music, their voice, and their performance. I also consider whether I would purchase their CD if they won. I have not purchased a single CD from a past Idol winner. None of them had the IT factor for me. Bo was my pick last year and I own his CD. The only CD I would buy this year would be Chris's so I he gets all my votes.

[cloie4me]

I have to like their music, their voice, and their performance. I also consider whether I would purchase their CD if they won. I have not purchased a single CD from a past Idol winner. None of them had the IT factor for me. Bo was my pick last year and I own his CD. The only CD I would buy this year would be Chris's so I he gets all my votes.

I agree, The only CD I have bought is Bo's. He's also the one I voted for last year. Chris is going to do some amazing work and I look forward to buying his music. This being said, I hope he will do more than "hard rock."

[AbsentElement]

I grew up with music all my life. My parents were popular in the folk music ranks around the Dallas area. I played several instruments growing up, sang in choirs (at school and church). I even got the nerves to do a few open mic nights with my guitar while stationed out in California (Fort Ord), back in the early 90's. Anyone heard of Bobby Pinson? Sang right there beside him at those open mic nights. Anyhoo... I guess my response to this thread would be "all of the above and then some."

I really try to look at the whole package. These are some of the things I consider.

The interesting thing is... I find that, the weight I give to each of these factors varies from contestant to contestant. The reason for this, I haven't been able to figure out yet.

1) Vocals: Does the person have range, can they sing on pitch, can they maintain tempo, and do they sing clearly (not necessarily with a pure voice, but can I clearly understand the words)?

2) Entertainment: This is an interesting factor, because one singer might be able to simply stand behind a mic, with relatively little movement, or sit on a stool with a guitar, (prime examples would be Frank Sinatra or George Strait) and entertain me just as much as Garth Brooks flying through the air over the crowd and smashing guitars or Jamie Callum doing back flips off of his piano.

3) Attraction: I find that I can relate to some contestants more than others because they are either attractive to me, or because I prefer the genre of music they tend to perform, or maybe because of their personality.

So to give you an example of how I apply these to varying degrees from contestant to contestant:

I like Chris, probably the most, because I believe he can sing, he can entertain me, and I'm attracted to his performances because I like the genre.

I like Katharine probably second most. But she is hands down the best vocalist, and she's certainly more physically attractive, but I don't relate to her genre as much and I don't think she's as entertaining (for me).

I like Taylor next. He isn't the best vocalist, but I believe he can still sing. His genre isn't my favorite, but I still like it. I'm attracted to his personality and find him rather entertaining, more so than Kat.

For me, Kat is more attractive and a better vocalist than Taylor. Here, entertainment takes a back seat to vocals and attraction.

But then why do I like Chris more than Kat? He's more entertaining and I relate to his music more. So vocals and physical attraction take a back seat to entertainment.

Does anyone see what I'm trying to say? I believe most people, whether subconciously or not, are in the same boat. We base our votes on certain factors (like those that Son of Simon mentions), but we don't apply each factor with the same weight to each contestant.

[cloie4me]

[QUOTE=AbsentElement]
But then why do I like Chris more than Kat? He's more entertaining and I relate to his music more. So vocals and physical attraction take a back seat to entertainment.

I agree with what you said but completely loved one statement. Music we can "relate to." Powerful statement. We vote that way even when we dont realize it.

[jacobrules]

Well let me respond.
I disagree with Simon's (Cowell) statement about the X factor, I think its more the CLICK FACTOR. There is not alot to analyze, I don't need a pen and piece of paper to keep notes. After a few minutes of watching them perform I know if I like them or not.
Now I admit sometimes performances are better than others, but most people remember the first one most. (remember the first impression rule, its true)

[Idoleyes]

In another thread- the idea came up about my "psycho-babble character study" being some sort of poll. Enjoy!

************************************************** ********

In order to understand why the votes and choices come out the way they do, we need to understand a few things about why people are chosen and the reasons why we vote for them.


What factors do you consider most when you vote? Post your answer!

MY OPINIONS ARE WRONG - NO ONE CAN POSSIBLY THINK BUCKY HAS CLASS, OR KELLIE IS SINCERE – There….I’ve just saved a lot of people the trouble of writing impassioned rebuttal attacks…Now...on to my opinions…

I made a short, random list of some of the factors that I use to assess a contestant, just some of the qualities that I like, or feel have a bearing on who I vote for – and listed some of the contestants that I feel best suit the various factors. If I didn’t include a particular contestant in a category, it doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have that quality, but they just didn’t immediately jump to mind when I thought about each particular quality.

Sincere and genuine person/artist: Sincerity is one of the first things I look for. Do they perform with genuine passion and commitment…are they engrossed in their performance because they love what they are doing, or are they pandering to the crowd and willing to compromise their creative style just to gain votes. Taylor; Chris, Bucky; Elliot; Mandisa; and, to a lesser extent, Kellie, come to my mind in terms of sincerity.

Class: Do they have a high degree of personal integrity, humility, manners - Taylor; Bucky; Katharine; Mandisa; Elliott; Kellie; Chris

Vocal ability: various factors enter into this evaluation – Range; the ability to combine power and a subtle touch when necessary; versatility in applying their style to the different genres of music; can they maintain an appropriate tempo and pitch – I don’t mind the occasional ‘flat/pitchy’ notes – Neil Young got away with it for years. - Taylor; Chris; Katharine; Mandisa; Elliot…

Personality: Are they happy, humble; fun; - people I’d let my kids be around - Taylor; Bucky; Katharine; Kellie; Elliot; Mandisa,

Visual appeal: If it was just based on looks/sex appeal….Katharine; Kellie; Taylor; Chris; Ace

Would I pay to see them/buy their CD? – Taylor; Katharine; Chris; Bucky; Kellie

Unique/Quirky: Talented and have the courage to be themselves/different; and have fun with it… (Cyndi Lauper) - Elliot; Taylor; Kellie.

The genre of music is not as important to me – I appreciate virtually any type of music done well – opera; country; rock; R+B; pop.

It’s hard to say which factors are the most influential in my voting decision…they all combine to create an impression…but I guess I need to like the person in order to really enjoy the performance…that’s probably why Paris did not make my list of favorites…she has a good voice, but I find her contrived and annoying…same thing with Ace…too contrived. I understand how people can view Kellie as annoying...but I think she’s adorable…and if it’s ‘just an act’…the world could do worse than having more people ‘act’ like Kellie.

My choice for Top 5 – Taylor, Chris, Katharine, Mandisa, Kellie

Top 3 – Taylor, Katharine, Chris

Top 2 – Taylor, Katharine

Winner – Taylor

I know Katharine was bottom 3 this week…and maybe her fan base (or lack of it) will not allow her to survive until the final 2; but I think she should be there. Chris, Mandisa and Elliot are good singers, but I would choose Taylor and Katharine for the final 2.

[cloie4me]

Idoleyes,
I agree with some of what you say, but wanted to comment one one statement....."Bucky has class" I agree completely.