There are many theories why AJ Tabaldo was voted off last week on Americanl Idol. I stated on my earlier posts, even before AJ got ejected, that his lack of exposure in the audition episodes will really hurt his chances to get to the final 12. He's the only guy missing on those episodes and we didn't even know what audition venue did he came from. One visitor posted his theory regarding AJ's ouster. He said something like AJ isn't embracing his roots. That he mentioned in the American Idol website that he is an ethnic mutt, part Filipino, part Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish whereas he is pure Filipino because his mom and dad are pure Filipino. Filams supported Jasmine Trias in season 3 because she embraced her being pinay. Consequently, they were not as passionate to vote for AJ as before with Jasmine. American journalist, Scott Garceau, has a more scientific theory on his article in the Philippine Star:

Those who were surprised to see Fil-Am American Idol contestant AJ Tabaldo booted off the hit TV show should by now recognize a familiar pattern that has emerged on the singing contest: voting trends to reflect American electoral habits.

To put it another way: American voters tend to cast their ballots for Idol contestants along the same lines as they elect US presidents.

I’ll go even further: The “Red” States in the US overwhlemingly vote for Republicans candidates, while the “blue” states largely vote for Democrats.

And guess what? All American Idol winners so far have come from the Red states. And so have the majority of US presidents over the past 40 years.

In other words, Southerners arguably decide who becomes US President. And they definitely decide who wins on Idol.

Look at the Idol winners, season by season: Kelly Clarkson (from Texas); Ruben Studdard (Alabama); Fantasia Barrino (North Carolina); Carrie Underwood (Oklahoma); and Taylor Hicks (Alabama).

Not a Blue state in the bunch.

How does all this relate to AJ Tabaldo and other Filipino hopefuls on American Idol? Well, who else voted off Jennifer Hudson and AJ but the bulk of Southern voters? And who else ensured that mediocre talents like Pickler and Bucky Covington, both from the South, stayed on the show so long?

And who ended up putting people like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Hicks in the American Idol top spot?

The same people who voted for George W. Bush. Twice.

…the Herald Tribune last week speculates it’s the lack of cohesive Asian pop identity in the US that has barred them from having their own “thang” on Idol. And since Filipinos are, undoubtedly, the most soulful and successful singers to emerge from Asia, they are the first “cannon fodder” to be sacrificed. Even worse, their dismissal by voters is the most visible, since their singing talents tend to be compared with some of the remaining, shakier singers who are deemed “safe”. Thus, the racism perception is even more pronounced and amplified by the magic of television.