American Idol is a ratings phenomenon. Bringing in close to 35 million viewers every season, the reality show boasts itself as a competition for Americas great undiscovered. Thousands of hopefuls are auditioned, the grand prize? Nothing short of the ultimate in success: a full-fledged recording contract with a major label. But as American Idol approaches its sixth season, questions have begun to proliferate over the veracity of the contest, and the frailty of the voting system.

At the forefront of the dispute is the web site ?Vote For The Worst? that directs the efforts of millions of non-fans every week. Since American Idol does not publish the winning margins, it is impossible to get a feel for how much of an impact an endeavor like this may have. However, the season four victory was rumored to be by a margin of merely 100,000 votes. With a number like that, it is impossible to deny the impact.

Is ?Vote For The Worst? just another crank trying to be a fly in the ointment? According to the creator, no. David Delle Terez, who started the site as a joke, claims that his motivation lays in the misrepresentation of the show. In an interview with BuddyTV, Delle Terez portrayed his site as not being an attempt to thwart the contest, but rather celebrate it for what it really is. He claims American Idol is not a singing contest at all, but a reality show cleverly disguised as a singing contest with the intent of selling their product on the emotions and pageantry of the contestants. Not their musical talent.

Whether any of this is true, or not, is anybody's guess, and if so, one thing is for sure; the efforts of sites like ?Vote for the Worst? have done nothing but help further American Idol's success.