Kevin Covais, the self proclaimed “nerdy kid”, has been voted off the hit show American Idol. Kevin rocketed to popularity when host Ryan Seacrest pointed out his strong resemblance to Disney’s latest animated character, Chicken Little. Seacrest was also fond of teasing the teen about his newly found sex symbol status.
From the first audition to his swan song, his pure and controlled voice never seemed to match the child’s body that went with it. Judge Simon Cowell repeatedly told the New York teenager that he didn’t have the look to be a star, but America felt differently and managed to keep him in the competition much longer than odds makers expected.
He stirred up a lot of controversy when an anti-Idol website, called Vote For The Worst, encouraged its visitors to vote for Kevin, keeping him in the competition as long as possible just for the fun of seeing him eat up the attention he was getting from fans and the female contestants. The website claims that it has the ability to taint the competition by influencing votes and getting people kicked off the show prematurely, but with Kevin’s departure their claims to power hold very little weight. Fox, the station that carries American Idol, has been very outspoken in its complaints about the website.
This week Kevin chose to sing the song, “When I Fall in Love” and while judges Randy and Paula fell in love with Kevin’s performance, Simon reserved his love only for Kevin. Saying that he liked the boy, he went on to point out that the song choices Kevin was making and his level of talent set him up to find his biggest fan base in the grandmother set. Perhaps Simon was right, and Kevin was voted off the show because his fans are of an age where they just don’t like to put down their knitting needles and power vote.
American Idol is not new to controversy. Remember Corey Clark’s claim of an affair with judge Paula Abdul and Frenchie Davis’ dismissal when topless pictures surfaced. Unforgettable moments were also provided by UC Berkeley’s William Hung’s rendition of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs”. Hung has gone on to sign a record deal, record three albums, appear in numerous TV shows and commercials, and feature in both documentaries and movies. Not bad for someone who didn’t even make it through auditions.
American Idol is in its fifth season. Past winners include Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, and Carrie Underwood.
Salim Jordan is Editor and Publisher of MoreThanLinks.com. He regulary writes on entertainment. Visit http://buzz.morethanlinks.com