However, iTunes projects a possibly different outcome, if some download numbers that weren’t supposed to be shown can be used as a predictor of who gets voted off the show.
According to The New York Post “a glitch in the Apple software allowed fans a glimpse at which contestants are selling the most "Idol" download.” And, in what will come as a surprise to many Idol fans, Gokey was not the first or second most popular artist.
While Lambert, as expected, is the most downloaded artist so far with 6 of the top 10 top tracks, Kris Allen actually occupies 3 of the slots, while Gokey has just 1 song on the list. Of course, American Idol fans don’t vote on singing skills alone, and Gokey, as you might know, has a compelling backstory, which could make all of this irrelevant.
However, the Allen case gets a bit more compelling when you also look at recent Twitter trends. Allen’s Twitter buzz has now surpassed that of Gokey in back-to-back weeks, while Lambert maintains a healthy lead over both of them.
Also worth noting – on Intrade, which lets people make real money bets on the outcome of Idol, Gokey is still favored over Allen, by almost a 2 to 1 margin (while Lambert is the far and away favorite).