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How to fix the 'American Idol' voting problem


"American Idol" have a female problem?
OK, now this is officially ridiculous. After Naima and Thia were voted off in one fell swoop last week, I asked a simple question: Does "American Idol" have a female problem? There's no longer any question that the highly rated series does.

For the fifth consecutive time, "American Idol" voters booted off a female contestant Thursday night. When Ryan Seacrest revealed that Pia Toscano had tallied the fewest number of votes, not only were the three judges stunned -- Jennifer Lopez even cried -- but the in-studio audience nearly revolted, as did an impressive tweeting celebrity peanut gallery of Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Snooki and many others.
Bing: Pia Toscano had 'weird feeling' she was going home
Now, I'm no singer. The last time I attempted karaoke, my voice cracked while singing "Private Eyes" by Hall & Oates. But to my tinny ears, there didn't seem to be many flaws in Pia's game. She's energetic, poised and exceedingly easy on the eyes -- but her vocals aren't just a mere add-on, as this clip of her ridiculous vocal range will show. More than any of the remaining nine contestants entering this week, she seemed to have the best shot at capitalizing on her talents in a huge way, or at least seemed like a lock to make it to the bitter end.
But there's no denying anymore that the voting rules need a serious overhaul. It's also beginning to seem obvious that if "American Idol" producers don't fix the problem, they're going to lose a lot of their more sensible viewers. And that's because the voting rules make zero sense.