American Idol voting controversy: Is Kris Allen's win an Idol scandal?

A week after Kris Allen beat Adam Lambert for the "American Idol" title, conspiracy theorists remain in full force. Their newest claim: Corporate sponsor AT&T had a hand in the outcome.

The argument comes from a Tuesday New York Times article that asserts that during the final voting round, AT&T provided free text messaging services at two viewing parties in Kris Allen's home state of Arkansas.

The article adds, "There appear to have been no similar efforts to provide free texting services to supporters of Adam Lambert, who finished as the runner-up to Mr. Allen."

It's not the first time viewers have questioned dubious vote tallies for the Season 8 finale. Skeptics were critical when, upon announcing the season's winner, host Ryan Seacrest uncharacteristically failed to mention the margin of votes separating the contenders. In total, just under 100 million votes were cast for the finale.

Shortly after the show, Billy Bush of "Access Hollywood" wrote on his Twitter page, "Source at the top says Votes were NOT close on idol. IE kris blew out adam lambert."

Later, Internet rumors circulated that in the final round, 38 million votes came from Arkansas alone. Those rumors have since been debunked.

Do you believe the conspiracy theories surrounding Kris Allen's win? Share your thoughts on our "American Idol" blog.

This story was originally published May 27, 2009 at 12:09 PM with the headline "American Idol voting controversy: Is Kris Allen's win an Idol scandal?."