Idol Chatter & Voice Views

This week, we leave the drama of Hollywood Week behind and start focusing solely — okay, perhaps mostly — on performances on the final season of American Idol.

So, are you wondering who has the biggest fan base now that the Top 24 has been announced?

Well, on Twitter, the answer is easy, and it isn’t even close.

Dalton Rapattoni, the 19-year-old from Dallas, has more than 90,000 followers on Twitter. MacKenzie Bourg, 23, of Lafayette, La., has more than 85,000.

That’s more than double the next nearest contestant, Emily Brooke with 41,000.

And only three other contestants — Shelbie Z., Tristan McIntosh and Lee Jean — enter Top 24 week with more than 10,000 followers on Twitter.

Of course, those numbers — all as of 10 a.m. Sunday — mean little at this point in the competition. But if Idol brings back the Twitter save it used for the first time in Season 14, they could become crucial later on.

In the case of both Dalton and MacKenzie, the numbers are inflated by a pre-Idol fan base.

Remember, Dalton spent time in a boy band called IM5, founded by Idol-creator Simon Fuller, Perez Hilton and Jamie King. I still don’t understand how that doesn’t disqualify Dalton from competing on Idol. Then again, I long ago gave up hope that Idol cares a smidgen about playing fair.

MacKenzie developed his following in a manner that has a far less hinky connection to Idol. He was a Top 20 contestant on Season 3 of The Voice.

Here’s a look at how many Twitter followers each contestant had as of Sunday morning.

See also:
Ranking the showcase performances for the American Idol guys
Ranking the showcase performances for the American Idol gals

1. Dalton Rapattoni: @FlyAwayDalton — 91,900

2.MacKenzie Bourg: @mackenziebourg — 85,700

3.Emily Brooke: @emilybrooke — 41,000

4. Shelbie Z.: @Shelbie_Z — 13,000

5. Tristan McIntosh: @tristanmcintosh — 12,100

6. Lee Jean: @LeeJeanJr — 11,500

7. Thomas Stringfellow: @tstringfellow — 7,292

8. Avalon Young: @avalonyoung — 5,054

9. Adam Lasher: @AdamLasher — 4,467

10. Trent Harmon: @TrentWHarmon — 4,384

11. Ameelia Eisenhaur: @AmeliaJE__ — 3,874

12. Jordan Sasser: @JordanSasser — 3,575

13. Sonika Vaid: @sonikavaid — 3,411

14. Manny Torres: @mannytorres — 3,143

15. Gianna Isabella: @gianisabell — 2,940

16. Olivia Rox: @oliviaroxstar — 2,493

17. La’Prosha Renae: @laporsharenae — 2,083

18. Jenn Blosil: @jennblosil — 2,034

19. Kory Wheeler: @thisiskory — 1,889

20. Jenna Renae: @JennaRenaeMusic — 1,674

21. Stephany Negrete: @stephanynegrete — 1,310

22. C.J. Johnson: @CJsingsforyou — 1,034

23. Jeneve Rose Mitchell: @JeneveRose — 891

24. James VIII: @jamesthe8th — 686