There is a small but powerful Web site that has tried to make "American Idol" a little more exciting, a little more entertaining.
It has a love-hate relationship with its muse, but it has taken sabotage into something of an art form.
Votefortheworst.com is a tongue-in-cheek Web site that tries to manipulate and influence the outcome of the Fox talent show "American Idol." Every season since the site's inception in 2004, the people that run the site pick a contestant to stump for. And it's usually one they know the producers, judges — and even the viewers — would love to see gone.
This season, Vote for the Worst selected Utah's own Megan Joy as their darling and swiftly became her champion. Vote for the Worst founder Dave Della Terza said it was Megan Joy's often-bizarre antics that won their hearts.
"With Megan, it was after 'Rocking Robin' when she did the little 'caw, caw' at the end," he said. "We said, 'This girl is hilarious. We want her to stay on.' "
(She stayed a couple of weeks longer than many viewers expected, but the 23-year-old Sandy woman was voted off "American Idol" last week.)
And before Megan Joy supporters get all up-in-arms to defend her, they should know that Vote for the Worst's selection doesn't mean that Della Terza and Co. think the Utahn was the worst singer on the show. He said they often just pick people who are the most fun to watch, regardless of talent.
"We pick the most entertaining bad person, which can have a lot of different criteria," Della Terza said. "They might not be a bad singer, they're just the people that we find to be entertaining and who the judges would like to see go home."
As for Megan Joy, Della Terza said she was picked by the Web site based largely on her unusual personality, not a lack of singing talent.
"We thought she'd be funny and quirky and silly the entire time," he said. "She has a quirky personality and tries to make it interesting."
For her part, Megan Joy said that she was largely unaware of the fact that the site had adopted her as their mascot for this season. In an interview with TV critics after being voted off of the show, she said she doesn't have a Facebook or MySpace page and wasn't aware of the Vote for the Worst campaign on her behalf.
"I actually was pretty good at completely staying away from it," she said. "I didn't even log onto the Internet at all. I just didn't even mess around with it."
Although she claimed to be unaware of their criticism, Megan Joy said that her "American Idol" experience taught her how to cope with naysayers.
"I learned that there's always going to be negative people — haters, if you will — who try to bring you down," she said. "But you've just got to forget about them and move past it always."
However, Vote for the Worst isn't meant to be cruel, Della Terza said. The joke is really more on the show than on the performers.
"It's a commentary on the show itself," he said. "At first it was kind of a joke, but after a while it was like — this show isn't on the up-and-up and now the show just needs a heavy dose of humor."
Though it does its fair share of mocking, Vote for the Worst's support, or degradation, is also a rallying force that actively campaigns for the contestants it chooses. Going into last week, Della Terza knew Megan Joy was in trouble and was committed to keeping her on the show.
"In the beginning people just thought, 'She isn't my cup of tea,' and now they're thinking, 'Why is she still here? I can't believe this.' People are starting to resent it, so Vote for the Worst is going to have to work overtime to keep her on."
As Della Terza had predicted, Megan Joy didn't make it past the top nine, despite the their best efforts. The Web site is currently shopping for a new contestant to throw their weight behind.
They're planning to announce which contestant they've chosen before tonight's episode.
E-mail: emorgan@desnews.com