I think it goes without saying that Kris Allen pulling out the win in season 8's American Idol finale was a bit of a surprise to most people. With his vocal talent and stunning stage presence, Adam Lambert had seemed a lock for the crown since he entranced us with "Mad World" during the week of the top 8. It just seemed to be Lambert's destiny, and the judges reinforced it at every turn. Take the God awful Kara DioGuardi single "No Boundaries" that will become Kris Allen’s unfortunate signature tune, she basically said, "this song really wasn't written with your talents in mind" for Kris' postmortem. Kara just took it for granted that Adam would win so what did it matter if Kris couldn't handle the track? But Kris did win, and the collective bafflement of much of America is ever present. So let’s look at some of the reasons Kris beat Adam.

First, we have the fact that Adam Lambert is clearly of the homosexual persuasion. Not only is he gay, but he puts it out there proudly. The clothes, the eyeliner, the flamboyant theatricals, not to mention the pictures floating around on the Internet -- he's gay. So you have to at least wonder if some prejudices seeped into the voting populous. It's not fair, but in a country that continually looks to outlaw gay marriage it makes you wonder if they are truly ready to accept a member of the gay posse as their American Idol winner. Also Kris is a professed Christian which further helps him lock up the red state vote. Have a sitdown with George W. Bush, if you think the evangelical vote doesn't matter.

Next, we have the issue of rock versus pop. When the two competing genres have been stacked against one another on Idol in the past, pop has always won out. Look at the talents of Daughtry, and how he was shown the door way too prematurely. Like it or not, American Idol is made for finding the next Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera. They wouldn't really know what to do if KISS auditioned thus Adam Lambert was equally hard to digest.

The biggest thing pushing Kris over the top in my opinion was the voting block he catered to. The teenie-bopper girls loved Kris' boy-next-door cuteness and humble charm. He was someone they could plaster posters on their walls next to Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers while planning out their dream wedding as Mrs. Allen. Forget the fact Kris has a wife. Petty details like that never factor in to teenage girl logic. If you are an American Idol contestant, that is the voting block you want because they are rabidly devoted. They will fire off texts at one per second until their fingers bleed because they think that one extra vote could make the difference. Not only will they vote, but they'll round up their friends to do the same. There is no telling how many votes these girls pushed in for Kris Allen, but the next presidential candidate might want to recruit them for their campaign. I’m of the opinion you should only be able to vote once per phone number, but no one called to ask for my opinion.

At the end of the day, we'll never truly know why Kris Allen toppled Goliath. It's all just a mass of speculation spun out by a public looking for answers. Should it really matter though? There should be no question in anyone’s mind that both Kris and Adam were supremely talented artists with different styles. Both should find success in their musical careers as long as they hitch their pony to the right producers. Let’s just enjoy the music.