American Idol fans were shocked last week when dark horse contestant Kris Allen took home the title of American Idol 2009, leaving fan favorite Adam Lambert as runner-up.

While fans speculated that the show was rigged the minute the results were revealed, no one really cared enough to do the homework – until now, that is.

According to the New York Times, AT&T had several “parties” setup where they conveniently supplied their guests with phones and persuaded them to text into Idol in support of Kris Allen. Enough parties and a lot guests and the votes could have severely affected the outcome of the competition.

If any other company (say Google or Microsoft) decided to throw parties in support of a particular contestant, urging their guests to text in and vote, there wouldn’t be as much controversy. However, neither of those companies are directly related to the competition and have such a huge impact on the outcome.

AT&T is the only mobile phone network that can be used to cast votes for American Idol via text. A statement issued yesterday included the following information from a spokesman from AT&T:

“In Arkansas, we were invited to attend the local watch parties organized by the community. A few local employees brought a small number of demo phones with them and provided texting tutorials to those who were interested.”

The statement itself is somewhat vague but it does beg the question – were this year’s American Idol results really as shocking as they seemed – or were the results fabricated to draw more hype to the show?

The New York Times also offered up this bit of information, which makes AT&T seem even guiltier than the original statement:

"Representatives of AT&T helped fans of Mr. Allen at the two Arkansas events by providing instructions on how to send 10 or more text messages at the press of a single button, known as power texts.

"Power texts have an exponentially greater effect on voting than do single text messages or calls to the show’s toll-free phone lines. The efforts appear to run afoul of “American Idol” voting rules in two ways. The show broadcasts an on-screen statement at the end of each episode warning that blocks of votes cast using “technical enhancements” that unfairly influence the outcome of voting can be thrown out."

Whether you're a Kris Allen fan or an Adam Lambert fan is irrelevant at this point. Adam Lambert fans are furious that the competition may have been rigged and he may have missed on a deserving victory while Kris Allen fans are furious that the winner of this year is being scrutinized so much for something he had no control over. Either way, American Idol is losing support from it's loyal fans!

What do you think of the latest American Idol controversy and will you be watching next season?