Don't vote for the wrong reasons. Don't just vote for someone on American Idol because you feel sorry for them, you can relate to their background, or you like their personality. Despite popular belief, American Idol is not a popularity contest. It is a contest to find the most talented singer and performer to become the next big hit recording artist.
Consider if you like a contestant so much that you would be willing to pay money to hear him or her perform. After all, the bottom line of this show is to help the winner and all involved with promoting that winning artist to make money with music! The assumption is that America will support the person they voted for. But this hasn't been the case with a lot of winners, probably because they were chosen for the wrong reasons. If you are not willing to invest money in an artist, do not vote for him or her! Imagine how devastating it must be to an American Idol winner to one day feel like they're on top of the world and the next day feel betrayed and confused because they were dropped by their record label due to lack of sales
Move on what moves you. If a contestant's performances repeatedly invoke emotional feelings from you, whether they are joy, excitement, motivation, and love, and he or she even brings you to tears, this is your winner!
Get past the nerves and stage presence. Imagine standing on a huge stage being stared at by Simon Cowell and tens of millions of Americans! You would probably feel quite humbled, small, and nervous! Don't be too hard on a contestant for signs of nervousness, lack of stage presence, forgotten lyrics, or even an unpolished appearance. As the singer moves on in the contest, you should notice improvement in these areas as he or she gains confidence, gets coaching, and gets some stylists. If he or she is consistently messing up, then you may have reason for concern.
Don't rule out a contestant based on one performance. If you liked what you heard from a contestant many times before, don't vote them out the first time they mess up. No one sings perfect all the time, and sometimes a contestant will make a poor song choice that is not good for his or her vocal style.
A winner doesn't need to play instruments. I have seen some people win or come really close, who won people over because they were multi-talented and could play an instrument or two. There are tons of people that can play instruments, and many cannot sing, nor can they perform very well. They may seem to have the whole package, but really listen to their voices. That's all you will really hear on the radio! There are tons of musicians that would be willing to play for a great singer, so that singer does not need to be able to play, although the skill can come in handy.
Look for a singer to be original, current, and relevant. If an artist does not stand out in the sea of famous singers, relate to America's younger generations (the ones spending heavily on music and iTunes), and have number one hit potential, he or she will probably not do well in the music business.
Do not fail to vote for someone you think is safe. A lot of times, America votes for someone they think the judges were really hard on, and they believe that the contestant that received the most praise from the judges is safe. This is not true and every vote counts. Imagine if we used this logic when voting for people in politics!
Listen to every contestant in the show. It is not fair to the contestants if you vote but did not hear every performer. You can usually tell if you are impressed by someone in the first 10 to 20 seconds of his or her performance. At least listen to that much!
Vote a couple minutes before the show ends or well after the show ends. A lot of times, you can get your vote through before the show ends, which can be much easier than trying to vote right after the show ends. You will normally have two hours after the show to vote. It doesn't hurt to dial and try. You will know you succeeded when you hear the automated response thanking you for your vote.