Does Social Media Tell Us Who Will Win ‘American Idol?’

The votes are in and tonight's the night we find out if Clarksville, Iowa's Maddie Poppe is the winner of 'American Idol.' However, I don't tend to be a patient person so I've been trying to find hints as to who might be tonight's winner.

First, the remaining contestant that I believe isn't ready to take the next step in his career yet. Caleb Lee Hutchinson needs more time to grow... again, in my opinion.

Caleb's Facebook page has 54,198 likes. He has 33,600+ Twitter followers and over 173,000 followers on Instagram. On the American Idol Facebook page, his three performances from last night have garnered nearly 27-thousand likes and over eight thousand shares.

My wife has said many times during this season's 'American Idol' that Gabby Barrett looks like a star. As the show has progressed, she has sounded more and more like one.

Gabby's social media numbers are impressive. Her Facebook page has 191,506 likes. She has 62,800+ Twitter followers and over 285,000 followers on Instagram. Gabby's three performances last night on the American Idol Facebook page have combined for 17,500 likes and just a little over 4,000 shares.

I thought her decision to perform "Little Red Wagon" by Miranda Lambert again last night wasn't a wise one.

Now, for Iowa's own Maddie Poppe. It occurred to me last night that I don't recall 'American Idol' judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan ever really saying anything negative about ANY of Maddie's performances. Heck, Katy Perry announced to the viewing audience last night that she was voting for Maddie. Honestly, that didn't come as even the smallest surprise. On to the numbers...

Maddie's Facebook page has 50,646 likes. She has 37,900+ Twitter followers and over 163,000 followers on Instagram. On the American Idol Facebook page, her three performances from last night have over 16-thousand likes and nearly 2500 shares.

There's one other site I haven't mentioned yet. YouTube. Maddie's three performance videos last night on the American Idol YouTube channel have been viewed almost a half-million times. Gabby's? 406,000. Caleb's? 284,000.

One last set of numbers. Maddie's three performance videos have a combined 13,300+ thumbs-up and 430 thumbs-down. Gabby's have 6,100+ thumbs-up and nearly 3,600 thumbs-down. Caleb? 5,300 thumbs-up and 468 thumbs-down.

So there you have it. A whole bunch of numbers that may not tell us a thing. 'American Idol' is a popularity contest. Yes, the three remaining contestants Maddie, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, and Gabby Barrett are very talented. However, only one can win... the most popular one.

For me, it's between Gabby and Maddie tonight. I really hope Maddie wins but, if she doesn't, don't get mad. Win or lose, I know Maddie is going to be gracious. That's one of the big reasons the people of Iowa have been cheering and voting for her every week. She's been an incredible representative for our state.