'Voice' Contestant Gets an Unfair Advantage

Amanda Palmer (a.k.a. "Amanda Fucking Palmer") has been accused of being a shameless self-promoter and a fan-exploiter, but there's one thing about the steampunk icon that cannot be denied: she knows how to mobilize fans. The lady funded all of her Theater Is Evil record in almost no time and successfully recruited a whole gaggle of musicians to play with her on her 2012 tour for no compensation (though she did eventually pay them) just because of how deeply intense her fan following is. The question is, can she transfer her amazing crowdsourcing superpowers to Kat Robichaud, a contestant on The Voice and self-proclaimed AFP fan?

On Nov. 5, Amanda Palmer posted about Kat on her über popular blog, adding a short preface about the nature of their relationship.

i wrote to her on twitter, told her that i thought her performance was stellar, and wishing her luck in the world of evil media, and we starting chatting.she seems genuinely awesome. she’s a dolls fan, and a doctor who fan.and she maintains that she’s actually having a great time on the show. she asked if i would plug her appearance tonight – i told her that i’d plug the show if she would let me interview her.

Despite the fact that Amanda Palmer hates television and reality competitions, she publicly endorsed Kat to all of her fans, and then conducted the fluffiest, most flattering interview possible. To briefly summarize the interview: "Guys, guys, guys! Kat likes all the things you do: me, my husband Neil Gaiman, Dr. Who, and gay male dancers." Immediately afterwards, AFP wrote:

people…..HERE’S THE TV/VOTING info if you want to see how her shit plays out.mind you, i endorse none of this fundamentally (some of these rules, etc make my anti-mass-media bones twinge, but i’m sharing it for kat. who cares.)

Talk about persuasive rhetoric. It's no wonder AFP gets what she wants from her fans. First, she employs a direct address that commands the attention of her audience, and then she explains that even though she is morally against The Voice, Kat is so awesome that she will eschew her fundamental beliefs to help her advance.

Yeah, she's good. To be fair, Kat Robichaud's rendition of "She Keeps Me Warm" elicited praise from just about everyone, including the original artist, Mary Lambert. But that's beside the point. Will Amanda's bold entreaty to her fans work?

Well, it worked on me, AFP sheep that I am. And if I know her fans, it probably worked on them too, if they managed to overcome their anti-singing competition beliefs. The Voice eliminations are Thursday night, and if Kat makes it through, you better believe Queen Palmer had something to do with it.

And if not? Well... AFP will go back to doing what she does best: profiting creatively and financially from self-promotion and fan support.

Image: NBC