JBug and her spouse are part of the target market for this finale. They like country music and feel this F2 reflects well on America. Therefore, they are exactly what the show wants right now. But what the show really wants is their after-season dollars. As that designated market, they are the ones who ultimately have the power to determine if it all worked out, because it's their cash that gets channeled into purchasing whatever the winner puts out.

And JBug just said she's not going to buy any releases.

So she can say she and her spouse like this result. She can say it's great for America. But the spending won't reflect that. All she's doing is voting a negative: I approve of your policies, but you'll never see my ballot. The only way that shows up on the bottom line is as Album Not Sold. Claim it's a success -- but not help to make it one. And in that sense, her opinion very literally will not count.

Now let's be fair here: neither does mine.. While I have voted this season just to watch my numbers not matter, I'm very much not the target market for this F2. I could not be less of the target market without departing the nation (and insert your own fervent wishes here). The show does not care what I think of Scotty or Lauren. There are enough people in JBug's segment that it doesn't have to.

But one (or possibly two) in that segment has just said there won't be any money coming. And in the end, the only thing that registers as a Mission Accomplished with a label is dollars. If you truly like a singer, you vote with your purse.

So how many people are in the group which says: 'This is a great thing, but I'm never going to pay for it?' Free broadcast entertainment as long as the network keeps it coming, but not a download or CD to be bothered with?

Isn't that a fun question.