WES CARR FAVOURITE FOR AUSTRALIAN IDOL

WES Carr is set to become the shortest-priced favourite in the history of Australian Idol.
Bondi Musician Carr, however, goes into Sunday's final amid controversy over the show's voting procedures.Carr, listed by Sports bet at less than generous price of $1.40, is widely considered a shoe-in to win the competition ahead of New South Wales shearer Luke Dickens, who is listed at $6.75.The pair got through to the final after Melbourne labourer Mark Spano was eliminated tonight.
Channel 10, however, has been forced to assure viewers and contestants that results have not been affected by a 25-minute Idol website error that directed votes to the wrong contestants on Sunday night.
"A page including incorrect Australian Idol voting details was posted to the Idol website”, a Ten spokesperson said.
"At all times, the correct information was displayed on-air. SMS voting represents the majority of voting. Viewers can be assured that the outcome of tonight's verdict is unaffected by this incident.
"The number of users who viewed the web pages in question was relatively small, and significantly smaller than the gap in voting."
Carr, 26, who has dreamt of a career in the music industry since childhood, is taking his "hot favourite" status in his stride.
"Look, I'm not a gambling man, but I suppose it's good to be favourite in such a monster show," Carr said.
"I'm feeling pretty good and am really happy with what I've achieved. When I've been pulling beers, as recently as March this year, I've thought I had a lot to complain about. I'm just so unbelievably grateful because this (Idol) is some of the best fun I've ever had."
Spano, who many thought would get through to the final, believes the Idol 2008 result is a foregone conclusion.
"I felt from the start that Wes would win and that the show would be a race for second place," Spano said.
Dickens, 26, has been the contestant who has confounded viewers and critics with his progress through the series.
"I am a bit of a long shot here, aren't I," Dickens said.
Judge Ian Dickson is full of praise for the talent discovered on this year's Idol.
He believes a structural re-vamp (changing the format of the Idol Monday show and losing Mark Holden from the judging panel) has worked for the show.
"What we proved this year is we're passionate enough about the show to make tough decisions for the sake of the show," Dickson said.
Dickson says the show is much slicker with three judges instead of four, but remains regretful about criticisms he made of axed colleague Holden.
Asked if they've spoken recently, Dickson says, "No. It's been a year now. We've not spoken since I made those comments about him. I've tried reaching out but I don't think there's much hope for that relationship, unfortunately."