One simple mistake has been an Australian bombarded with thousands of text messages and voice messages from people voting at the end of The Voice.
A simple mistake made by thousands of Aussies when they voted for the final of The Voice has meant that a number of votes are not counted.
Controversy erupted on social media on Sunday night, when the winner of the singing contest was announced as Lachie Gill, 24, of Rita Ora’s team.
Channel 7 fans The voice he expressed disappointment at the result, which saw “three people of color” lose the $ 100,000 prize and a Universal Music Australia recording contract.
Now, it can be revealed that thousands of votes went unnoticed after fans dialed the wrong phone number when voting by text message.
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Viewers were encouraged to vote by sending a text message with the name of their favorite artist on 0417 779 667, with a maximum of three votes per person.
However, Brisbane man Antoni, whose personal phone number is at the correct line number, told news.com.au that many people had sent him their votes in error.
The 50-year-old said he had received thousands of text messages and hundreds of calls since the final vote began on May 22, and things went up significantly on Sunday night.
“I deleted the first hundreds (messages) because I thought they were sending me spam, without realizing that people were voting. I didn’t see the program and had no idea why people were texting me with the names of the contestants, “he said.
“It wasn’t until I saw an ad with my mobile number posted that I realized how close I was to my number … and the penny fell.
“I probably have a couple of thousands of texts that could be added and a few hundred voice messages where people voted verbally.”
At no time did Channel 7 post the wrong number on its social media, website, or air during the voting period.
Antoni said the situation got even more out of control on Sunday night during the final.
The images provided by Antoni show hundreds of messages and dozens of calls accumulated in a matter of minutes.
Screenshots of a small part of the texts received by Antoni, show that most were in favor of Lachie.
About half of the just under 50 messages included in the screenshots showed votes for Lachie, with the next highest number of votes for Jordan, followed by Faith and then Thando.
However, with thousands of votes counting and hundreds of messages deleted, it is unclear how many more votes in total went to each contestant.
As a computer consultant with a busy schedule, Antoni said the whole situation has been extremely stressful, as receiving hundreds of calls and text messages a day has meant that using your phone normally is almost impossible.
“As you can imagine, my cell phone is a key part of my job, so having it turned off at all times of the day and night, it got to a point where I had to put it into mode. ‘ not to bother ‘, which meant I missed a lot of calls and text messages, as I had to try to decipher between actual peer messages and all random people voting messages, “he said.
Antoni told news.com.au that his wife had tried to raise the issue with The Voice and Channel 7 through various channels, including email, Facebook and Instagram.
In a response his wife received via Instagram, the program said the vote was handled by a subcontractor and “had nothing to do with them,” the Brisbane man said.
“(For) my complaint via email, I got a response, I think on Thursday, saying my complaint was going to the right department to handle it,” he said.
“I haven’t heard anything since.”
Channel 7 responded to a message from Antonio’s wife apologizing for the inconvenience caused by people texting or calling their number incorrectly.
News.com.au understands that the voting of the audience is handled by an outside company and compliance protocols make it impossible for them to accept any vote made using an incorrect phone number.
This follows the online controversy after Lachie beat a diverse trio that includes Thando Sikwila of Keith Urban, Jordan Tavita of Guy Sebastian and Faith Sosene of Jess Mauboy.
Voice runners-up also reacted at the end of the show.
Faith, 25, took to Instagram to say she was “so proud” of Lachie, before apparently suggesting that there was a larger issue at stake.
“We already knew Australia would love you and pick you! You’re just perfect for them.”
Since then, Faith has edited the caption, removing “for them” and replacing it with “You’re Just Perfect.”
She added: “[Thando and Jordan] We need to work harder for our future generations to win. Let’s work. “
Elsewhere, Thando, 29, said Lachie was a “legend” and “absolutely deserved.”
“I can’t wait to see where this victory takes you,” he wrote, alongside a photo of the couple.
Jordan, 23, echoed Thando’s sentiment as he also gave his support to fellow runners-up.
“My sisters WOW! We have a bright future ahead of us,” he wrote. “A door closes and 1000 will open for us !!!”
Lachie also posted a lengthy statement on her Instagram page congratulating the three finalists.
“Jordan Faith and Thando. What more can I say than thank you,” he began.
“Thank you for sharing your gifts with me and Australia. You will continue to inspire me every day going forward and I KNOW and I say it! That you will have amazing careers in this industry and that you have a lot (sic) to offer in Australia and beyond.”
Channel 7 has been contacted for comment.