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A report in the New York Times says Kris Allen received extra votes through sponsor AT&T.

The telecoms company handed out phones for free text messaging at events organised by fans of Allen but not at parties in honour of his rival Adam Lambert.

A statement from the company said: “In Arkansas, we were invited to attend the local watch parties organized by the community. A few local employees brought a small number of demo phones with them and provided texting tutorials to those who were interested.”

One report claimed that AT&T even taught fans how to send 10 texts by pressing a single button.

Adam Lambert was the favourite through much of the competition but Kris Allen won on the final night last week.