Well, Now We Know Who's Voting for Caleb

Oh, Caleb Johnson. American Idol's one-half-Jack Black, one-half-Meatloaf he-beast, the bringer of entertainment during this somewhat tepid Season 13. This cast of characters wouldn't be the same without him, and, yet, with his repetitive throwback rock (only Wednesday night's "Maybe I'm Amazed" departed from his style) and distasteful word choice in interviews, it's become easy to wonder: Who exactly is voting for Caleb Johnson?

Every other contestants' demographic is obvious: Jessica Meuse is appealing to the country-rock fan base; Jena Irene has a lock on the EDM crowd; and Alex Preston is hoping that every single fan of Jason Mraz's is looking for someone to listen to between the "I'm Yours" singer's albums. But Caleb? What audience is yearning for '80s rock to have a comeback in modern music?

It should have been clear all along: The audience who listened to '80s rock when it was first on the radio. And we know this thanks to an astute Idol fan and Twitter user @nikkndhaley558, who noticed a trend amongst those who opted to share their #IdolSelfie photos taken alongside Johnson during Wednesday night's show. (And let's not even get started about how embarrassing and desperate that ploy for youth attention was. What's next? An Instagram filter over the entire airing of Season 14?)

So, yes, this proves it: Your mother (and, really, your mother's mother) is voting for Caleb. But, hey, that's a-okay for Caleb. After all, the mom vote has ushered at least two American Idol contestants to a confetti shower. David Cook inspired an entire "Cougars 4 Cook" campaign during Season 7, and let's not forget women of a certain age also helped Taylor Hicks snag the win back in Season 5.

But what does that mean for Caleb's post-Idol future? Even if his off-color interview comments don't get the best of him and he becomes the last Idol standing, will an unforgiving industry and difficult demographic bring him down? Just look at the three contestants mentioned above — though Cook was a highlight of Season 13, acting as a guest mentor, he has shuffled between labels and failed to garner a big hit since his win; Hicks, meanwhile, won a show in Vegas, but lost the respect of most of the industry after his poorly received first post- Idol album.

So enjoy the mom vote while it lasts, Caleb. They might win you the American Idol crown, but will they truly make you the next Meatloaf? They will do anything for your love now... but here's guessing they won't do that.

Image: Michael Becker/FOX