Behold the Power of Marie Osmond

As we were sitting in the Keith Albee waiting for “High School Musical” to begin last weekend, my friend John turned to me and asked me a very important question…

“Is Marie Osmond going to win ‘Dancing With the Stars’?”

It’s a question a lot more people are asking this week as “DWTS” gets set for its finale. So what’s the answer? I think it’s a strong possibility.

And that could be a big problem for the show…

It’s standard reality TV protocol for a contestant whose talent doesn’t measure up to stick around longer than they should based solely on popularity. I could fill this entire post with those kind of contestants from “American Idol” alone. But none of those contestants have ever won.

However, I’m not sure that any of those others were as popular as Marie appears to be. She has been in the judges’ bottom two several times, but has never been in the bottom two when the viewer votes are figured in.

Which begs the question: If Marie wins, will there be fans who turn on the show because the best dancer didn’t win?

And while I’m asking questions, is Marie really that popular, or is it just her family voting?

What do you think?

The two-part finale of “Dancing With the Stars” airs Monday, November 25th at 8 p.m. and November 26th at 9 p.m. on ABC…