'Idol' voting number provides phone sex

American Idol producers have been forced to choose a new voting phone number for one contestant after discovering that their first choice linked to an adult chat line.

This year marks the first time that 13 finalists have been selected, but fans have been warned that calling the expected 866-IDOLS-13 number will connect them to a sex line.

Speaking on Idol presenter Ryan Seacrest's KIIS-FM radio show, producer Megan Michaels said: "We have a special number tonight that we will be revealing on the show. It will not be that one.

"We have to be sure that people dial carefully tonight...We will not allude to the fact of [IDOLS-13] because we don't even want to endorse that."

Dialing the number live on air, Seacrest joked that it was as if the show had "tried to script some kind of joke", as he was connected to a female voice offering "nasty talk" for $3.99 a minute.

Addressing Seacrest, Michaels said: "You're going to have to explain it very carefully. We're just going to talk about how it's a special, new Idol number."

> 'American Idol' finalists revealed