Brought this over from mj's. She has lots of links to different articles, but this one sort of summarizes it all. Sure hope Nigel can shift the focus from the judges back to the contestants again. Also hope the show goes back to valuing stellar vocals rather than "package artists".
http://mjsbigblog.com/nigel-lythgoe-speaks...urn-to-idol.htm Thanks Midge,
I honestly don't know what to make of the coming season.
The encouraging note for me is seeing how SYTYCD brings back past contestants to participate in the show. It's a successful formula imo, and one I hope Nigel will figure out how to apply to AI.
Too much good talent out there from past AI's not to have a "duet show" where Idols from past years are paired up with a contestant from the current year.
Having past contestants mentor is also something they should do more of.
I really don't think anyone can save this show at this point..
From the reports coming out of season 10's auditions there still seems to be huge numbers of people auditioning. Hopefully that means that there will still be a lot of interest in the show. As far as viewership goes this year, I'm sure the initial shows where we get to see the new judging panel will probably draw big numbers, but if the talent chosen doesn't measure up then the numbers will drop.
There 's another blurb at mj's where Nigel says he wants the focus off the judges (which will be hard to do for the first few weeks of the new season), wants to add a week between Hollywood Week and when the public votes so that the top 50 can get additional mentoring and we get the chance to know them a bit better, and, wants to bring in some mentors from Universal Music Group since Idol is affiliated with them now. He also says that he wants the contestants to have dancing lessons!!! (:headsmack: Nigel, Nigel, Nigel - it should be all about the voice, not the ability to dance.)
Like you Sk8888, I'm hoping that the show has more of previous years' contestants. If I'm not mistaken, I think the huge survey that Idol put out during Season 9's competition included a question about if viewers wanted to see more previous Idol's. In any discussions about the survey, everyone was very enthusiastic about that option. SYTYCD brings back previous years' dancers quite a lot I believe. Maybe Nigel has seen how successfully this has worked for that show and will try it for Idol. Sure hope so and sure hope a certain "funky white boy" gets the opportunity to appear.
^Nigel's comment about teaching them to dance just proves that they're looking for someone who will perform in arenas, not intimate venues.
Maybe he should add, how to read a contract, hiring the right management team, and song writing 101. j/k....but I don't know if this experience should be boot camp for the contestants or just pure entertainment for the viewer.
Honestly, I think that there could always be an American Idol show for years to come. But the expectation is that it be #1 in ratings, which I don't think it can sustain.
I bet if they really analyzed when the ratings went in decline they would see that it started when they started "booking" appearances for other singers about to release CD's, combined with more emphasis on the drama surrounding the judges. In both cases, there's something missing....the contestants, and their journey.
