Here’s an idea! How about 3 radio PD’s! Maybe some of the idols would get some radio play after the show was over! *sarcasm*

It’s got to be 2 male and 1 female judges.. so.. Hicks and Adam plus one female judges.. carrie or kelly.. or melinda.. LOL

“He recently went on Sirius radio and completely trashed current pop music. There’s good and bad in every genre, but to be that closed minded about any genre in music, that does not make a good judge.”

This referred to C. Aiken (know little about him myself) but it could have come from anyone…. & as general a statement as it is, there are people who agree w/that.  It wouldn’t be a popular “judge” statement but I sure could see Simon getting away with it.  He trashes anything he feels like.  There have been many on here who have made similar comments about what Hits? are coming out.

Simon Cowell didn’t understand any musical style that happened after the 1970′s, but at the beginning he was still an entertaining judge.  His disdain for country music is well known, but people didn’t say that it meant that he shouldn’t be a judge.

Please, no. I’m so sick of most of them. I feel like this is something else that will draw attention away from the competing contestants, which is the last thing the show needs. 

” Nobody understands the unique challenges faced by the competitors better than a former competitor – choosing a song and working out an arrangement, wardrobe, and staging to make the most effective use of 90 seconds of airtime. Not to mention dealing with getting critiqued in front of millions of people!”

It’s a sure bet none of the “mentors’ for the past two years, two seasons worth of new judges, or the new judges yet to come had/have that understanding either.

I do believe that’s where the show needs the most help, Sharon S, and has for a couple of years now. They had some good voices this year, but it didn’t translate into interesting weekly shows. Not for me, anyway.

I think some of it is the backstage shake-up of the support staff, but mostly, it’s because of a misperception of what the judges had actually been doing, for at least seven seasons.  IMO, they aren’t there to do anything but nudge the contestants into position to Win, Place, or Show – give them critiques aimed at how to succeed On.The.Show. – not in the music market. (two different things.)

The original judges were too far removed in time from that market to give up-to-the-minute advice, even if they wanted to – but it wasn’t their function anyway – they focused on how the performers were being perceived by the audiences – from clothes to song choice to attitude, to accompaniment, and every so often, even to vocal quality.  The newer judges since Season 8, can’t advise the contestants on what it takes to win, because They. Don’t. Actually. Know. The History of the show, the experience of what the voters like, none of it is in their skill sets.

Jimmy and his Producer’s Posse didn’t know – they knew their own markets – but the contestant has to win over the audience first, before that intel is relevant – and none of those people knew what it took to build an Idol fanbase, the first step. They couldn’t even put together good iTunes tracks – even when that was their main focus, in Season 10.

If TPTB is going to bring in Big Name Judges purely for their entertainment value, then absolutely yes, recruit former successful contestants to mentor, because some one has to tell the new crop what they need to know, all the things you listed, and the things to look out for, (Like when to say “No” to some of Jimmy’s bright ideas). Instead of, say Will.I.Am. pretending to mentor a rock singer on how to win the audience, for instance…someone who has the experience to advise on “Preparation and Presentation”, regardless of genre, would make a difference.

Also. If someone could advise the Very Young People Nigel insists on casting regarding Interpretation, that would be invaluable. Or bring Byrd back. That too.

The cast needs guidance from somewhere useful, or Season 12 could crash and burn with a bunch of Very Young People, and a panel of inexperienced figurehead judges.

JMO. Of Course.

” Phil thought the suggestion was silly, continued to wear gray and won the competition.  His ignoring the silly stylist showed the audience that he does have a mind of his own and that had to count for something.”

Couple of things with that, stargazed. IMO. The stylist, designer Tommy Hilfiger,  was not there to help Phillip, or any of the contestants. Not like Miles Siggins used to be for the guys. Hilfiger was Product Placement, pure and simple. He had an assistant do the ‘advising’ after his Photo Ops were done. His brother was about to launch a line of clothing at Kohl’s  Department stores with an Idol theme – they even wound up using a contestant or two as models, IIRC. That’s all that was about. Cross promotion and comps, disguised as a wardrobe advisory.

Phillip wearing, or not wearing grey was the silly part, but all of that was silly. What color shirt he wore wasn’t gonna be a factor in winning or losing. It was about the image he presented, as you say. Some people liked it, some people really didn’t. It’s probably not the wisest thing for one’s future success to alienate any part of the prospective paying public deliberately, when not directly related to one’s art -  and the color of a tee shirt is not a hill to die on. If Miles had been there, I doubt it would have even been a factor, the man is not a clothing designer, he’s a stylist, and actually knows his business.

More to the point, Phillip ignoring Hilfiger was indicative to me that he was very very young, and had not yet learned to ‘pick his battles’…or acquired any public relations skills. Natural charm and a good upbringing are very nice things to have, but there is much to be said for self-awareness too.

The ‘mind of his own’ is going to have to wrap itself around the Art of Compromise with his album, just as it did with his first single that wasn’t, except, it was.

But that’s part of the shake-ups behind the scenes, although, to be fair, I believe Miles is dealing with a medical problem right now – but he wasn’t the only stylist that Idol employed to help the contestants. IDK what’s going on with that ‘feature’…that this ‘product placement’ was necessary. Many of the clothing choices last season reflected a lack. I felt like saying ‘Get Syesha in there – that girl would tell Skylar to lose the a$$ curtains, and everyone else to ditch the MOB outfits, and the Prom dresses. She has ‘performance style’ that is age-appropriate.

Which circles back to the point. People who have ‘been there, done that” could make good mentors. The only caveat is, just because one has knowledge doesn’t mean they will be any good at teaching it. But if Idol hasn’t got the proper staff behind the scenes anymore, they’re apt to be a Big Improvement.

IMO.

I also agree that Clay’s musical tastes/opinions about music and his irrelevancy in the industry would be big negatives to him mentoring or being considered seriously as a judge. Clay has shown that he’s smart and funny, with a biting, sarcastic sense of humor, but “warm” is an adjective that I would never use to describe him. lol