It has been done before. But since the last 5 winners are WGWG’s, if Idol decides to prohibit them I think the media will have a field day with this story. 

Even though it’s been done by Idol, it’s been at a smaller degree. It’s not like it’s noticeable to much of the general public or media. I’m not even sure over the years if you can say that the majority of 15-25 million Idol viewers noticed this. 

I think we all know if this happens that media will make it a big story about Idol since the last winners were all these types of singers.

Don’t get me wrong. I do want some limit to WGWG’s. I just don’t know if this would be the way to go about it.

OffLeash: I’m also surprised we haven’t heard anything from Alanis, Pharrell or any of the country judges in a while. I’m not sure what to make of it. They were all supposed to be in contention and in serious talks. Is the silence proof some of them are in the final stages or just means they’re out?

IMO I think one of the country stars have already signed. I think the silence is because they’re waiting to announce another judge (Ex. Nicki) first. I think whomever they’re waiting for would be considered more higher profile & have more buzz than the country judge which is why they’re waiting. 

If Nicki signs, I’m expecting her as the next name announced. Then the country judge since I’m expecting Brad or Keith since that’s the next high-profile judge. Last, will be Nick Jonas, Pharrell, Alanis, Adam, or the other rumored judges since they are the least high-profile names out of the ones on the panel.

Personalities matter, but I think expertise in different genres matters a lot too.  I feel like country contestants have gotten absolutely boring, useless feedback the last couple of years.  The judges obviously didn’t “get” Skylar, and to a considerable extent, the same was true with Lauren — they spent too much time just trying to squeeze them into “big-voiced diva” molds and not really addressing other dimensions of a performance that are at least as important in country, like storytelling.  And they way overpraised some of Scotty’s performances, where a lot of hard-core country fans were actually more critical, because as long as the judges heard the deep voice and the twang, they couldn’t tell any difference between his great performances and his weaker ones.

So I think that if the panel is going to give interesting feedback to all its contestants, it needs judges who understand what all of them are doing — which doesn’t mean they need a country artist, but they do need at least one person who genuinely understands and appreciates country music.  Kelly Clarkson, for example, comes to mind as being such a person.  For all I know, Mariah or Nicki or Kanye might be, too; it’s just not something that I’ve heard about them before.

I honestly think the race issue is a real concern. As usual I’m opposite of most on here. I honestly believe a panel of Mariah, Kayne and Nicki is going to turn people off. Way too urban. That creates a whole different show

I’m really hoping that the issue is more about musical style and less about race.  For example, if Kanye and Mariah were replaced by Lenny Kravitz, Darius Rucker or the lead singer of Sevendust (all rockers), or perhaps some singer-songwriter types like Corinne Bailey Rae, Tracy Chapman or Macy Gray, would viewers still be upset about not having any white judges on the panel? On the other hand, if the judging panel was made up entirely of white urban/r&b artists like Joss Stone, Robin Thicke, Justin Timberlake and Eminem. Would that be an issue?

I think the argument for wanting musical diversity among the judges is very reasonable, but I’d be really disappointed if people refused to watch a show just because it featured too many ethnic judges. Aside from that, there’s no evidence to suggest that black judges are particularly biased against white or “non-urban” artists. Randy and Cee-Lo have both demonstrated pretty diverse musical tastes and have generally been supportive of a variety of artists. so unless the voting public changes, I don’t see the contestant pool changing that much.

Anyway, I doubt TMZ really believes that Nicki Minaj, Randy, Mariah and Kanye will be on the same panel. I suspect they’re fabricating this race scenario to get people all riled up. And it’s clearly working. Last I heard, Joe Jonas, Brad Paisley, Adam Lambert and Alannis Morrisette were still being considered.

 I agree, Jessica was the only non-caucasian on the top 24 girls

Think they’d better get a white, freckly, pale guy of Norwegian descent in there pretty fast.

Also, TPTB can’t afford those three.

Yes they can.  It’s been said before, but this show charges more than $500,000 for one thirty second spot.  And the in show commercials are also paid for.  Who knows how much Ford, AT&T, Microsoft and others pay AI, but just to show the Coca-Cola pays $24 million dollars a season, and usually all we see is the logo, so I’m sure those other three pay more, especially Ford.

Even the President of NBC’s reality division said don’t believe the talk of AI cutting back.  He said that even if they don’t pay these judges $18 million up front, they will pay them in other ways, like casting them in a show on Fox.

I hate TMZ. I also think it would be a mistake to have an all black panel – no diversity.

AI jumped the shark for me with the potential addition of Nicki Minaj. What? Sophia Grace and Rosie or Little Baby BooBoo (or whatever that freak kid’s name is) weren’t available?

I don’t want to watch a show that is all about the judges and that is exactly what this has become.