Nigel Lythgoe on American Idol: “I Don’t Like Fourth Judges”

By On 11/13/2008 · 28 Comments · In Uncategorized

Nigel Lythgoe, overseeing auditions for So You Think You Can Dance in New York City this week, tells the NY Post he would not have added a 4th judge to American Idol if he were still in charge.

“I don’t like fourth judges,” Lythgoe told The Post yesterday. “I think once you’ve been told ‘You suck,’ you don’t need to be told another three times.”

The decision was made after Lythgoe stepped down as the show’s executive producer late last spring.

Lythgoe says he has met DioGuardi only once. “I think she’s a lovely lady, and I think she’s relevant and up to date, but, personally, I would never have done it.

“We’ve had lots of fourth judges, as guests, which was OK for me because they would be in one show and then you get rid of them the next…”

It’s been reported that Simon Cowell has taken on a larger role behind the scenes at Idol.   Nigel wonders if Simon has bitten off more than he can chew:

“Simon has got a very good sense and awareness about him,” Lythgoe says, noting that Cowell has made huge successes of “America’s Got Talent,” and the British “Idol” knock-off “X-Factor.”

“But he’s never produced anything on television,” says Lythgoe.

“As an executive producer, he can be an adviser and I think that’s fair enough because he knows what he’s doing.

“But at the end of the day, you have to leave it for the producers to produce, because if you’re in it, you’re seeing it from a completely different perspective and he’s going to need to realize that.

“Sometimes you can’t see the woods through the trees and you tend to lose the most important thing, which is so often forgotten: common sense.”

Meow!   Why so bitter Nigel?   Could it be Nigel didn’t walk out, but was pushed out last spring?

Nigel is the creator and executive producer of   So You Think You Think You Can Dance, which also has a panel of   4 judges, but the fourth spot revolves between different guest choreographers.   That’s still 4 people telling a contestant they suck.   So what’s the difference?

Correction:Â   So You Think You Can Dance usually has a 3 judge panel, unless Napolean and Tabitha are sitting on the panel.

 
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  • http://myspace.com/saltwatercures pj

    MJ, I think you may be on to something. Doesn’t Nigel star and produce “So You Think You Can Dance?” Ahem.

  • gingerly

    So Nigel gives it up and then bitches about it? meh, I think he should be quiet.

  • http://www.myspace.com/gwendolyndiane GwendolynD

    That’s nice, Nigel.

  • tinawina

    Oh, Nigel. Such a little drama queen. This is why you are gone.

    Though he may have a point about Simon’s double duty. He’s still a snot though. LOL.

  • elisad

    Oh, please, Nigel. How many judges does Dance have?

    à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I think once youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been told à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹You suck,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ you donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need to be told another three times.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Well, so, one judge? How about America can judge for themselves? “OK for me because they would be in one show and then you get rid of them the next week”? So it’s okey to be told “suck” four times if they go away the next week?

  • http://myspace.com/girlgeek mj

    Oh, please, Nigel. How many judges does Dance have?

    He considers that 4th judge a guest judge, I suppose, but really they are permanent revolving judges. Or whatever. LOL

  • http://www.myspace.com/gwendolyndiane GwendolynD

    It’s nice for someone to ask him what he thinks. Keeps the juices flowing…. :laugh_tb:

  • abbysee

    Bitchy, bitchy, bitchy, Nigel. Someone peed in his corn flakes, huh?

  • mac

    I can’t even remotely stand Nigel, but I think he does have a point about having 4 judges. I am already irritated at how much time is spent with the judges rather than the contestants. The show seems to be more about them. I am also tired of hearing the same useless comments over and over from the judges. At least on SYTYCD, they are good productive commments. Now to have just another judge, seems awful to me. I would rather have more time spent on the contestants with interviews or longer songs. I really think having 4 judges is going to make the show worse. I think they should have gotten rid of Randy personally. Dawg.

  • CRB

    Poor, poor Nigel. No seat for him at the table but still with his little wet nose pushed to the crack beneath the door. Clearly, whatever severance package Freemantle cut with this guy should have had a gag provision.

  • elisad

    Oh I thought he was talking about Idol season 2 when they had guest judges(which was not a good idea because they were all just being nice.) Blah blah blah, too bad I really like Dance… but usually I just skip their comments all together, save a lot of time.

  • Skylark

    MJ, something tells me you’re gonna have your hands full reporting on all the Season 8 drama …

  • cheese

    Weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve had lots of fourth judges, as guests, which was OK for me because they would be in one show and then you get rid of them the nextà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    Oh please, Nigel. I think Kara will be slightly more useful than Quentin Tarantino and the reanimated corpses of old Motown singers.

    I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what the show is like without Nigel’s special touch, even if Simon does ruin it, at least it will shake things up a bit.

  • outofsorts

    Maybe Nigel is just helping to set the stage for Paula’s ousting … my conspiracy theory for the day. ;)

  • Kirsten

    Could it be Nigel didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t walk out, but was pushed out last spring?

    Ha! That’s what I thought last spring (did he jump or was he pushed?)

    I think he should be quiet.

    Oh, I could not disagree with you more. Let the floppy-haired dude spill EVERYTHING. Juicy, juicy behind the scenes details. Manipulation strategies. What really happened to those songs that couldn’t get approved one year but were approved the years before and after? Do the fashion advisors purposely trick people into wearing some of those outfits? What really is the deal with bandzilla? Does Simon own just that one t-shirt? Does he cut his own hair with a flo-bee? Does Randy know more than four words? What really is in Paula’s Coke cup? And finally, does the room suddenly get cold when Clive walks in it?

    Oooo! Keep talking my bitter little friend. Keep talking! Let the dam of silence BURST!

    LOL

    (I may enjoy the singing part, but the producers suck)

  • gingerly

    I wouldn’t mind 10 judges if they actually said something worthwhile….

    Oh, I could not disagree with you more.

    My problem with Nigel is I find him icky and creepy in a child molester sort of way. I’d rather never hear him again. YMMV and obviously does.

  • Duke

    hey Nigel,

    STFU.

    you got bored with the show, so stay bored. bye. creeper.

  • KrazeeK120

    à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like fourth judges,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Lythgoe told The Post yesterday. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I think once youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been told à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹You suck,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ you donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t need to be told another three times.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

    Well, apparently that’s not true, Nigel. It took YOU seven years to leave!!!!

  • Kirsten

    My problem with Nigel is I find him icky and creepy in a child molester sort of way. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d rather never hear him again. YMMV and obviously does.

    I find him kind of icky and creepy too. Maybe not all the way to child molester (that’s pretty serious). The problem is I think Fuller and Cowell are just as creepy if not more. They just have to seem to have this cold ruthlessness about them. Anyway, if Nigel is dishing dirt, I want to hear it. It’s like how the police have to get mobsters to rat on the other mobsters. There are no saints in the mob business. So, if we want to find out what goes on behind closed doors at 19Alphabet, I think we have to listen to some creepy, icky people.

    Maybe Nigel will be able to reveal the secret behind why every producer on AI has haircuts from bygone eras.

  • gingerly

    That’s why I said sort of way… just what I’d imagine one to be. I haven’t seen him dishing…just whining, although that’s only here. I seriously don’t go looking for anything Nigel has said. It has to slap me in the face to notice it.

  • LK08

    mac- I agree that SYTYCD does have more useful judges comments. I am excited about Kara as a new judge though. DA speaks extremely highly of her as a musician and as a person. It sounds like she will add something new and refreshing to the mix.

  • lilbrusc102

    Doesn’t SYTYCD only have 3 judges? Nigel, Mary, and the third judge rotates…well, i guess there is four when it is NapTab

  • http://www.myspace.com/gwendolyndiane GwendolynD

    The funniest thing about Nigel’s little platform here is that he was the fourth judge on Idol, only he said his piece in cryptic little messages on the radio the next day. Just because he wasn’t sitting at the table with the big 3 didn’t make it any different.

    He’s also the last person I’d want to spill Idol secrets. Actually, I wouldn’t trust details from anyone who was directly involved with the show in anyway. Too much opportunity for twisting the situation. Maybe if it was a deathbed confession. Actually, nope not even then. I’d love a tell-all from an ex-contestant more.

    Truth of the matter is, he’s bitter. And, bitter opinions from an old man who has another successful television show just ain’t pretty, no matter how you look at it. At least let America decide about the fourth judge when she makes her first critique. Then, we can go from there.

    All he’s done is give the show a little more publicity and cause people to wonder about what is really going on.

  • CRB

    Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d love a tell-all from an ex-contestant more.

    I suspect the contestants are privy to only a small slice of the shows manipulations, in fact, I think the reactions of the contestants to insults, quite often unwarranted and downright weird, in real time is one of the appeals of the show.

  • mac

    I am excited about Kara as a new judge though. DA speaks extremely highly of her as a musician and as a person. It sounds like she will add something new and refreshing to the mix.

    I hope so LK08. Your statement gives me some hope. They really need better judges. Maybe they are trying her out and if she is better than Randy or Paula, they will diss one of them. I also agree with the comment above that I would rather have 10 judges if they gave good/worthwhile critiques. IMO, they have their own agendas and just repeat the same thing every week (except maybe for Simon…he may have his own agenda….but he is entertaining!).

  • gabam

    I don’t really care for Nigel so I’m glad that he’s gone. I don’t care what he likes or dislikes. Maybe the 4th judge will help to make the show more interesting. She will probably be coherent and will probably speak in complete sentences.

    I’m pretty happy that Nigel is gone. I hope that the new producer will be more fair with the editing and with the set up of the show. Some people constantly were scheduled to sing within the first 4 and some were almost always near the end of the show. Not fair. Some were edited to make them look differently than who they actually were as people. Some people were rarely called out early to be told that they were safe even if they were not anywhere near the bottom three. It was just to give the perception that they were close when it was not a fact. I think he was trying to plant subliminal messages.

    What I disliked most about Nigel was that he was obvious in his pick of the chosen one(s). It is just not cool for the producer to say who he is voting for while the show is still going on. Not cool at all. It’s bad enough that the judges announced during Top 9 week who they wanted to win but the producer should be more objective or at least pretend to be objective.

  • john_socal

    My problem with Nigel is I find him icky and creepy in a child molester sort of way.

    True, so true. ROFL!

  • qbaloo

    Kirsten makes me laugh! I’m happy to see Nigel go too, but if he wants to spill it on some of the behind the scenes machinations, I’m also up for learning just how evil the empire is. I’m pretty sure Simon is going to ruin AI from here on out…didn’t he say in an interview earlier this year that he wants the show to be more controversial? I just know that he’s going to turn AI into a huge drama-fest, pitting contestants with big ‘personalities’ against each other in bizarre off-stage and performance night scenarios…like Survivor meets America’s Top Model the Musical…