Nigel Lythgoe Returns to Idol – Confirmed By Idol

Wonder if he’s going to be a judge also.

Wonder if he’s going to be a judge also.

REALLY hope not. he’s knows about dance and not singing. and also, it would be really lame to bring another british to the pannel just because, well, he’s british. and hard to please.

VFTW is gonna freak. :D

REALLY hope not. he’s knows about dance and not singing. and also, it would be really lame to bring another british to the pannel just because, well, he’s british. and hard to please.

ITA! But I sure would take him over druggie Steven Tyler any day.

ITA! But I sure would take him over druggie Steven Tyler any day.

i was actually thinking it would be cool to have steven on the show, but then i heard that interview he gave telling how he would judge people and that was beyond terrible. I’m guessing the only way i could stand him being there would be if we had harry c. jr with him – replacing randy.

I think this is a good thing. Nigel is not afraid to make changes, which he has demonstrated on SYTYCD, and this show is in need of some change.

I don’t mind him as a judge. Yes, he has an agenda but they all do…Nigel just doesn’t hide it. I prefer that actually. I prefer him to Steven Tyler. I still can’t wrap my head around that choice. I’m hoping it’s not true but I have a sick feeling it is. He’s a trainwreck but that’s probably why he’s in the running.

He’s a trainwreck but that’s probably why he’s in the running.

Sure thing. they still want somebody to fill in Paula’s spot on the show.

VFTW is gonna freak.

VFTW is loving this news. They consider Nigel a challenge after they were pretty much handed a VFTW win by Ken Warwick and his decision to make Tim Urban the replacement in the Top 24.

YAY-Welcome back, Nigel!!!!!!!!!!! :)

was Ken Warwick the replacement of Nigel 2 years ago?

was Ken Warwick the replacement of Nigel 2 years ago?

No, Ken Warwick works for Freemantle Media and along with Celia handles the day-to-day running of the TV Show. Nigel and Simon Fuller work for 19 Entertainment and handle the entire Idol franchise. That includes the overall concept of the show, artist management, iTunes recordings, tour, auditions, and all revenue streams.

I’m glad to hear he’s back because frankly, the show hasn’t been good since he left.

Good article & interview with Nigel, via Variety. He does say he will not be a judge, plus other items that leave me encouraged:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118022610.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

He would be a great judge. Better than Kara and Ellen (the worst Idol judge ever!)

Kiss kiss – you summed it up

I’m glad to hear he’s back because frankly, the show hasn’t been good since he left.

just what I was thinking

Best that Nigel not judge. Yes, there are so many changes that need to be made. Hiring Steven Tyler as a permanent judge is not one of them. I just can’t bring myself to accept this is the best Idol can do. I hope Idol makes a “come back” without Simon.

The Variety article is great. I’m very hopeful after reading it. As I suspected, Steven Tyler role is to be unpredictable. I have missed Paula’s unpredictability so maybe this is the right move. Randy, JLo and Steven…I guess I’m warming up to it.

As for Nigel’s role, it sounds like he sincerely wants to take the focus away from the judges and return it to the contestants. I also like the idea that he wants to reduce the backstories. If he can do those two things, it will make a huge difference.

And if they can just fix the sound mix on the show, then I’m all good.

Nigel was a judge on Popstars before Pop Idol came along in the UK

As for Nigel’s role, it sounds like he sincerely wants to take the focus away from the judges and return it to the contestants. I also like the idea that he wants to reduce the backstories. If he can do those two things, it will make a huge difference.

And if they can just fix the sound mix on the show, then I’m all good.

I didn’t read the article, but obviously all along the focus should have been on the contestants and not the judges. “Reducing the backstories” is an interesting concept – that’s been the more subtle way of pimping/depimping as it seems (if you could call the thrice weekly reminders that Lee used to work in a paint store a subtle reference to where he came from). Less emphasis on where people came from though might actually turn some people off – for those who aren’t invested early on, it quite often would be someone’s story that gets them more interested in a favorite, maybe enough to vote. There needs to be a balance with it – which of course is nearly impossible because it’s so easy for bias to work into how someone’s story is edited.

I really just don’t get why so many people always pick on the sound mix of the show either. I don’t find it to be “perfect” but it’s as good or better than the mixes on many other shows I hear honestly. I know that some people don’t want to hear a thing basically but the singers – I do understand with it being a singing competition and all but I actually like hearing the interplay between the singers and the instrumentals, when the people are good enough to be to that point. (They definitely aren’t always to that point…in fact more often than not the contestants aren’t used to working with a band and it hurts them rather than helps them. Many big time performers though, in all kinds of music, find it much easier to perform at their peak when they’re working with a group. Some of it actually has to do with acoustics and such…but that’s another story.) I can’t hardly think of a time this past year where someone was actually “overpowered” by the band that it seemed to be the band’s fault. It seemed to me that it was usually the result of the performer not sustaining through phrases and getting swallowed up by the band when they’d trail off at the ends of them, or when the arrangements themselves were just too heavy for the person’s particular style. Neither of which really is the fault of the mix though – it’s nearly impossible to correct for either on the fly at a mixing board. Most professional audio engineers do not like to touch the mixing board much at all during a performance because they have their levels pre-set based on rehearsals and that’s when the mix CAN go bad. But…anyways. I’m actually interested to see how the mix is on the tour as well. This sort of scenario, with 10 different performers through the evening and various guitars and all, is hell for a live tour performance where the venue changes nightly as well.

What I read in the Variety article gives me hope that Idol will get back on track :)

Severely reducing the role of the trio of back-up singers would be something Nigel should look into.

I think I’m actually excited for S10 now. Nigel, work your magic.