Read the Lastest American Idol Survey

Haha! You’re welcome. I actually hadn’t logged on to Rate The Music in a while. I’m glad I was bored enough to do it today.

I agree that changing out Randy Jackson would do the most amount of good, and the least amount of damage.
But I think it would still need to be someone who is a musician so we can get a solid critique.
Listen to me. I’m talking like they’re actually objective and unbiased when they speak.
Whatever.

Mike Darnell – the FOX guy – said it’s all about casting and controversy. I have to remember that.

It’s not a singing competition for undiscovered talent.
It’s not a singing competition for undiscovered talent.
It’s not a singing competition for undiscovered talent.

Season 7 was better than most seasons until we had three crappy themes back-to-back starting with Mariah Carey night. During those three weeks, if it weren’t for DC and JC, I wouldn’t have tuned in.

Randy is expendable. I would willingly dump Paula for Sheila E. (although I have to admit, there are times I find Paula very amusing). Out of the three judges, Simon would be the one to keep– the public still listens to him, but there are times when I find his comments quite jaded. Can’t blame him though, it IS the seventh season.

Ryan’s been terrific for the most part. He’s great at what he does- that is, wiping the floor after a contestant is massacred and butt-kissing the producers/sponsors/judges at the appropriate (but rather annoying) times.

My dream judging panel for Season 8:
Dicko, Sheila E., Simon (they can sit in this order too).

Ryan is the only one I’d keep. He kinda rocks. The show would be so lame if he wasn’t there to make it all run like a well oiled machine. Plus, as cruel as the show may seem, I sense a compassionate side to him. Simon is so bored and gone after two years. Pauler is drunk/drugged, and Randy is an idiot. Can we get the judges from the NGAB?

I think Dicko should replace Simon if/when he leaves in 2009. He’s tough, but also knows a hell of a lot more about music than Simon does.

I would like to see Naomi Judd replace Paula. She is as mean as Simon sometimes, but she is at least coherant. Dicko is a good choice, too. Randy and just go away, anyone would be better than him.

I am thoroughly enjoying Season 7. Then again, my having started posting here this season and all the extra stuff I discovered on TVGN and Fox Reality is probably adding to all the fun. I have never been quite as invested in any of the seasons until now. Plus, DC is keeping things nice and hot.

I like Ryan as the host for the most part — there are times when he ticks me off. I don’t if it’s TPTB that tell him what to do all the time, though. I would still keep Ryan over both Randy and Paula any day.

I like Ryan, love Simon and can’t stand Randy. I think Paula is drunk 99% of the time, but she is nice (other than that rather useless), and I think the should would be missing something without her incoherent rants.

I can’t imagine the show without Ryan, Simon, or even Paula. I like her goofiness, plus she and Simon have good chemistry…sometimes.

Randy…I can do without, unless he reads a thesaurus, or something. I can only take so much “Yo, dude!” I know he’s got some musical knowledge and background, but lately, he hasn’t been saying anything useful.

Plus, it would be nice to see what Paula does if he’s not there for her to parrot. She’s done that excessively this season.

They can replace Randy with Quincy Jones. What’s he doing these days?

MJ, I am so happy to see that I’m not the only one that just can’t stand Randy anymore. He is just so dull and self-impressed. They tout him like he’s the greatest producer ever and the Mariah thing is so overdone I could barf.

Off with his head!!

sorry….want Simon dumped.

They could replace Simon (when he leaves) with David Foster or Andrew Lloyd Webber. Or put them on to replace Randy. They’d bring strong opinions to the show.

I don’t think the judges are the problem. The ratings this Season were holding up quite well until around IGB. The boring song choices, lack of growth and lame themes just turned people off. I think once the audience realized no one would surprise them they just got as bored as Simon.

I think AI needs new blood. A complete overhaul. New jokes, new people to discuss, new quirks.

Randy shd definitely go. He’s in the wrong profession. He shd be touting a buck-toothed, cross-eyed 80 year old HO and selling her as the best ever newest-on-the-pavement! He really thinks people believe him.

I vote for the entire NGAB judging panel, although Johnnie Reznick is optional. Dicko and Shiela E would be awesome. I think the only one they HAVE to keep is Ryan. He keeps the show on track and is a real pro. Simon is important but I do think that America would warm up to Dicko. Most importantly, dump Randy.

I’m in the “dump Randy” camp…I had no idea so many people shared my sentiment! I think he shows the most favoritism of the 3 judges and I’m tired of hearing the words “dawg” and “pitchy.” I don’t think he even really knows what he’s talking about half the time.

I don’t get the love for NGAB at all. That show died quickly with no one watching. AI is still the #1 show on TV. If they turn it into NGAB they might as well just end it altogether. Next year they need to fine tune it, bring in some guest judges and try to bring in more interesting amateur
contestants.

It would also help if this year’s winner actually sold tons of albums. It’s very hard to keep a show like AI going if the winners don’t become huge stars.

If they did get rid of Paula, Brandy was also okay as a guest judge a couple of times, and she did a decent job with “America’s Got Talent”.

jpfan, the judges on NGAB were awesome, IMO. They gave constructive criticism that the performers could actually use, and many did incorporate the judges comments into their later performances.

My problem with guest judges is that they usually are just nice to the contestants. It’s like having two Paula’s. I don’t feel like they offer any additional insight to the idols (obviously there are exceptions).

Also, do we know NGAB is dead? I know the ratings were super low, but since it’s an Idol production, who knows, maybe they’ll try it over the summer or on a night other than Friday.

I watched NGAB once and found it very dull. AI is reality TV and no one really wants to spend hours listening to constructive criticism. It would be boring beyond belief. Why would they try to turn a #1 show into a monumental ratings failure like NGAB? That doesn’t make sense.

Randy reminds me of the guy at a party who jumps into a conversation having nothing to do with him just to feel cool. He horns in on the Ryan/Simon banter every chance he gets.
Plus, every time he leads the audience in booing for Simon my hubby and I mutter “Ass” at the screen. What is this, grade school? Add those trivial peeves to all the biggies (limited vocab, runs = good, name dropping, flip flop praising, irrelevant producer)and you can see why I want Randy gone sooner than yesterday.

I watched NGAB once and found it very dull. AI is reality TV and no one really wants to spend hours listening to constructive criticism. It would be boring beyond belief. Why would they try to turn a #1 show into a monumental ratings failure like NGAB? That doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t make sense.

I don’t think anyone is suggesting that AI turn into NGAB, just use their judges.

I thought the judges were excellent on that show and would fit into the AI format quite nicely. Particularly Dicko, who could be quite mean but constructive and passionate at the same time. Plus, he’s knowledgeable about music in a way that Simon is not.

BTW, Dicko judges Australian Idol and he’s quite popular down there.

NGAB didn’t fail because of the judges. I never watched it b/c of it’s time slot on Friday night. I’m an old bag pushing 40, but I still have plans on Fridays. LOL.

Also, I don’t think the judges make AI’s ratings. I think it’s the kids. Color me naive.

no one really wants to spend hours listening to constructive criticism.

Obviously, fewer and fewer people want to spend hours listening to blathering idiots and “mean old judges” as well. So there has to be a happy medium somewhere.

I’m not saying that they should replace the entire judging panel with the NGAB judges (which was on Friday nights in the fall – isn’t that known as the “wasteland” for ratings?), but tweaks could be made.

Agree on all counts, MJ and PJ. I don’t tune in for the judges, I tune in for the kids. It would be nice to have judges there to help guide them more effectively.

They could probably replace Randy or Paula (but not both) and do okay. I think without “mean judge” Simon the show will be in trouble. Somehow the ratings held up fairly well through hours of boring auditions and the earlier shows this season. That’s the part of the season where the judges have the highest profiles.

DUMP RANDY! Tell Ryan to put a sock in it when Simon is talking so the contestatnts can actually get some constructive criticism. Keep Paula, we all need the crazy aunt at Thanksgiving to keep us honest.

Is this survey the survey that Fox is using to get ideas for changes to the show, or is this just for fun?

Is this survey the survey that Fox is using to get ideas for changes to the show, or is this just for fun?

The survey is official.

Yes Dump Randy PLEASE!! I used to agree with him most of the time on the previous seasons ….. the last two seasons I am wondering if his hearing has changed. I don’t think mine has….

As much as it kills me to say this because his ego is already enormous, I think the show would lose something without Simon.

I’d like to see Paula stay and make a huge gaffe that would even be covered by the NY Times. Oh wait, that just happened. Well, in spite of the fact that she sometimes appears to be falling apart in front of the whole country, I like Paula.

I like Ryan too and his job is much tougher than people realize. I guess Randy is the most expendable but I wouldn’t say I want to see him out.

primeminister
May 4th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Season 7 was better than most seasons until we had three crappy themes back-to-back starting with Mariah Carey night. During those three weeks, if it werenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t for DC and JC, I wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have tuned in.

Randy is expendable. I would willingly dump Paula for Sheila E. (although I have to admit, there are times I find Paula very amusing). Out of the three judges, Simon would be the one to keepà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ the public still listens to him, but there are times when I find his comments quite jaded. Canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t blame him though, it IS the seventh season.

Ryanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been terrific for the most part. Heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s great at what he does- that is, wiping the floor after a contestant is massacred and butt-kissing the producers/sponsors/judges at the appropriate (but rather annoying) times.

Agree with all of that, primeminister!
And add the second Beatles week to the sucky themes.

the personalities (judges) are not the issue. If you watch America’s Got Talent, David Hass is a clown, Sharon and Piers are worthless. It’s not the judging. It is simply that the ratings are going down if you have someone new or change the format. It’s not the judges and it’s not the format, it’s simply that every single TV show in the hemisphere is having ratings problems.
I’m not watching Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty anymore. The best comedy on earth, 30 Rock, has down ratings.

I think producers just have to relax a little. The Tv audience is abandoning TV, maybe they should just go to the internet.

Whoever mentioned Naomi Judge replacing someone… she was a total B**** on star search. She’s praise someone and then give them a 1 star ALL the time lol

Thanks for the heads up on the survey. It felt so good to have a place to indicate that Randy and Paula are not important. It actually makes me feel bad about myself that I sit there and watch those two fools week after week.

John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls = perfect
Sheila E. = perfect

These two are too busy, probably:
- Tracy Chapman would be awesome, and it would keep an African-American on the panel.
- LL Cool J was sweet, and at the same time professional, when he was an audition judge in Season 4. And… he is hot!

If they could get guest judges like any of the guys from R.E.M. (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees), that would be awesome. Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills. Bill Berry has retired from the band and may be available.

I can see Lionnel Richie replacing Randy. Anyone should replace Randy.

If Paula leaves, I can see LuLu or Sheila E.

The judges have been bored this year and I just feel CHANGES must be made.

Did Randy call Archuletta’s first performance last week ‘da bomb?’ Yeah, it is time for him to go.
Casual fewers who I talk to cite Simon as ‘THE’ reason they watch the show, so losing Simon would mean a huge hit in the ratings.
Given the ratings disaster of NGAB, I doubt Dick-O would even be considered as a replacement. That’s unfortunate because he is really a terrific judge, who gets North American music like Simon doesn’t. When he danced during the finale, it showed me he was more involved with the bands, unlike Simon who seems to place himself above the fray.

If Randy were to be replaced, I’d like it to be with someone who writes about music and the industry for a living and has a sharp sense of humor and a good vocabulary, but can keep it on a relatable level. This is the person who should be relied upon to give some informed perspective on the song selection and the marketability of the contestants.

Maybe even a seasoned DJ/radio personality who doesn’t look like they broadcast from their mother’s basement.

jpfan May 4th, 2008 at 9:24 pm

They could replace Simon (when he leaves) with David Foster or Andrew Lloyd Webber. Or put them on to replace Randy. Theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d bring strong opinions to the show.

Seriously, jpfan? I respectfully disagree. I find them both insufferably self-important bores with a narrow musical focus.

Yes! Please God, let’s get rid of Randy and Paula. Randy hasn’t had an independent or coherent thought in I-don’t-know-how-long — maybe since before he donned orange spandex to play bass for Journey. Speaking of which, he has little appreciation for contestants who cannot belt a song with the power of Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Steve Perry or Chris Cornell.

I think it would improve AI greatly to have as judges a legitimate music critic, a former AI contestant with deep musical knowledge who hopefully is an active performer, and/or a DJ/VJ. Right now my first pick for AI judge is EW’s Michael Slezak.

I always thought Clay Aiken would be a fantastic judge and so would Chris Sligh. Dicko is a great suggestion.

Among musicians, I recommend Mark McGrath, Gladys Knight, Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell or Chrissie Hynde (going toe to toe with Simon? Awesome!), or Sir Paul McCartney.

Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols hosts a radio show, Jonesy’s Jukebox, on my local station Indie 103 and, in addition to having mellowed into a colorful character, he has a depth and breadth of knowledge that AI is missing. Other potential DJs and/or critics include Jim Ladd, Richard Blade, Jed Gould (Jed the Fish from the World Famous KROQ), Kurt Loder, John Norris or even Mark Goodman.

Pat Benetar would be awesome if they were going to get another woman, but it wouldn’t even need to be someone famous, IMO. Some C list comedian would be better than Randy. Shoot, some guy off the street would probably be better.

- LL Cool J was sweet, and at the same time professional, when he was an audition judge in Season 4. Andà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ he is hot!

Fantastic suggestion! Love me some LL!

I’m not sure if replacing any of the judges is going to help the show at this point. I think they just need to make things simple again (well, as simple as AI can get). How about actually focusing on singing and the contestants instead of being a commercial for every tv show, new movie, new cd, new car, Idol Gives Back or whatever else that comes along? How about giving these kids some real singing time – maybe they could actually sing a full song!!!????? Last week with the minute and a half songs was a new low for AI. How about toning down the judge’s egos? Maybe have them give some critique that actually means something instead of their usual garbage? And all this disagreeing between the judges just takes the focus off the Idol. I can see some disagreement every once in a while, but it’s happening with almost every contestant now. And these narrow themes – they have to go. Another thing – take the results show back to 30 minutes. The hour show with all its filler is getting boring. And bring back “You’ve had a bad day”. I’m sorry, but I think that was the best elimination song. Oh, and the fan calls need to go.

And………….the stupid mosh pit has to go.

I dont think changing the judges would make much difference either. Not even getting rid of Randy can change the fundamental flaws of the show. The idea that it’s not a singing show is hurting it. The crazed voters dialing hundreds of times is hurting it. There should be a limit to that. The old ass themes are hurting the show, that is struggling to stay current.

The judges have a synergy and a relationship, I guess chemistry is a better word for it, and that is something that once you eff with that, there is no going back. Then finally every show has an expiration date. 7 seasons of this type show is incredible. 2 shows, sometimes three a week unprecedented for remaining so popular. I know its the show we all love to hate, but do we really think anything is truly going to bring back season two, or five? I don’t think so.

I think next year will really be the year that either stablizes it, or writes it’s epitaph, not to say that it will be it’s final year, I don’t think so, but if next year doesn’t stablize, then it will no longer be the most watched show on tv. Finally look at the ratings for the other top shows, every one is suffering the ratings blues. I don’t know the percentages, but this slide has more to do with viewership in general than idol imho.

The judges have been bored this year and I just feel CHANGES must be made.

Grammie Karl, I think you hit the nail on the head. For God’s sake, these stooges are getting paid millions of dollars and they can’t even pay attention during a one and a half minute song?!

Pauler-gate aside, they no longer seem to give honest critiques on what they actually see and seem more focused on a pre-conceived agenda. I can’t count the number of times a contestant has given a decent performance, the energy is high, the audience is cheering and Randy takes a long pause and says, “I don’t know man, I just wasn’t feeling it. It just wasn’t the bomb, dawg” and he’ll suck the energy right out of the room.

Simon seems the most “honest” (that’s not saying much) of the three, but dang! You don’t see NFL announcers getting bored and disinterested in the game they’re giving play-by-play on.

These judges seem to have taken their good fortune at having THE dream job for granted. Their sense of entitlement is beyond the pale. I hope the producers do more than just a little saber-rattling with them.

Grammie Karl, I absolutely agree with you. It’s the judges contagious boredom which is killing this show. If they focused on the show instead of their own side entertainment & private jokes, we would be more entertained.

Another reason for the Fall of the Idol Empire prediction is that the producers are such control freaks. I wish they’d let the viewers decide without all this tacky pimping & de-pimping.

These judges seem to have taken their good fortune at having THE dream job for granted. Their sense of entitlement is beyond the pale.

Amen to this! The judges take their jobs for granted, the contestants for granted, and the viewers for granted. And it’s not fair to anyone. Remember way back in season 2, when the right two people made the finale? And they were TRUE undiscovered talent? I found the show so much more enjoyable then. Was there a hidden agenda? Oh, probably, but it wasn’t so calculated as it is now. I think that the quality of the contestants has gone up, but the hidden agenda of the show is getting to be a bit much to bear.

I agree with many of you — if the friggin’ judges would simply pay attention during the performances, perhaps we’d respect their opinions more. (Well…)

And Randy is a tool.

The mosh pit sucks.

Andrew Lloyd Weber? Please. My 13 year old thought we was a creepie old man.

I think whomever mentioned the judges chemistry thing is right on. If you take one of them out you could tip the canoe forever. ITA that Randy is a tool who says stupid shit, but I think they’re being fed lines me (just my opinion) and Simon’s the only one who says what he really feels.

I think if they revamp the audition rounds to focus more on Hollywood and less on the goofy silly auditions for WEEKS that’d be a good start. Make Hollywood WEEK at least a couple of episodes. Also, I am with everyone else on the theme thing, GET CURRENT PEOPLE! How do you expect to find a current ‘pop’ star when they only get to choose from songs that are a minimum of 10 years old and most haven’t sung a song that was written after their birth year? Which, the birth year thing was obviously ANOTHER duplicate theme except for a few contestants. Changing the themes alone could revive the show IMO.

I would like to see Naomi Judd replace Paula.

Gah! No! She’s definitely talented, but too self-important and could be sooo mean!

While I would love for Dicko to replace Randy, I can just see the news stories next year –”American Idol on its last leg… too many changes, too late?”

Can’t add too much to what everyone has already said here. The judges are the linchpin of the show, no question, and they began to lose steam, as a group, in Season 5, my view. Just compare how they “perform” now to their comments in Seasons 1 and 2. They, like the show, have developed an outsized view of their own significance. Money changes everything.

As to Randy. He can go, go, go and take his “dawg’s” and “pitchy’s” and “not feelin’ it’s” with him. He lost his relevance, oh, about midway through Season One.

Ryan’s a keeper, though. The only one who has retained his enthusiasm for 7 seasons.

Maybe I am alone in thinking they don’t really need to change much. The only things wrong this year to me were too many narrow themes and Randy phoning it in. I don’t know if I would get rid of Randy as much as I would get in his ass about giving real critiques.

AI has been on 7 years, and the novelty has worn off. Period. It used to be that you had to wait to get your Idol fix until January. Now, there are so many shows that basically rip off the format that you can see Idol any time of year. How many shows haven a mean British judge, a cattlecall with funny/bad auditioners, weekly performances with someone voted off, a whole “plucked from obscurity to rise to the top” theme? You can see Cooking Idol, Fashion Designer Idol, Model Idol, Dancer Idol, Star Dancer Idol, Novelty Act Idol, Country Star Idol, Rock Star idol… you get the idea.

I don’t think any of that is under 19E’s control. The best they can do is get an intresting mix of kids, edit entertaining audition and Hollywood episodes, pick some interesting hoops to jump through via the themes, and turn it over to America. Some years it will click, some it won’t. I really can’t see how it should be any other way.

I just thought of a perfect person to bring to Idol.

He’s hot, intelligent, talented, has been performing since he was young, and is a great humanitarian. I would definitely want to hear what he has to say.

Ricky Martin

Speaking of the show changing and what to change, guess what I just did?!
Be prepared to be JEALOUS!
I just watched Season 5′s Rod Stewart night on tape – no commercials – with the Top 7.
I laughed. I cried.
Everyone got positive feedback.

Ace could have used Carly’s t-shirt that night!
Simon loves me (this week).

That’s the night everyone did really well, though when Katharine went last, Simon said she made everyone else look like “just good amateurs”.

Of course, others might not have liked that night as much as I did. I LOVE the crooners from the old days, and the old “standards” as Elliott called them. It might be my favorite style of music.

That was the night Kellie went off pitch and lost the timing also. I think she went home the next night. There was a LOT of talent in that season.

Oops. I forgot to add the “change” thing.
I think perhaps allowing instruments this year wasn’t a good idea after all. While they got people who had more sense of who they were as an artist, Brooke and Jason got much further than they would ever have gotten had this been the old AI.
People seem to be complaining of late how Jason and Brooke don’t/didn’t deserve to be there, and now there’s a backlash against Jason because he’s not a great enough vocalist.

(Just for the record, I am feeling so sorry for Jason at this point because of the invasion into this very shy guy’s life, as soon as he makes it into the top 3, I’m giving my 1,000 votes to Archie. AI deserves Archie’s father.)

I think AI should go back to no instruments. It’s not fair to the contestants who get bashed.

Also, mj, is it you who prefers the old stage? I’m with you on that one!

I think a lot of the problem lies with Nigel. I think what he says goes and he wants all these old themes and old mentors. He needs to get current in his thinking and bring in some younger mentors….heck, I’m close to 40 and even I can’t stand ALW, Dolly or Neil anymore. Help!

I’ve given some thought about why this season, although full of truly talented singers, has been somewhat bland.

IMO either they haven’t devoted as much time to the contestant’s personalities, or the contestants themselves don’t really have much of a personality. Not sure which it is. The ones who have really shown their personalities to me are DC, JC and BW. The rest – not so much.

I have to really rack my brains to even remember who was voted off weeks ago. BUT, I can remember every single person from Season 5.

I like Ryan as the Host, but do realize he is scripted. I do love when he gets a bit crazy, especially when he sings. No changes needed here.

Pauler-gate aside, they no longer seem to give honest critiques on what they actually see and seem more focused on a pre-conceived agenda.

longsong, with each passing year this is becoming more obvious. This whole fiasco could make for a better show next year. I am hoping for the best. 4got, the pimping is an assumption that the viewers are stupid and must be told what to like or dislike. Quite insulting, actually.

Randy is useless and he would not be missed. He contributes NOTHING to the show. If AI wants a BETTER show next season, this is the first place to start. If they do decide to replace Paula, it should not be done in the same season that Randy leaves.

Next year they need to fine tune it, bring in some guest judges and try to bring in more interesting amateur
contestants.

jpfan, I think that if a contestant has had a recording contract and a released CD, they should not be on the show.

MJ, is it still possible to vote in the survey?