Some Thoughts on the Big Changes Ahead for American Idol

Well said MJ

Have TPTB ever considered that maybe some folks tune out when their favorites are eliminated? Or that viewers might become bored with the song choices or the lame-ass mentors? Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll be interesting to see how the new format affects the ratings this season.

If the ratings do rise, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll attribute part of the success to David Cook and David Archuleta, whose current chart successes are making AI seem like a viable star-maker once again.

If the ratings do rise, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll attribute part of the success to David Cook and David Archuleta, whose current chart successes are making AI seem like a viable star-maker once again.

Spot-on. That, ultimately, seems to me to be why AI decided for the first time to use a past Idol finalist (DC) for a pre-season ad for the show: because they believe that he can make the show seem relevant and cool.

I imagine that the AI producers are currently working on their strategy for when to have each David on to perform on a results show for that exact same reason—to say, see? We can find relevant musical artists. Keep watching us.

I always agree with you, MJ.

I really dislike the semi-finals procedures they have announced for this upcoming season. Three shows of 12 semifinalists each, from which 3 will advance from each show. Then “the Judges” get to pick 3 more from the 27 that did not advance to the finals? I feel for these semifinalists. Last year, the odds of making the final 12 was 50% if you made it into the public competition. Now, the odds are 25%, unless you are a producers’ darling, in which case the odds are better because you may be saved. If this were the procedure for Season 7, I don’t think David Cook would have made it through–He’d have to have been in the top 3 that first week, and I don’t think he was (probably David A, Michael, and Jason C). This new procedure makes it harder for us, the public, to find someone special in the crowd because allegiance grows over time, but too many people will be cut each week. In the early rounds I just vote to keep people on who I think are in trouble but who I also think will gain momentum if they have more time. (Like Elliott.)

I wonder if this new procedure is because the show lost people in the semis of Season 7 who they really wanted to go forward? I can’t think of anyone eliminated in the semis who may have made it to, say, the top 5 if they’d gotten to the finals.

Oh–and it’s just another opportunity for Simon to tell us how smart and music-business-savvy he is when he plays his part in picking the three to save. That blows.

I hope it will be possible to be a mere spectator this coming season rather than a fan of anyone……..the latter is too exhausting………even a year after season 7! LOL

Well. I was never really a “reality” t.v. watcher. But this season, the Davids (Cook, especially), Carly, Michael and Jason caught my ear and eye. I became a “good singer” watcher, with the concept of reality t.v. far, far from my mind. Voting started to matter as I started to care about these talented people. To me, all the reality on the world is right there on the stage when someone gives a heartfelt performance.
If these, as MJ puts it insightfully, manufactured-for-the-cameras moments of backstage drama became a part of it, this newly minted fan is out of there.
Let’s hope the producers tweak themselves back to quality. (Let’s also hope they peek into MJ’s every once in a while.)

I think I’m a minority here,but I miss the Idol mansion, and the taped segments that were such fun back in season 2 – the spots where Josh threw people in the pool, Idols playing billiards, and the half-way home special. I also miss the commercials that were actually clever back then – big Ruben dancing with little Carmen, Ryan getting Kim L as a date, Clay as a pimp. I knew these people a lot better than many of the blank slates presented in later years.
The cutting of 6 out of 8 in the groups got me upset, sure, but the effect was the show made a big impression with me. Later on, with the new format, not so much was at stake. Focus was changing from trying to advance to trying not to get cut.
Having a Wildcard restores all kinds of possibilities – I only wish they would have reserved one spot as America’s choice. At the very least allow some form of voting or text mesaging like they do on “Project Runway”,ie post a question “Do you think the judges should pick, A, B. C?” And the answer will help them make an informed choice.

If they really want to change things then here is a silly thought. Why not start with the auditions themselves? If they are so worried about getting people in the top 12 who can really sing, then start from the beginning to get the ones who can really sing.

Too many really great singers get cut at the stadium stage. Seems to me they could make that process longer and take the time to listen to the ones who can really sing. Why not make it a several day process for the initial round in front of the tables of judges (interns)?

It could work like this:
You show up on the first announced day & get your wristband. The wristbands would be labeled by groups. Maybe broken down alphabetically & then further by age or genre. It would depend on your last name or age as to what day you get your initial stadium intern judge try out.

This process could last 3 or 4 days for the groups. Right now there is a table of judges & several people get one judge. Instead let several “initial” judges decide your fate. The first time they see an intern judge let their fate rest in more than one intern judge. If the judges agree the person is good, they get a pass to another table of judges who then can be more critical of their singing/style/looks.

I can’t tell you how many stories I have read where great singer’s were passed for the horrible *ratings* singer’s. These stories came not from the individual’s themselves, but from other’s who watched them audition and said WTH when they passed on the really good ones and say yes to the ones in alien suits right behind them. I have seen the myspaces of some of them and not only can they sing, they have the looks to boot.

It has to suck for your luck to get the judge who is only looking for the bad singer’s to pass through.

So Idol interns, if you want better ratings and need to revamp to get better singer’s, start from the beginning. You are missing out from the very start.

I don’t care what they do as long as they get rid of the frickin mosh pit!

Hear, Hear dee!

MJ, someday, I really hope you write a book on AI and your thoughts. You’d make a killing. Seriously. You could monetize on this all the way to the bank. Thanks for all your insights, made for an interesting read.

I don’t know if any of their tweaks will revitalize the show. I’m a sucker for cheese, so I’ve watched every single year. If you can give me the talent of seasons 2,5, and 7, I’d be happy.

I do think that the success of the Davids will help and it’s something they probably didn’t expect. To have two viable budding stars is great cache. We will see each of them as often as idol can bribe/invite them. I also think that there is a buzz for some others from this past season that will also help with the credibility of the show. Having Brooke and Jason thrive in that setting has to widen the pool of potential singer/songwriters that will hopefully translate to more substance less style.

At this point, I’m stressing myself out over what could be an utterly boring season. It could be Season 6 all over again, as far as my attention span is concerned.

Right now, the judges picking the wildcards seems unfair. But, audience picks aren’t always the best either. I mean, I know the judges choose the Top 24, but the audience is responsible for advancing them. That is, with all conspiracy theories aside. I could only take so much of Danny, Sanjaya, Kevin, and anyone else along those lines. It’s just unnecessary, and almost cruel.

When I think of wildcards, my mind immediately reverts to the good, as you mentioned, JHud and GHuff, if we’re speaking in terms of post-Idol success. However, I don’t mind a wildcard who performs well on the show. I might be the only person in the world, but I actually liked RJ Helton and Trenyce. By the way, speaking of wildcards and Leah Labelle, the girl is doing something illegal to Jazmine Sullivanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“In Love with Another Manà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  on YouTube. Justà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦no. Still trying to make it and apparently not succeeding.

For me, the thing that was lacking, and that was brought back by Season 7, was the performances that were actually entertaining and memorable. Kelly’s “Natural Woman”, Carrie’s “Alone”, Fantasia’s “Summertime”, Clay’s “Solitaire”, Cookieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ABMB…. The list goes on…but a season full of such moments is far more important to me as a viewer. Better yet? The contestant that comes out of nowhere and takes it all.

Pimping and Chosen Ones aside, I feel that Idol loses viewers when it loses interest in pleasing the viewers. How many musical guests can you have who have no interest whatsoever in the contestants and only want to promote their own music? Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s greediness became prevalent, and it backfired. Season 6 was the worst. As far as mentors go, I think Season 7 might have had the best, possibly followed by Season 5.

Arguably, from the first year, I think the seasons got better and better up until Season 5. I say arguably, because I liked Season 3 and hated Season 4. So, maybe ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s time to get back to basics. History repeats itself, we are told. So, maybe Idol has started its own historical repetition.

I would love to see this work. But, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m anxious. Will I be a mere viewer, or does it have the potential to suck me back in? Time will only tell. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll try not to despair too much before the show actually premieres.

Since some big names have been reading this blog, I have high hopes they will read and consider your thoughts on this one too. There’s so much that makes sense here that it would be a shame if your thoughts were not taken into account.

The thing about Paula Abdul/Goodspeed is that Ms. Abdul seemed to me to make it all about herself. That offends me in a way because there’s also a dead person and her family to consider.

I don’t necessarily mind the new process, but the groups of 12 are really too large. If they did three groups of eight and 3 people still went through, it would be fine, but I guess they need to fill up 2 hour blocks of time.

And I’m assuming that with 36 semifinalists instead of 24, we’ll probably have 20-24 cannon fodder contestants instead of just 10-12. They could have solved the whole “bored by the Top 9″ phenomenon by not putting random people who can’t really sing or perform in the Top 24 (Garrett who? Colton what?), or giving the contestants more song choices in the semifinals.

I agree that there’s no way that DC would have survived this format. I’m glad he auditioned last year!

I’m also dreading the “reality show” stuff. AI is cheesy enough as it is. The behind the scenes stuff that they show on Idol Extra is fine, but I really don’t want to see fake drama.

I agree with “some people stop watching out of boredom and
after their favorite gets eliminated”

I was new to AI this year. Still it didn’t take me long to figure out
who the top 2 were going to be. BORING… Then after the
shitty-ass way they eliminated Michael Johns, and to some it
just didn’t seem plausible for him to go at that point. I think
that after Michael’s elimination that is where you see the biggest
drop in their ratings in 5 years. I say they brought it on themselves. Karma baby.

I absolutely agree with your comments, MJ.

I think the dreadful theme weeks, or at least the themes they chose, definitely hurt the show this last year for a bit. My family has a number of 20-somethings–prime ratings target. They HATED the themes this last year. They couldn’t connect with the music and kept complaining that they were tired of seeing the contestants sing “old” music. The only reason they stuck it out at all was because the show is something (or was) of a family ritual.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m just cynical, but I tend to think this hand-wringing about ratings is a little OTT. Aren’t most tv shows losing viewers? Idol has been on the air for almost 8 years? How many 8 year old tv shows out there maintain the same ratings peak? And let’s not forget, the show still is the number 1 rated show on tv. It still was a pop cultural juggernaut, especially when you compare this last season to season 6.

My sense is, from those that are deciding to not watch the show, is the Idol formula is becoming too predictable. And the manipulations of TPTB are becoming too obvious. I agree, I do not want to see more reality tv. But what I would want to see is more examples of their talent. The producers should back off these contestants. Give them more freedom with song choice, or pick themes that give them more freedom. Granted, I know this is limited by rights and all. Allow these contestants to sing the music they really love. Who wants to see the same songs performed year after year? I’m tired of watching contestants trying to hit some bullseye of performance and style that doesn’t even fit who they are or who they would be if they released music on a label.

Of course, I’m not your average viewer. Or, I’m not the demographic Idol is wanting to capture. So what do I know? Bottom line for me, what MJ said.

I think, aly, that people didn’t vote for Michael that week. While the way he was eliminated was horrendous, I think he was eliminated fairly. I seriously doubt they did it to him. It was obvious, even with the terrible way he was eliminated, that they didn’t want him to go. He was just really meh over the course of the competition. He was my favorite after auditions but was so very karaoke except for one song that he actually angered me. I knew he had so much more to give but his covers of many of the classics were not so good. That’s why I’m delighted that he said his album will be soul and not all the covers or anything like the covers we’ve seen him do. He’s so much more compelling on his original material than on just about everything he did on Idol and on any of the covers I’ve seen him do recently.

No, I seriously doubt that TPTB wanted him gone.

Instead of this “reality” stuff, I wish that they’d just put the Idol Extra stuff on the air. That behind the scenes with the top 3 last year, where they’re talking about each other, is a perfect example. Watching DA crack DC up by talking about how Amanda is scary, well, he’d never say that to her face, although, actually, he did, but she’s very nice, she could just kill you.

So very funny—and you walked away from it feeling like you’d learned more about the personalities of the top 3, which I rather think is supposed to be the point of the various non-singing portions of the show.

Totally agree, FolkFan. Part of the appeal were their off-screen personalities.

I don’t plan to watch anymore, so take this opinion for what it is. I have been a faithful viewer since season 3 and I’ve been more and less involved with the show depending on my attachment to the various contestants.

For me, the show lost its oomph as soon as I figured out exactly how hard the judges/producers were trying to get me to vote the way they wanted me to vote. Call me naive, but before this season I still believed the voting public WAS deciding, at least to some degree. (I don’t doubt that they count the votes. But I also believe now that they manipulate opinions with a heavy hand.) Unless they can ‘fix’ that problem, they’ve lost me.

But as houstonrufus says, Idol still dominates the ratings. I think a large part of their problem is that people just don’t sit and watch television as much. It’s too easy to get instant gratification on the Internet. I know my teenage kids watch TV once in a blue moon. They get all the news and entertainment they need through sharing with friends on blogs and chats.

Funny, though, the Internet is involved with the larger part of my problem with Idol: I got very invested in David Archuleta this season, and I fought those kids for computer time so I could keep up with news. I was honestly sickened by some of the media and public treatment of a kid who is genuinely sweet. As much as we complain about jaded teen celebrities, when we are presented with a teen with real talent and a humble personality, we don’t know how to react.

They really should let people who are die hard fans of the show give their input because i agree 100% with you MJ, and i have felt like these changes that need to be made (such as getting rid of those horrendous/old mentors and focus more on the kids) were so obvious that they HAVE to impanelment them in the future- but i guess not. Die hard idol fans know what needs to be done, but unfortunately, there are ego driven producers who refuse to just take a step back and realize what the fans want. oh well.

I contribute initial success to S8 to Archuleta moreso- he’s on the radio, thats the big thing. People who mention the last season of idol to me who never really watched the show ALWAYS say “that archuleta kid has a great voice and i love his song, i cant believe he came from idol”…but ya, this season is deff gunna be very very different from past seasons and i think i could drastically help idol if the format succeeds.

Well who are we kidding? LOL. We’ll watch because we always do. But if it becomes like past seasons where the majority of kids are just not ready for this I’ll tune out in the middle and pop up towards the end. Seriously though, Idol could shed 20% of it viewers and still be the top rated show.

I am really ready to see the new judge though. She seems like she’ll be a kick. Anyone who pisses Simon off should be fun to watch.

Well, if people got bored by top 9, now they will get bored by top7/8 if the contestants keep singings old songs, if it becomes obvious by top 10 who are going to be the final 2, if we really don’t see much about the contestants other than the singing… To me what they’re doing is not that big of a change, to be honest. After top 12 everything goes back to normal.
They could show more behind the scenes. If they want personality show us who they are, because many contestants are too nervous on wednesdays to even formulate a sentence. I will never forget that top4 results nights when Seysha, Jason and Archuleta culdn’t really answer a simple question and seemed like 3 dumb people, it was fun, but it kinda gave a wrong image of who they are. Maybe if the general audience sees more of them, they will not stop watching it middle season…

I will never forget that top4 results nights when Syesha, Jason and Archuleta couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really answer a simple question and seemed like 3 dumb people, it was fun, but it kinda gave a wrong image of who they are. Maybe if the general audience sees more of them, they will not stop watching it middle seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

Oh really? I thought it was only Archie who could not form a sentence and looked dumb on camera….

JUST KIDDING! :) That’s my snarkiness coming out in regard to the comments that many made about him but completely disregarded that same behavior in other contestants or passed it off as simply charming.

I don’t care about fake drama, but as you suggested, some insight to their personalities would be nice like we saw on the behind-the-scenes footage of the Ford shoots from AI Extra. People loved that! Seeing them more relaxed and just being themselves, joking around and stuff would be great.

One other thought as a footnote to my previous post: stop trying to create TV characters. Let these kids be who they are and sing what they want to sing and play the instruments they want to play. I would feel much better about the show if the public actually got to see a better representation of their respective musical talents and the type of singers/musicians they actually hope to be POST Idol.

As much as we complain about jaded teen celebrities, when we are presented with a teen with real talent and a humble personality, we donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know how to react.

Ain’t that the truth! There’s always somethin to bitch about.

I contribute initial success to S8 to Archuleta moreso- heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s on the radio, thats the big thing.

Well he and Cook are both on the radio a lot. This is the first time that both of the Top 2 are having a lot of success, and Idol wants to and should milk it for all its worth. I hope to see them both back performing sometime during Season 8 and at the Finale.

The producers should back off these contestants. Give them more freedom with song choice, or pick themes that give them more freedom. Granted, I know this is limited by rights and all. Allow these contestants to sing the music they really love. Who wants to see the same songs performed year after year? Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m tired of watching contestants trying to hit some bullseye of performance and style that doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t even fit who they are or who they would be if they released music on a label.

Let these kids be who they are and sing what they want to sing and play the instruments they want to play. I would feel much better about the show if the public actually got to see a better representation of their respective musical talents and the type of singers/musicians they actually hope to be POST Idol.

Both of these statements I agree with. Like I said above, there are not too many contestants who can make the themes work for them as well as Cook did. And that doesn’t mean they’re any less talented. It really depends on what type of singer they are and how much experience they have with song arrangements. We cannot hold them all to the same standard of re-arranging songs to fit a certain style just because the reigning Idol did it so successfully. They could run the risk of ruining the integrity of the song then too if they tried. Think Eight Days A Week – BLECH! It’s like they’re damned if they do, damned if they don’t unless they are one hell of a songwriter and composer.

I realize that giving them too much freedom can backfire, but I would err on the side of more freedom than one-artist theme restrictions and stuff like that. No more Broadway, no more Neal Diamond. Motown is fine. Billy Joel would be fun again. But something more modern too would be nice from time to time.

The problem I have with the new format is that only the top 3, is it? will progress each week in the semi finals. I haven’t had a chance to get to know any of the kids in the early rounds well enough to power vote for ANYONE. I didn’t start to vote for David Cook until Little Sparrow week. He just consistently won me over week after week until I felt compelled to pick up the phone and vote. Dial Idol showed that he was in the back of the pack for the first few weeks, and so in this new format, wouldn’t have made it through to top 12.

How can they expect us to know enough about these kids’ potential so early in the competition to make an informed judgment on who to advance? I think that idea is just all kinds of wrong. Perhaps this is a way tptb think they can force us to start voting early because the stakes are raised so high initially. Yes, the stakes are higher in the semis but I still don’t know any of them well enough to care. It just seems a very back asswards way to run things, not that anyone is asking me. Heh.

Well they better learn to make one hell of an impression first time out because that may be all they have. It will be the same way as it was before they changed it in Season 4. I guess I don’t have really have that big of an issue with it. I can see why they are doing it. Higher stakes creates more drama and therefore more interesting TV. I understand the David Cook references, but no one knows for sure what would’ve happened had he only been given one shot to impress. Or perhaps he would’ve been a wildcard selection had he not made the first cut. And having a more open selection of music for semifinals will help too. I think that alone is what held a lot of the kids back in the beginning.

Hopefully, they’re working on their songs already. They will indeed have to jump out of the gate quickly.

My .02 cents in regards to how well David Cook would have done with the new format of only top 3 of 3 groups of 12 progressing to the semi’s (and using the assumption that the hamsters have freedom of song choice), I believe D.C. would have still won this season of Idol.

Imagine hearing D.C. tear into CREEP (edited version of course), Man In The Box, Hunger Strike, or any GnR, NIN song in the semi’s; he would have been labeled TCO, along with Archie, from the get go (that’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it).

But then again, what the hell do I know about Idol? Not a whole lot, seeing as the Finale was the only episode I watched in real time. Whereupon, I was totally impressed by the quality of the performances of all the hamsters, and went back and watched a few episodes on Daily Motion. But, I agree with most of you, in that the songs sung during Season 7 were too old (i.e., boring), resulting in the large drop of viewers by Top 9. If AI can have an age limit on the contestants, then they can also have an age limit on the songs sung; nothing older than 29 years, unless specifically requested by the hamster singing it.

Gosh (tm Archie), I’m beginning to get excited and kind of antsy about watching my first full season of Idol from the very beginning…..and, I’m also looking forward to matching wits and picks with everyone in MJ’s Idol Office Pool…hurry up and get here, January/February.

——————————
Peace Out & POKE SMOT :smoke_tb:

But, I agree with most of you, in that the songs sung during Season 7 were too old (i.e., boring), resulting in the large drop of viewers by Top 9.

Yes, this definitely did NOT help ratings at all. Many of the kids really started struggling with these restrictive old-timey, one-artist themes and who can blame them. We can’t expect miracles when they’re given so little time to begin with to get stuff together and then given such crappy songs to choose from. But unfortunately, when you’re given this set of circumstances and you fail to pull the rabbit out of your hat, you then have to get slammed by the judges in front of millions of people and then criticized by everyone in America who watches for basically not being a miracle worker.

I have watched the show from the beginning and I am not in favor of the 36 contestant format. Thanks, MJ for this thread.

…they were tired of seeing the contestants sing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“oldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  music.

Honestly, I don’t believe for a minute that this is the reason the ratings went down. Singing “old” music is a challenge for the contestants to reinterpret the lyrics and music. David Cook did such a good job. My favorite “old” music song on the show was “Stand By Me”. Outstanding. Motown 50 is an opportunity to take a song and make it your own. I know I am in the minority here, and I do respect your opinions. Please understand, I don’t mind the newer songs, as I am a music fan. What AI did wrong was to introduce the themes much too early in the competition.

Also, “old” people are not likely to be posting on Forums. LOL! You would be surprised how many Grandparents enjoy the show with their grandchildren. Honestly, I don’t want them to get rid of those horrendous/old mentors. Often, Barry Manilow was cited as the best mentor, which is why he was on the show twice. The younger mentors NEED to provide insight for the contestants.

Pimping and Chosen Ones aside, I feel that Idol loses viewers when it loses interest in pleasing the viewers.

Getting rid of the manipulation and scripted moments is the NUMBER ONE thing AI can do to improve the show.