The Wildcard is finally Explained! Or Not

MJ, I took-

each judge can pick two contestants from the top 36 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  from which everyone is eligible

to mean that everyone from the top 36 is eligible to be in the Wild Card round (as opposed to the next couple of highest votegetters, as some sites/people were claiming).

In essence, the 12th and 11th place people from the semi-final rounds could, in theory, be brought back for the Wild Card round and maybe the 4th and 5th place finishers won’t (unlikely, I know, but it is just an example).

Does that make sense/sound right?

Ok, now that I’m reading it over, I see that.

So, Simon was fibbing?

Well, at least we figured out part of the mystery. We will NOT be seeing Jamar or Angela Martin again…

I think the fact that Ryan mentioned the 20,000 vote difference between Michael and Anoop almost guarantees Anoop will be in the W/C round. I am sure Randy will be told about the fan popularity and want him to be there.

I don’t think it matters one whit what the “rules” are, the producers and judges will do whatever they want to do to maximize good television and commercial ad profits.

I’m waiting for an apology from Gil Kaufman!

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m waiting for an apology from Gil Kaufman!

LOL! I’m not.

^Ehhhh…it’s enough that he had his booty over here looking for info.

I expect the wildcard rules to change again in the next two weeks. I think they’re gonna do what they want anyway.

Are the judges are going to listen to the kids sing, and then decide right there and then whether they advance into the Top 12? If so, that sounds really contrivedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’like they know who theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re going to advance ahead of time. They probably do, but why make it obvious?

This sounds a little like the SYTYCD thing where the bottom 3 guys and girls dance for their lives, and then the judges “confer” during a guest peformance and commercial break about who should go home. I’m pretty sure they know in advance who the bottom 6 are and who they’ll sending home. But then do the “dance for your lives” thing for tv. Though I do think there are times when their minds have been changed because of a contestant’s performance in that segment.

But who knows.

I just know that Anoop better as hell get invited back for the wildcard.

(and now, I’ll be slinking back to refresh TMZ every 30 seconds until they post the damn song spoilers!!!)

The wildcard round is doing exactly what it’s supposed to be doing – we are all going nuts talking about it and trying to figure it out!

I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think it matters one whit what the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“rulesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  are, the producers and judges will do whatever they want to do to maximize good television and commercial ad profits.

I agree, they will do what they want. We don’t know the vote counts so really they can do whatever they want. I just pray they have noticed the fan feedback and concentrate on quality of singing (Anoop/Ricky) rather than quantity of drama (Tatiana and Co). I really hope tonight is going to feature better performances…just have to wait and see I guess!

I am not believing anything about the wildcard until Ryan announces it on TV. You know how they are. They’ll change their story again. You watch.

Gosh, idol, do you you not know what you are doing and have decided to make up the rules as you go along?

Seems like it this season.

It somewhat is like the format of the wildcard from season 1 since they have to pick right after but the first season only had 1 person. i’m sure they have someone in mind but I’m thinking if the singer really blows everyone away, they have no choice but to put him/her through. my only fear is that the people they choose as their wildcard will be based on gender to fill in any gaps. if a bunch of guys get through in the top 36 rounds, i don’t want them automatically to pick girls to make it even, and that has happened before!

At this point I’m just going to wait and see it play out, and not try to figure it out in advance. Too many mixed messages. But I appreciate mj’s efforts to keep us informed.

And – any publicity is good publicity. So MJ you are famous yet again.

I don’t know if Simon was fibbing so much as he was trying to maintain the mystery of the wild card show. I’m kind of glad they are supposedly keeping it to the Top 36. I have no desire to see David Osmond or Jamar Rogers again, and I think the producers might be wanting to save Leneshe for next year.

I don’t know if Simon was fibbing so much as he was trying to maintain the mystery of the wild card show.

By making an untrue statement? Or maybe the statement isn’t untrue and TPTB want to keep it all a surprise? Hm. Oh well, it has gotten people talking.

I’ll bet when the producers initially decided to bring back the wild card, they had no definite rules in place, or a few fuzzy ideas of how they might proceed.

As others have said, they probably still reserve the right to change their minds.

Sometimes I think Simon is a complete tool of the producers, and sometimes I think he is completely out of the loop but feels compelled to talk and sound like he knows what he is talking about even when he doesn’t.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll take the link, and overlook the dis. Maybe.

You must have a much thicker skin than I do, because I felt offended by the “sometimes-reliable” line, and it’s not even my blog!

If TPTB hadn’t wanted rumors about the wild card round to be bandied about, they could have simply been clear and concrete about how it was going to work from the beginning. I’m still unclear; is each judge going to pick one top singer? three singers? If there are only three spots, then judging each one “yes or no” doesn’t make sense, unless perhaps if a judge has a limited number of yeses available.

I don’t think Simon was fibbing. I remember seeing the three judges last year on Larry King or something and I was shocked at how cavalier all of them were about their memory of rules, formats, previous contestants, and then keeping up with with past contestants’ careers. I just don’t think they care as much as many of us fans do! lol They are busy with various projects, they have loads of dough, and probably take this show as a well-compensated, fun gig but then don’t think much about it beyond that. I bet Simon hardly cares about these new rules, he’s probably more spontaneous with it, like, “Well, just tell me how this works and let’s get on with it.”

Even if Simon finds someone in the course of the show whose career he may want to guide afterwards, past experience shows that you don’t need to have your own favorite actually win in order for them to do very well, so why get all concerned about it, is I bet how he thinks. But the producers get paid to care, and if they mess with the show and it fails, it’s their head on the chopping block.