UPDATE: Nigel Lythgoe tweets, “@dizzyfeet We heard we will only get to vote on the topp 12 not 24 is that true? [NO]” (If there is no Top 24, how is this possible?)
And, “Don’t panic everyone. You’ll still be voting to choose your top group of contestants on Idol but with a change of style and more knowledge.” Whatevah.
In an interview with the New York Post, Nigel Lythgoe says the middle rounds will disappear but, “the judges will still be bringing [the number] down, ”
“When you’re showing viewers 34 people and asking the country to judge 34 people, you don’t know who’s talented — you only know the ones who’ve had a bit of their stories shown in the auditions.
“It’s much easier to say, ‘Here are the Final 12, now here are their stories, and start figuring out who you like.’ “
So, it looks like the public will not be invited to vote until the Top 12. Way to exert even more control over Idol, Nigel! It looks like TPTB are determined this year to get the winner they want!
Nigel also tells the Post that he ain’t scared of no X Factor. Simon Cowell will be bringing his hit UK show to the US shores fall 2011.
“I don’t think the pressure is there for ‘Idol’ — I feel upset for Simon a little bit.”
“There’s so much pressure for him to get it right, and everyone’s talking about it.”
“There’s no guarantee of success [here], ” said Lythgoe. “We were really lucky with ‘Idol’ in that it caught the zeitgeist of the country at the right time. There’s no pressure on us at all.
“We’re the No. 1 show on TV right now, and we’ll still be No. 1 in the country next year [when ‘The X Factor’ premieres], ” he said.
“There’s a lot resting on Simon’s shoulders.”
Let the games begin!
How do you feel about the elimination of the semi-finals? Do you think the judges will do a better job of picking the Top 12 than the viewers? I’ve seen the judges get behind a contestant, only to see them fail spectacularly on the Idol stage. I’m not convinced they’ll do a better job than us peeps at home.
