Producers plan huge midseason surprise for Idol

[Brent88]

"American Idol" executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz promises a big event midway through the coming season of the red-hot talent show - but she won't say what it is.

"If there's one thing that makes 'American Idol' so big, it's a huge event," she told the Daily News.

"Something we're working on is a big-event show, sometime in the middle of the season, something that will blow America away," she added.

Hard to believe the folks behind "American Idol" can get the show any bigger than it already is. When it's on - and it's only around 19 weeks a year - the show is the biggest thing on the small screen, generating huge Nielsen ratings and daily water-cooler buzz.

Each season the show rolls around, there are gentle warnings that the audience level will drop. And, each year, the show does better.

Last season, the Tuesday edition of "American Idol" was watched by an average of 31.02 million people to rank No. 1 for the season. That's up 3 million from the 27.44 million the season before.

Moreover, the show has launched the careers of music superstars Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and "Dreamgirls" star Jennifer Hudson.

"American Idol" returns with two-hour editions on Jan. 16 and 17 at 8 p.m.

Few shows have had the run "American Idol" has and remained as strong. But Frot-Coutaz said a drop is not out of the realm of possibility.

"Look," she said, "it's always in the back of your mind. The only thing we can do is make the best show we can and find the best talent as possible. The rest, some of it is up to Fox and how they promoted it. The rest is the competitive landscape. If we keep giving [viewers] something entertaining, it will be fine."

Fox's competitors, however, treat the show like it's radioactive. For instance, ABC recently announced it would move "Lost" to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays to get it away from "Idol" at 9 p.m.

While most of the world goes into a slow-down mode this holiday season, the folks at 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia North America, which produce "Idol," are in overdrive preparing the early editions of the show.

"We're in production pretty much year-round," Frot-Coutaz said. "We start our casting in August."

This time of year, she admitted, gets a bit tense.

"It's that time when you get apprehensive about how it's going to launch," she said. "We keep our fingers crossed."

The early episodes are "great" she said, with some of the best audition shows ever. They key, she said, is mixing the good people with the truly bad ones, like, say, William Hung.

"There's some great talent out there," she said. "But there's also some people who are delusional about their talent, too. That's the beauty of an open call - everybody comes. Everybody thinks they've got a great voice."

[Karen*]

Snap. I wonder what the surprise is. Sounds exciting!

[Cactus Jack]

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG THEYVE PICKED UP AI:TS?!?!?! OMGOMGOMGOMG










Nahh probably not, thatd be pretty cool though,I guess

[David]

That would be so amazing if they had a big reunion show, during a results show or whatever, with like the top 4 from the past five seasons, including Kelly Clarkson.

[Karen*]

Originally Posted by David

That would be so amazing if they had a big reunion show, during a results show or whatever, with like the top 4 from the past five seasons, including Kelly Clarkson.

That's what I had in mind.

[Buffyboy323]

Originally Posted by David

That would be so amazing if they had a big reunion show, during a results show or whatever, with like the top 4 from the past five seasons, including Kelly Clarkson.

That sounds really good. That might be it.

Or maybe they'll axe ALL the bottom 3 at once.