'Idol' Shake up - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 11-05-2007, 09:38 AM

November 5, 2007 -- THE "Idol" express is pulling into Hollywood station.

The next edition of "American Idol" doesn't start until January - but the Hollywood phase of the show, where scores of hopefuls are narrowed down to 24 semi-finalists, is about to begin and a new season is officially underway.

Several changes are in the works, officials say, including:

* changing the format to let singers show other musical talents, such as guitar playing.

* many fewer "mentors," those established musical stars like Diana Ross and Tony Bennett, who appeared every week last season and took attention away from the contestants.

* and next summer, the annual "Idol" live tour may be combined with the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour - to create a show with both singing and dancing.

"We're bringing about 160 people back to Hollywood at the end of this month," says "Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe.

"We'll bring everyone there, and the judges will spend four days with them and bring the list down to the top 24 contestants - 12 boys and 12 girls."

The seven-city audition tour ended late last month with a few standouts, Lythgoe says.

"There are one or two that stand out - there are three girls who are superb, including one girl we saw three years ago who wasn't an American citizen [and is now] and we're happy to have her this year," he says.

"And we've got one or two guys who are really good."

Lythgoe is busy producing his latest Fox show, "The Next Great American Band," now and hasn't seen much "Idol" audition footage yet.

"I'm literally going into the edit suite [this] week," he says.

The Hollywood phase of the show will include something different this year.

"We knew Chris Daughtry, Carrie [Underwood] and Bo [Bice] could play the guitar but we really couldn't show it," he says. "If [the contestants] can play an instrument this year we want to be able to see that, and we'll introduce a couple of days of that during Hollywood week."

Lythgoe says he's not sure if this idea will be carried over to the "Idol" competition when its seventh season kicks off in late January.

"We'll make a decision when we see how many really talented people we have," he says.

The element of the show that Lythgoe is sure will change, however, is the use of show-biz giants as "mentors" each week.

"We did make something of a mistake with 'Idol' by focusing so much on the mentors," Lythgoe says.

"We got such good mentors [last season] that we forgot about . . . getting across who these kids were, their backgrounds and families," Lythoe says.

"There are legends in our business that hopefully will come along as mentors on 'Idol' this season - but not every single week," he says.

"I want to know about the kids, what makes them tick, what got them singing."

Lythgoe says he'd also like to see the "Idol" and "Dance" touring companies combined into one unit.

"I'd love to see the 'Dance' tour go out with the 'Idol' tour and put the singing and dancing together," he says. "They should never be separate.

"I'd like to see that happen."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11052007..._up_544501.htm

80sTrivia · 11-05-2007, 02:56 PM

Sound like good ideas... the show needs an injection of something new to keep it fresh & exciting...

JulieSomoski · 11-05-2007, 06:43 PM

I don't really like the idea of the guita-playing and other talents. It definitely takes away from the actual singing, whcih the show is all about. Now, instead of making it a singing competition, viewers will probably vote who sang best and who played the guita best, whcih isn't fair.

On the other hand, I do like the fact they're focusing more on the contestants this year. Last season, great voices like Melinda Doolittle were hardly noticed because of all the mentors ( stopped watch half-way through the season, actually), Sanjaya (I wanted to murder the kid) and the Idol gives back thing (which didn't do too well).

Karen* · 11-13-2007, 12:29 AM

NO to the combining of the AI and SYTYCD tours. It's just gonna turn more people away from going cuz there are some people who like one show and hate or don't like the other. They're two different shows, so let them have their own showcases and tours.

But yay to the other two things.

11-05-2007, 09:38 AM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	'Idol' Shake up November 5, 2007 -- THE "Idol" express is pulling into Hollywood station. The next edition of "American Idol" doesn't start until January - but the Hollywood phase of the show, where scores of hopefuls are narrowed down to 24 semi-finalists, is about to begin and a new season is officially underway. Several changes are in the works, officials say, including: * changing the format to let singers show other musical talents, such as guitar playing. * many fewer "mentors," those established musical stars like Diana Ross and Tony Bennett, who appeared every week last season and took attention away from the contestants. * and next summer, the annual "Idol" live tour may be combined with the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour - to create a show with both singing and dancing. "We're bringing about 160 people back to Hollywood at the end of this month," says "Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. "We'll bring everyone there, and the judges will spend four days with them and bring the list down to the top 24 contestants - 12 boys and 12 girls." The seven-city audition tour ended late last month with a few standouts, Lythgoe says. "There are one or two that stand out - there are three girls who are superb, including one girl we saw three years ago who wasn't an American citizen [and is now] and we're happy to have her this year," he says. "And we've got one or two guys who are really good." Lythgoe is busy producing his latest Fox show, "The Next Great American Band," now and hasn't seen much "Idol" audition footage yet. "I'm literally going into the edit suite [this] week," he says. The Hollywood phase of the show will include something different this year. "We knew Chris Daughtry, Carrie [Underwood] and Bo [Bice] could play the guitar but we really couldn't show it," he says. "If [the contestants] can play an instrument this year we want to be able to see that, and we'll introduce a couple of days of that during Hollywood week." Lythgoe says he's not sure if this idea will be carried over to the "Idol" competition when its seventh season kicks off in late January. "We'll make a decision when we see how many really talented people we have," he says. The element of the show that Lythgoe is sure will change, however, is the use of show-biz giants as "mentors" each week. "We did make something of a mistake with 'Idol' by focusing so much on the mentors," Lythgoe says. "We got such good mentors [last season] that we forgot about . . . getting across who these kids were, their backgrounds and families," Lythoe says. "There are legends in our business that hopefully will come along as mentors on 'Idol' this season - but not every single week," he says. "I want to know about the kids, what makes them tick, what got them singing." Lythgoe says he'd also like to see the "Idol" and "Dance" touring companies combined into one unit. "I'd love to see the 'Dance' tour go out with the 'Idol' tour and put the singing and dancing together," he says. "They should never be separate. "I'd like to see that happen." http://www.nypost.com/seven/11052007..._up_544501.htm
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11-05-2007, 02:56 PM	#2
80sTrivia Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 23, 2002 Posts: 21,714	Sound like good ideas... the show needs an injection of something new to keep it fresh & exciting...
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11-05-2007, 06:43 PM	#3
JulieSomoski Roseanne Reboot - March 27! Forum Veteran Join Date: Nov 06, 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 7,558	I don't really like the idea of the guita-playing and other talents. It definitely takes away from the actual singing, whcih the show is all about. Now, instead of making it a singing competition, viewers will probably vote who sang best and who played the guita best, whcih isn't fair. On the other hand, I do like the fact they're focusing more on the contestants this year. Last season, great voices like Melinda Doolittle were hardly noticed because of all the mentors ( stopped watch half-way through the season, actually), Sanjaya (I wanted to murder the kid) and the Idol gives back thing (which didn't do too well).
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11-13-2007, 12:29 AM	#4
Karen* paradox. Forum Superstar Join Date: Jan 08, 2005 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 28,365	NO to the combining of the AI and SYTYCD tours. It's just gonna turn more people away from going cuz there are some people who like one show and hate or don't like the other. They're two different shows, so let them have their own showcases and tours. But yay to the other two things.
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