IS THIS GOING TO BE A MONTHLY FEATURE? In April's installment of
People Involved In American Idol Who Respond To Me On Twitter, it's executive producer Nigel Lythgoe! First,
I tweeted the following in response to his post-Pia lament, which he re-tweeted to his ~60K followers:
Then have the judges make clear who deserves to leave. RT @dizzyfeet I am still shocked and sad about last night's #AmericanIdol result.
To which he then
added:
RT @adambonin: Then have the judges make clear who deserves to leave. [IT IS NOT ABOUT THE JUDGES OPINION IT'S ABOUT YOURS!! U R NOT SHEEP!]
Which suggests the question, which I asked him: then why have judges at all? No reply yet, but at least he's leaving my mom out of it.
If they don't like the results they get with pure fan voting, then go to a hybrid system like they do on Dancing With the Stars.
ReplyDeleteRather than a score after each performance (which, since singing isn't a judged sport the way ballroom is, doesn't fit well), force the judges to rank the performances each week top to bottom, and combine those scores together to come up with a ranking, then combine that ranking with the fan vote (either as each counting for half, or weight the fan vote greater if they want to maintain the 'America decided' mantra).
The judges would have to step up and actually judge (it would be difficult to do the rankings during the live show, but they could post the rankings just after voting closes, or reveal the ranking during the results show), and even if some of the judges feel the need to say something nice about every performance, their actual preferences will be revealed for all to see. At the very least, having the judges justify their rankings during the results show could make for some entertaining minutes each week.
I'm watching an entertinament show that's blaming Pia's getting tossed on the jump suit she was wearing. I never thought to blame Gwen Stefani.
ReplyDeleteI totally thought about blaming Gwen Stefani.
ReplyDeleteYou know: I agree that the judges should do more to give actual opinions (as well as constructive criticism). But all in all, I don't really want to have the judges really decide who should stay. I don't actually trust their opinions that much.
Nigel comes off as totally unhinged on Twitter. It's weird.
ReplyDeleteSomeone somewhere today noted that Simon was also there when John Stevens outlasted Jennifer Hudson (and listed a litany of similar results), so it's not like his power is *that* strong.
ReplyDeleteTotally! I love Nigel on SYTYCD, but he seems overly defensive and odd on Twitter. Then again, he's actually an interesting judge who gives constructive criticism on the dancing. Why is he so weirdly defensive of the really inept judging on AI?
ReplyDeleteNigel's argument makes no sense. Americans are not sheep; they should vote for whom they like. But it's a travesty if they don't vote for the person Nigel likes. How do those two statements square with each other?
ReplyDeleteLook, the show is all about the viewers choosing a winner. So, by definition, the viewers CAN'T get it wrong, because the winnner is whoever they say it is. If you want the show to be about picking the best singer, then come up with a different set of rules.
And by the way, on the scale of Idol travesties, Pia doesn't even make Top Ten.
ReplyDeleteIt's the "He's/She's So Good, They Have to Be Safe" paradox. No one votes for them because they think, "She's so good, there's no way she'll be at risk."
ReplyDeleteIn this case, I think it's as simple as the fact that she was good, but she wasn't anyone's favorite.
ReplyDeleteBut I have to agree. I'm so bored this season. I fast forward almost everything. Part of it is missing Simon. Part of it is a lot of middle-of-the-road contestants. Week to week, there's no one I look forward to watching and the non-judging is so old. I also can't figure out why I'm so out of sync with others on, for example, Jacob, whom I find insufferable.
It may just be time for AI to call it quits. To fix it would be a different show . . . and so maybe Simon gets the full win because to fix it would be to tweak the rules even more and bring Simon back. In other words, we'll just all move over to the X-Factor.
I guess, for me, the fix depends on where the most money is--assuming you can't have it all. Is it in a buzz-worthy, watchable show or in finding a true, bankable pop star? They could do both in early days, but not anymore maybe. I loved the Adam Lambert season. It was good TV. Did having a truly unique, electric person (who people at least wanted to watch for what happened next) worth the risks of not getting the right "winner"? Ditto for the David Cook season, which I also enjoyed watching unfold over the run.
I don't think any of these people is capable of much development or artistry we have yet to see.
Sorry, above was me.
ReplyDeleteI can't possibly be the only person who finds the uproar over Pia getting the boot amusing, right?
ReplyDeleteRandy's reaction on Thursday night was hilarious. They've always said that the show is about more than having a great voice. Pia may have had the voice but she was dullsville. Her "uptempo" performance wasn't all that different from her ballad performances and just... yawn. And she showed so little personality that there was no way that was going to carry her. Haley may not have as great a voice, but she seems to have some personality. Same with Lauren (although I do like Lauren's voice).
I'd love to see Paul and Jacob go next. Stefano isn't great but I find him less annoying than these guys. Beyond that I don't really have a preference. I feel really uninvested in this season and would just like a top 5 of James, Lauren, Casey, Haley and Scotty. At this point I don't have a favorite among them.
I really do miss Simon.
I don't get Nigel's pair of tweets -- it's about your opinion, but if your opinion is that Pia should get booted off, that's sad and shocking?
ReplyDeletePia was a huge fucking bore. Back to mafia weddings and VFW events for her.
True. You really need at least one person (and ideally more than one person) who might pull out a surprising, exciting performance any given week.
ReplyDeleteI agree -- it's hilarious! I find Scotty less objectionable than either Stefano or Jacob, but at this point I'm hoping against hope he goes next because I can't think of anything that would alarm and enrage the producers/judges more. Apoplexy = excellent TV.
ReplyDeleteNone of the people who are talking about this *liked* Pia. Everyone just expected her to outlast Stefano and a few others, and it's the five-girls-in-a-row that really grates.
ReplyDeleteI should add that, while it doesn't make this season any more fun to watch and the show itself seems to really be struggling, I do think they likely have a more bankable star in Scotty than they've had in many, many years--even if he remains outside of mainstream pop. Even the most mediocre Country-brand Idols seem to do surprisingly okay (see, Bucky Covington). Imagine someone actually good, and cute enough for non-Threatening Boys Magazine to cross over a little to tweens while still hitting a genuine adult country core. Even if he didn't win . . . which I strongly suspect he might. I can't think of anyone who's a consistent threat (maybe, maybe Lauren - but the voting blocks aren't on her side).
ReplyDeleteThat's about right. I'd love to know: how many of the people complaining about Pia's ouster bothered to vote for her?
ReplyDeleteI'd say that Lauren has a stronger fanbase than you realize. And I think that the show would love for her to make it deep---not just as a female contestant, but as a viable, and fairly spunky, country singer. With a decent bunch of songs, I think that she'd sell well.
ReplyDeleteThat was Naima, and the judges trashed her for doing so.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it's my ignorance of country music, but from a vocal standpoint Scotty seems--to me--to be much, much stronger. But, mentored well, she has far more room to grow and create a narrative for herself in a Kelly Clarkson sort of way.
ReplyDeletePia was my favorite contestant this year, but I didn't like her enough to vote for her (and I'm someone who has voted quite often in previous seasons). That said, I do think this was one of the more surprising eliminations they've ever had, based on how early she got knocked out. I don't remember someone who was presumed as one of the three best singers finishing as low as ninth without first having a performance that was a clear disappointment.
ReplyDeletethere is one obvious solution to this ... American Idol: Redemption Island.
ReplyDeleteTrue. I'd have enjoyed Naima staying for a few more weeks, just to do something different to break up the show.
ReplyDeletePia would have done better with preference voting; she was probably in the upper half -- at least in the field as it stands now -- for most people.
ReplyDeleteCan you make Steve Jobs talk to us. That would be cool. He is Steve Jobs. Not Wozniak OK?
ReplyDeleteHe'd yell at you, fire you, take away everything that he gave you before, and then tell you that if you have any complaints, it's probably your fault. But you'd still buy everything he ever made.
ReplyDeleteExcept she just wasn't that good
ReplyDeleteAnd, that would be me. I mean, I have.
ReplyDelete