Todayâs Post reported that ââAmerican Idolââ producers are quietly asking fans to chip in their ideas on how to improve TVâs No. 1 show.
Bravo. As long as theyâre not doing anything radical that smells of desperation (i.e. ââThe Apprenticeââ and tents experiment), we appreciate the effort of ââIdolââ producers to keep our favorite show as fresh as possible.
Off the top of our heads, here are five suggestions… GIVE US SUNLIGHT: Nigel Lythgoe told us years ago that ââIdolââ canât offer full voting disclosure because itâd turn self-fulfilling. In other words, if we knew David Archuleta were racking up 10 million more votes than David Cook each week, then viewers wouldnât care enough to vote for David C. in the following weeks.
OK, fair point. But still, ââIdolââ needs to do something to give us more transparency. Maybe just give us the vote counts for the bottom two or three each week? Or at very least, give us a cheesy ceremony with a generic accounting firm drone coming on stage with results in a sealed envelope, Oscars style. Something, just give us something to say this isnât all bogus.
CUT DOWN RESULTS SHOW: We know it makes dollars and sense to milk the results show for all itâs worth. But the hour of filler is wearing on us. Can we at least cut it down to 30 minutes? How many Ford Focus musical ads and “Brady Bunch” âstyle sing-alongs must we endure?
“Idolâs” country music copycat “Nashville Star” has developed a nice format that doesnât include a results show. In “Nashville,” each contestant, as he or she is ruled safe for another round, is sent on stage to do their weekly performance. So the performance shows and result shows are one in the same.
SING TO CREDITS: We love the “Idol” mythology of eliminated performers going home (to the tune of Daughtryâs “Home” or Daniel Powterâs “Bad Day,” etc.) and getting one final chance to sing us out to the closing credits. “Idol” producers have gone away from the format a few times this season and we urge them to stop it. This is one part of ââIdolââ that isnât broken, so please donât fix it.
MORE CONTEMPORARY THEMES: No offense to Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dolly Parton and Neil Diamond, but we need more updated theme nights. Would it be that hard for “Idol” to leverage its great power in the music biz to draw guest mentors who have actually had a hit record in the past five years? We liked the year-you-were-born theme, so why not expand on it? Just pick a random year and allow our Idols to pick their favorite song from the pre-determined time.
With all of Foxâs rights to movie clips and news footage, it could turn out to be an entertaining history hour too. You imagine it: “1989, the Berlin Wall came crumbling down and so did Milli Vanilli.”
BEHIND THE SCENES: The Idols are always willing to talk about the day-to-day grind of their Thursday-through-Monday lives. Letâs see more of what they have to go through: the photo shoots, the red carpets, rehearsals and other campy public appearances.
For long-time viewers, youâll remember the Idol house where we actually saw a little bit of how the contestants lived. Weâre not talking about inane “Big Brother” stuff, but wouldnât it be nice to see a few clips of how the “Idols” unwind at home?
–DAVID K. LI and MELISSA JANE KRONFELD