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“Idol” creator Nigel Lythgoe expects little change, not perturbed by lower ratings

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Nigel Lythgoe did his best to fend off questions of "Idol's" declining ratings by noting how thrilled he is that after 11 seasons, "Idol" is still pulling in 18 million viewers a week. CREDIT: AP

“Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is always a great interview. He can be blunt and honest but always manages to spin things to make you feel good about “American Idol.”

And when it’s a question he doesn’t like, he deflects nicely and never sounds defensive even when he may be.

He spoke to media in a mass phone conference today, which included a fair number of questions about the declining ratings.

Here are some highlights:

Though I called in just five minutes before the phone conference, I was the first one in line. I wasn’t expecting to be and had lined up a couple of lesser questions I didn’t think anybody else would ask.

Q: Is Jimmy Iovine coming back as a mentor?

A:If you call what Jimmy does as mentorship, yes he is. [He's actually the closest to being Simon Cowell as it gets on the show.] He is going to do what he did last year. We’ll have guest mentors as well.

Q: Any response from Pres. Obama after you invited him to sing on “American Idol”?

A: No response! I have a feeling he’s a little too busy right now.

His thoughts on “The Voice”: I think it’s a fun format. It’s very gimmicky, which is interesting at this moment in time. I particularly like the relationship between Blake [Shelton] and Adam [Levine] Other than that, I think they need stronger talent. We’ll see.

Why did so many contestants “drop like flies,” as J. Lo has noted, during Hollywood week, which begins Wednesday: “Even though we’ve been doing this for years, some of these singers don’t realize how tough Hollywood week is. A lot may have to do with geographic circumstances of being East Coast kids coming to the West Coast. They don’t realize how dry it is and don’t drink enough water. They were dropping like flies. One gal Amy Rumsfeld, “Tent Girl,” became ill. She passed a bug around. People were vomiting!”

He also described Simone Black falling off the stage after fainting and how a camera guy tried to catch her but ended up having the camera fall on him instead.

The issue of talent dilution with so many singing competition shows: “I’m blessed America is so big and has such wonderful talent. [My personal theory is that these shows have cultivated MORE singing talent that might otherwise have gone to other things.] I must say we going to the 15 year old area has helped us, reinvigorated things… I don’t think ‘The Voice’ is feeding off that talent. They have fed off talent that didn’t quite make it.”

Nigel on Ryan Seacrest: “I believe Seacrest is probably the best host in the business. Why hasn’t he received an Emmy I’m not sure. I’d hate to think of him leaving. He’s the glue that keep it all together and moves it along. I’m a huge fan. The minute I heard him on the radio when I came to America and asked him to audition, I haven’t had a bad thing to say about him. He’s too good looking? He has too much money? He now has $300 million. I hope he comes along and helps out Nigel Lythgoe Productions! I just hope he doesn’t leave. I hope they can sort out a deal.”

On multiple saves: he hasn’t decided on that but he seems to be leaning on staying with one.

Why are there fewer William Hungs? “We haven’t had in truth that many bad ones that are bad fun. William Hung is bad fun. We haven’t had as many of those. You’re always a little bit wary of the people coming in. Are they coming to have fun with their friends from university. I’ll make myself look stupid. [In other words, "Idol" prefers self-deluded people who aren't doing this as a goof.] We’ve had some extraordinary talent. We decided we’d like to feature the talent. As I’ve said previously, if you want people to be made fun of, we will do that with ease. Being English and having that lack of sensitivity, I’m ready to take the piss out of anybody, whoever they are. At the same time, we have the responsibility to say if we’re a talent show, it’s about the talent. It’s not about the production, it’s not about the judges. It’s about the talent. [He's not referencing 'The X Factor,' is he?] We are as strong or as weak as our final talent we present to America.”

Michael Slezak of EW.com noted that J. Lo briefly was construction with her criticism, then wasn’t.

Lythgoe: “You’re dealing with artists here who are dealing with other artists. It’s extremely difficult to be honest and critical as you can be but at the same time support the artist.” He said Simon can be insulting and dismissive because for him, it’s all about the benjamins. Jimmy Iovine can be that way.

He told another reporter that there will be tweaks but nothing all that major.

About the ratings drop: “Let’s be honest. After 11 years, I’m thrilled with these ratings. We are constantly compared to ourselves. There’s going to be some deterioration. We’ve now got two major programs, ‘The Voice’ and ‘X Factor’ against us… Am I worried? I’m more worried getting the show right, making the best show I can make.

Later, he noted: “We were never going to do two series of ‘Idols’ a year. We said that right from the beginning and we’ve never done it. Now with ‘The X Factor,’ it feels like two ‘Idol’ seasons on Fox. And ‘The Voice’ is there… There’s going to be viewer fatigue. It’s the same as too many science fiction dramas or hospital dramas. All I can say after 11 years, I don’t think we should be defending ourselves. We should still be saying it’s fantastic we’re still America’s No. 1 show. [For now.]

His take on “Smash”: “I think Katharine McPhee is fantastic. It’ll be interesting to see if the public will stay with it… I’m not positive America is going to necessarily get a musical show at this time without the camp of ‘Glee.’ ”

Join my Facebook fan page and Twitter.

By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk

56 comments Add your comment

Deirdre

February 7th, 2012
4:15 pm

Nigel, charming as always. Put Jimmy on the panel!!!!!

Smash may not have “camp” but it has “heart”.

Simon is all about the “Benjamins” That’s a funny thing for a Brit to say! Or is that how you translated it, Rodney?

Rodney Ho

February 7th, 2012
4:16 pm

Deirdre: I paraphrased Nigel using my lame attempt at being “hip.”

Deirdre

February 7th, 2012
4:28 pm

OK, that explains it! ;-)

Deirdre

February 7th, 2012
4:33 pm

I completely agree with Nigel when he says that American Idol shouldn’t have to “defend Itself”. 11 seasons, 6 in a row at # 1 in the ratings has never been done before by a prime time show. AI should be celebrating and should also be treated with a lot more respect. 11 years, 6 in the #1 position proves that the show is not a fad. It is not some fly-by-night success story that comes and goes in a flash.

Idol may well be on the downhill slope but so am I and I ain’t dead yet either!

Harriett

February 7th, 2012
4:41 pm

Fun interview, Rodney! Thanks.

I did not think Smash overdid the musical thing. One time I got a bit distracted, but not for long.

Woodpappy

February 7th, 2012
4:43 pm

I agree as well. American Idol is the best and always has been. All these naysayers and dooms day worry warts should lighten up and enjoy each season for what it is.

JTesla

February 7th, 2012
4:48 pm

Thanks Rodney.

I’m not buying the bits about drinking water and tent girl being patient zero, but otherwise very informative.

Jenny

February 7th, 2012
5:29 pm

K&CF, Sam-A and Deirdre, I second everything you said about LA Reid. He’s definitely no “star”. I won’t get the soapbox back out :-) … but y’all are right on.

Seth and D, yes, good points about Idol also having contestants with industry experience. I do remember all the heat that Carly took, and Mike to some extent. And until the actual singing started, I remembered Adam from his audition as “the guy from ‘Wicked’.” So I guess I shouldn’t judge the Voice based on their recruiting efforts. :-) I am, however, having trouble committing to two singing shows at the same time. It may turn out that Idol’s enough for me this spring…

About Smash – dang, I thought it was on my Comcast On Demand, so I didn’t DVR! But now I don’t see it on demand any more… there’s a category, but it just contains a bunch of tiny 1 and 2 minute previews. (And I thought Idol was supposed to be there too, but same thing… just a few short clips. Every once in a while a full show would be there, but not regularly. Anyone else have this issue with their On Demand?) Wanted to see Kat. Darn it.

Deirdre

February 7th, 2012
5:43 pm

Jenny, I think they are repeating Smash on Friday or Saturday night at 8pm. Check and see and be sure to dvr.

Rodney Ho

February 7th, 2012
5:44 pm

“Smash” is also available online all over the place for free, including Hulu and nbc.com.

Jenny

February 7th, 2012
5:53 pm

Thanks Rodney & Deirdre! I figured I could see it online, but much prefer having the tv option. Setting up a series recording now!! :-)

Deirdre

February 7th, 2012
6:13 pm

Jenny, be sure you don’t check the “new episodes only” option yet. The next showing of Smash will be considered a rerun.

DanJ

February 7th, 2012
9:33 pm

If you’re the producer of a show and not worried about a ratings drop then you’re not doing your job! He just doesn’t want to admit it to the public nor should he. The fact that The Voice is on and going head-to-head for weekly ratings probably has his shorts in a wad. The Voice is newer and fresher and I’m sure the younger fans will push it over the top in the next year or so. I really like the judges/coaches on The Voice more than the judges on Idol not much more. Their bickering is fun to watch, it’s obvious they like each other.

I do wish Idol would create a Country Idol and eliminate country artists from American Idol because it appears that they’ll be 6 to 8 Country artists in the top 24. That’s too many for me if its true. I heard that on a radio station down here in Alabama. I hope that’s not considered a spoiler. Anyway thanks to the DVR I will continue to watch all three and see what unfolds with the ratings.

Seth T

February 7th, 2012
10:09 pm

I think LA Reid was left intact on X-Factor’s next season, because of his inside connections to the hitmakers power club, not because he is anywhere near the TV personality they need.

It will be interesting to see if the Factor changes their format next year – the groups were the biggest fail in the American version, but the group “Little Mix” did well on the UK version.

THE VOICE – I believe I heard them say that they were expanding the number of contestants to be mentored this year. I think the 4 chairs backward and the play between the judges for contestants is very entertaining – watching the show twice now, I was never bored. Adam actually tried to reign-in Xtina a bit, as she is liable to say anything- asking her to “be nice”. This show is also getting more into the side-stories, sad stories, recovering Meth users like the Factor had in Chris Rene, etc.

Hollywood/Hell week for Idol should be worth watching – all indications are that they sent a lot of talent there, so hopefully there will be enough left standing to put together a good top 24.

Kellie Pickler’s new release, 100 proof, debut at #2 on billboard Country Album genre- (wow)

Kelly Clarkson is at #2 (What does’t -makes you stronger) and also at # 35 yet (Mr. Know it All) in the main singles category. Kelly is an international artist, and gets play in the UK/European and Austrailian markets as well.

Deirdre

February 8th, 2012
7:29 am

Morning!

Hollywood Week!!! Yay!!!! (at least I hope it’s worth a “yay”)

I agree with Seth that the best parts of The Voice are happening right now. I like the blind auditions. Mostly, I like the friendly rivalry between the judges although, as JT has so aptly put it, Adam Levine is still a tool!

I’m interested in seeing if they’ve changed the head to head combat round which so totally turned me off last year that I could hardly watch it. Two(or sometimes 3) people trying to out-sing each other in a fake prize-fighting ring, wandering around aimlessly while they sing, getting in each others’ way then hugging at the end while clearing their throats because they’ve been screaming. Yep, that’s fun.

Deirdre

February 8th, 2012
7:31 am

As for Hollywood Week, I read that we start off with 300 contestants but I’m pretty sure we’ll only see most of them in a big group. They throw people out pretty fast in Hollywood.

Sam-A

February 8th, 2012
8:35 am

RoHo, thanks for the interview stuff. I like Nigel. I do wish Iovine would be a judge (buh-bye ST!!??), but he’s not a well-enough known name outside the business, so I guess they’d prefer someone we’ve all heard of.

Jenny, you are so right-on-the-money with your posts. Will say it again, you’re a great addition. I enjoy reading your takes on stuff very much.

I’m thrilled, as many of you guys seem to be, that we’re finally at Hollywood week. And, I agree with Nigel, when a truly horrible person really believes they are good, ie W Hung, it’s actually quite fun to watch – glad they left off most of the “screw up just for the fun of it” people.

Sam-A

February 8th, 2012
8:37 am

Deirdre: since you’re going out to West coast in a few weeks, have you considered trying to get tix to a show? What fun that would be, and you could then tell us if the bad ones actually sound good from the audience, as we’ve been told by Simon on several occasions after he’s viewed replays.

G

February 8th, 2012
9:12 am

I think Iovine would be a great judge. I’ve always supported most of his critiques. He tells it like it is, and you just deal with it. I also believe he’s edited a lot too.

This AI judging pannel is still sub-par. Some nights are just bad, but everything is “beautiful” with ST. Worst of all, you have a biased judge in JLo. Face it, she’s all in for the Latino (r&b/pop singers), especially if they’re female. Randy still can’t critique past pitchy. Not the best pannel, not the worst.

Highlander

February 8th, 2012
9:20 am

If y’all are judging L.A. Reid only by his “performance” on X-F, then I’ll agree that he’s not a star. But if you’re saying he’s not a star (in general) in the music industry, I’d have to assume you just arrived on this planet.

Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t like him on X-F, either, but he is more knowledgeable and has had much more success in the music industry than Simon, Randy, JLo, Paula and Nicole combined.

I just think he’s much better staying in the background, signing, developing and producing artists!

Highlander

February 8th, 2012
9:24 am

Really enjoying The Voice so far.

And I agree with DanJ, the interaction between the judges/coaches on The Voice is a fun and friendly rivalry. Unlike what we saw on X-Factor. Hope Simon is watching and taking notes! :wink:

Rickster

February 8th, 2012
9:28 am

Morning, everyone!

Was out all day yesterday. I must have walked in my sleep and had an accident with a caulk gun, because when I woke up yesterday AM, my sinuses felt like they were full of caulk!

DanJ

February 8th, 2012
9:37 am

I agree with Deirdre about the best part of The Voice being the auditions. I do think they also have the best judges/mentors. Simon and the XFactor judges should watch The Voice and how the judges handle themselves. It’s playful and entertaining! Didn’t care for the sing-off in the ring at all, I hope they change that this year.

Like him or not LA Reid is one of the best producers around. I also didn’t care for him and his biased opinions on XFactor but he DID put his money where his mouth is and signed all 3 of his guys. You can bet Astro, Chris and Marcus will do well in the business.

I hope Hollywood goes by quickly, I’m ready for the competition to begin on Idol. Does anyone know how many Hollywood episodes they’ll be on Idol?

kelly&carriefan

February 8th, 2012
9:37 am

Seth T, I agree. L.A. brings the industry connections. How else did they get Avril Lavigne to show up and sing with Chris Rene? She’s one of his discoveries along with Usher, Ciara, and Pink. So he’s got that going for him. But on screen, he didn’t come across as fair as he could have been. We’ll see how, if in any way, his attitude changes. As for the groups, I think having half of them be put together by the producers did that category a major disservice. They didn’t connect with each other. To me, if that category has to stay, it must be existing groups.

Sam-A and D, indeed! YAY for Hollywood Week.

Sam-A

February 8th, 2012
9:43 am

Guys, I think we are all talking about LA’s onscreen persona. I have no idea about his talents in producing, et al, but he was a real dud on XF. Not funny, personable, nice – unless it was his own contestant. And certainly not FAIR! He was dreadful to all the other contestants – in some cases for no reason.

To put it succintly, he was a real pill on the show.

Harriett

February 8th, 2012
10:40 am

Hey, everyone. I won’t be around today, but wanted to say hello. Also, Deirdre, did you watch The River as you said you would? I did.

Deirdre

February 8th, 2012
10:58 am

Sam, I’ll be at the more northern end of California, just south of San Fran. It would take some doing to get all the way down to LA to see a show. However, Mr. Atlanta is going there for a long weekend to see his LA friends and reconnect with some of his business associates. Maybe he could go.

Harriett, no, I’ll have to watch it on my dvr. It was 2 hours and hubby was not willing to commit. We watched a Netflix movie instead. City of God which is about life in the slums of Rio. Hubby travels to Rio a lot and the first hotel he stayed in was way to close to the slums and had gunfire break a window. They have since moved to another hotel, thank goodness! Rio is a beautiful city as long as you stay by the beaches…other than that, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Sam-A

February 8th, 2012
11:31 am

Deirdre: I thought you were further south – didn’t one of your sons used to be “Mr LA”? Lucky lady – SF to Carmel is my favorite part of the country. My dream is to some day live in Carmel/Monterrey area, and spend weekends often in SF! Sure would have been gool to have a close up opinion from one of our own in the Idol audience!

Sam-A

February 8th, 2012
11:32 am

By the way, how is Maggie doing? and have you heard from Nana about how Memory is doing as well?

Deirdre

February 8th, 2012
11:38 am

The LA son now lives in Atlanta and works for WebMD. The former Atlanta son now works near San Jose. And yes, the Monterey Peninsula is one of the most beautiful places!

Maggie is back to her normal self despite an upset stomach this week that made her stop eating for 2 days. Have no idea what she got into but, knowing Maggie, if there’s something bad, she’ll find it.

Last I heard, Memory was walking again and even attempting to run.

G

February 8th, 2012
12:05 pm

Ditto to Highlander and DanJ!

On another subject, I saw The River last night. Don’t know quite what to make of it. Even though parts of it was predictable, I was still engaged enough to find out “what’s next”. Kind of like a suspense about a reality show, that may cost them their lives. I guess. They’ll never get out of that jungle. Got a feeling they’re going to be looking for Emit for all season.

BTW, I saw City of God a couple of years ago. Classic…..with subtitles and all….LOL!

Rodney Ho

February 8th, 2012
12:09 pm

@G I saw the “River” months ago in screener form and couldn’t get into it. I just didn’t feel for any of the characters. But it’s generally not the type of genre I like…

Deirdre

February 8th, 2012
12:18 pm

G, City of God was fascinating and brutal, even with subtitles.

I’ll try to watch The River this afternoon.

JTesla

February 8th, 2012
12:35 pm

I saw The River, I thought Kevin Bacon was excellent, and you can’t go wrong with Meryl Streep.

Sorry, had to channel Mo, because when you talk of The River, that is what I think of. Well, I think of that and Ice Cube fighting an anaconda.

Deirdre

February 8th, 2012
12:38 pm

Kevin Bacon is always good. Under-rated actor! And yep, I liked that movie, scary in a whole different way than the tv show.

Freckled Rhino

February 8th, 2012
1:03 pm

I agree—the networks are completely flooded with singing compititions. Now when AI comes on it’s nothing special. And seriously? Sharing personal info on a blog? Isn’t that a bit dangerious?

Deirdre

February 8th, 2012
1:27 pm

I suppose it could be, Rhino, if I’d mentioned any names….other than my dog’s name. But you’re right, now that we’re on the Radio and tv blog instead of our own little space, more people will read what we’re saying. I should be more careful. Thanks for the warning.

JTesla

February 8th, 2012
1:38 pm

The information shared here is 100% safer than what can be obtained from most people’s Facebook page, or from pictures they post (many with GPS tags). It’s safer because there are no names, no addresses, no GPS coordinates.

Jenny

February 8th, 2012
2:09 pm

Trying to catch up on comments. Thanks D for the series recording tip – I did set up the Smash pilot to record separately. Also noticed that it’s being repeated A BUNCH! On what seems to be a whole lot of different channels… I guess they must all be NBC-owned.

And thank you, Sam-A! I am so enjoying chatting with all of you guys! I wish I’d jumped in sooner.

Highlander – yes, my LA comments were only based on his behaviour on XF. As Sam said, he was “a real pill”. I don’t think any of us have questioned his experience… but since he can’t bring himself to be even remotely nice or fair to people unless they’re “his” contestants, I think we’re all better off with him in the background.

And I second (third?) the YAY!!! for Hollywood! To me, Hollywood’s always so much more fun to watch than the auditions. Though I’m also ready for the live singing to get started…

Seth T

February 8th, 2012
2:54 pm

I seen a comment from Simon Cowell about THE VOICE talent show. He said something like – what have they produced from their talent – have they made any stars — just because the panel/judges all have hits themselves, what have they done for their talent?

The Voice will need to do better this year, or that could be an issue by next year.

That kind-of reminded me of Nashville Star a few years ago, where a lady, who was a good singer and had become popular with the tv audience won the show. She had lost a lot of weight during the filming of the show and that made a good side story. Her husband and children were there in the audience rooting for mom and she did the old standard songs really well.

There were a couple young girls in the competition that were pretty good and one wrote a very likeable song that did o,k. after the show. The judges, Jewell, John Rich seemed more into their personal snits than in mentoring talent. I think Jewell would make negative remarks about the younger girls sometimes, because she thought they might become real competition.

The moral of the story is … the winner simply was not “marketable”, made no real impact in the business, and was such a dive for the show that they did not even bring the show back the next year. A poor judges/mentor panel that doesn’t develop and encourage the “Happening Now” interesting talent, along with a thin talent field — can send the show right to the “cancelled” bin.

The Voice and X-Factor still have to prove that they can find and promote a major star. The Factor is supposedly spending 5 million to make Melanie a household name, but she’s going to have a long haul to get near the sales or recognition of many of the Idol names. Javier Colon isn’t setting the business on fire – I think the sleeper there may be Xenia as she gets older and finds a hit songwriter.

Deirdre

February 8th, 2012
3:04 pm

Sometimes it isn’t about what happens after the show. And when someone comes on like that lady on Nashville Star and shows she has the chops vocally, if not physically or with charisma, then sometimes I think it’s absolutely right for the audience to choose that person. They may never have another chance to shine for the rest of their lives BUT, for one season on a show, where the audience tells that person that they like her voice, then so be it. Good for her!

These talent shows are not and never have been about finding the next big star. That’s just the “come on”. They have always been about entertaining an audience. Having a Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood helps to give the show credentials but it isn’t what makes most people watch.

Rodney Ho

February 8th, 2012
3:07 pm

Deirdre is 100% correct. The show would like to pick a star if possible but people will vote for who they enjoy to watch on TV. That doesn’t necessarily translate into superstar artist. And often, it’s not the show producers who are responsible for the winners’ careers. That is up to the record label and the artist themselves. I think “The Voice” botched it with Javier Colon and the others. They weren’t prepared to turn him into a star. Heck, I didn’t even know the poor guy had come out with an album last November and I’m a reporter in this business! He didn’t stand a chance.

Seth T

February 8th, 2012
3:39 pm

Good point D, they gotta sell the show overall and entertain. But I submit to the panel that Idol has much more recognition, attention and “job security” because of the K&C’s, Kat’s, Kellie’s, David’s, Adam’s, Jennifer’s, Jordin’s, etc. – and part of the attraction is that you may watch a major new star develop right in front of your eyes.

If a show has run, let’s say 2 or three years — and the top 3 it produces end-up with their albums in the bargain bins 90 days after release — and can only get work as tag-ons to better acts – then the “audience appeal” is diminished. Might as well catch a good Karaoke show at the Bowling Alley.

Kara DioGaurdi and Jewel together in their songwriters show, sunk it in one season.

Rickster

February 8th, 2012
3:46 pm

All I know is that I’m glad that the prelims are over and Hollywood Week(s) start tonight!

Rickster

February 8th, 2012
4:09 pm

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Ke$ha gets a ‘Glamour’ make-under
Duchess Kate samples fleshy delights of Lucian Freud
Feb 08, 2012
Simon Cowell shoots down Beyonce, Mariah ‘X Factor’ buzz

By Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY

He let her go, but he’s saying now that he didn’t want to.

In an interview with his ex-girlfriend Terri Seymore for Extra, Simon Cowell says he and Fox execs first began discussing changes to The X Factor at “the beginning of the year — and we were told it had to happen straight away.”

Of Paula, Simon says, “I would’ve liked to have kept her. She was very gracious and I said that to her. She understands it’s business; it’s never personal.”

Simon says the changes happened “because I opened my big mouth and said we were going to get 20 million (viewers). If I hadn’t said that, everybody would be saying the show was a huge success.”

On who might be filling the empty judges’ seats, Simon shot down Beyonce buzz. “I have no idea where this rumor came from. I read it online that I offered her $100 million a year. It’s complete nonsense.”

Mariah Carey? “I would love her, but you can’t expect someone who’s just had two kids to make the kind of commitment you would need on this show.”

He said Madonna would be “great,” adding she would also be “expensive.” Katy Perry “would be fun — and she’s feisty.”

DanJ

February 8th, 2012
4:11 pm

Simon and LA Reid have a vested interest in several XFactor contestants so they will die trying to make them stars. Astro may well make the most money out of all of them, although I’m not a fan of rap.

The Voice should do more to help the winners. Maybe have each judge do a duet with the winner…something. Sunday’s night VOICE show that followed the Super Bowl had the best contestants I’ve seen in years on one night. Monday’s night show was not as good but never-the-less okay. While I will watch both Idol & The Voice I will also watch the weekly ratings as well. It promises to be an interesting year!

Seth T

February 8th, 2012
4:11 pm

The X-Factor tried to avoid the happenstance of sending home a good prospect, by using their Judges votes or stalemate. That took Marcus up to 4th.?

Idol judges will use at least one save, and Nigel still hasn’t taken 2 saves off the table. Last year, the voting public had to eliminate Casey twice.

I’m all for the public vote, and let the chips fall where they may, But if I were one of the producers that might be spending 2 or more million dollars “in partnership with or hold significant stock in a record company” and had a couple fav’s, I’d want as much exposure on National TV for the artist as I could get.

Rickster

February 8th, 2012
4:11 pm

Sorry about all that stuff above the “Feb 08″ line.

Lack of sleep. Was up till 2:00 or 3:00 this AM. (Not sure… I didn’t want to look at the clock.)

Sam-A

February 8th, 2012
4:40 pm

Everyone enjoy tonight show! Hope it lives up to our memories of Hollywood weeks past.

Jenny

February 8th, 2012
4:44 pm

I sure hope Astro doesn’t do the best out of them all. He was a nightmare!!!! I was hoping he’d be one of those contestants who just fades away, never to be heard from again…