With Simon Cowell firmly determined to bring American Idol down and snatch their ratings away with his very own show The X Factor which has already been adapted in many different countries. The UK version has produced talents such as Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke and most recently, Matt Cardle. Wherever Simon goes, people will be watching. So, American Idol has got to step it up to prevent their ratings from sinking any further.
What are the big changes?
#1: Bringing the age limit down to 15
At first, I wasn't and still am not too keen on this idea. For every Allison Iraheta, Jordin Sparks and David Archuleta, there were a thousand Aaron Kellys. They just weren't ready. Traditionally, American Idol has attracted a couple typical groups of youngsters - the indies, the "pageant bots", and those that are just good. But of course, to attract a younger demographic, Idol desperately needs their Justin Biebers and Taylor Swifts.
Randy Jackson has said that some of the 15 year olds have been impressive. If impressive means Allison Iraheta, hell yes.
If it's a One Direction/Justin Bieber/Aaron Kelly thing, no thanks.
#2: The big shake up in format
With Nigel Lythgoe back, he's keen on shaking up Idol and is going to bring back the spice. Which means there'll be many, many, many changes in format. According to Lythgoe, the traditional Top 24/36 semi-final rounds will be eliminated and they will go straight into the Top 12 instead.
And if that's not enough, there might be online voting and a wildcard round.
Also, he has confirmed via Twitter that the contestants will be living in one house, X Factor-style. OH. DEAR.
Also, they want to limit the instruments used on the show. Basically they don't want another David Cook, Kris Allen and Lee DeWyze.
#3: The promo videos
The promo videos released by Idol in time for next season have been fantastic. Instead of focusing on the jokers, they've been focusing on promising talent which is always nice to see. Plus, you can see chemistry between the judges.
The past winners of Idol all shot their promo videos and it shows a small-town to big stage kind of story, which is really, really nice to see. They're finally getting these right.
Excited?
Labels: AMERICAN IDOL, BIG NEWS
