Nigel Lythgoe in NY Times article... grrrrrr

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/arts/tel...=1&ref=business

The New York Times

January 14, 2008

The Return of ‘Idol,’ Confident in Season 7
By EDWARD WYATT

LOS ANGELES — Empty seats were common last summer at the American Idols Live concert tour. Two “American Idol” winners — Taylor Hicks, who took the top prize in the program’s fifth season, and Ruben Studdard, who won the second season — recently lost their record contracts. And last season, the sixth, marked the first time that overall viewership of “American Idol” declined from the previous year.

None of which means that the “American Idol” juggernaut has started to weaken, said Nigel Lythgoe, an executive producer of the series, which begins anew on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time on Fox. On the contrary, with the Hollywood writers’ strike ensuring that “American Idol” will face even less competition than normal, the outlook for Season 7 of “Idol” appears to be as good as or better than ever.

And don’t put too much stock in the record sales or concert tour of “Idol” alumni, Mr. Lythgoe added. “Just because a granny in Omaha falls in love with Taylor Hicks, it doesn’t mean she will go out and buy his record, even though she will pick up the phone and vote for him,” he said Friday in a telephone interview.

“I don’t produce records, and I’m not in the record industry, and I don’t produce stage shows,” he said, adding that those “Idol”-related ventures have little to do with the television program. As for the down tick in viewers, “we lost 1 percent of our audience last year after going up 10 percent the year before,” he said. “I’ll take growth like that every other year.”

If Mr. Lythgoe sounds a bit defensive, it might be because every blip on the “American Idol” radar is scrutinized as with no other program on television. An average of 30 million people watched each twice-weekly episode of “Idol” last season, an audience that was roughly 50 percent larger than that for the next most-watched show, ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” according to Nielsen Media Research. And every move of the contestants, the judges, the host and anyone else associated with the show is followed obsessively by a full slate of entertainment-centric television programs.

With all that scrutiny it is certain to be noticed if the series begins to falter. But Mr. Lythgoe and others associated with the program insist that this year’s crop of contestants is the strongest in several years, if not ever.

Simon Cowell, one of the program’s three judges (he’s the mean one), said the drop in audience could have been due to the relatively weak field of contestants. Among them was Sanjaya Malakar, who was the object of scorn as well as viewer attempts to keep him in the competition.

“I think last year it just wasn’t one of our better seasons, and you get that on all of these types of competition shows,” Mr. Cowell said in a conference call with reporters last week.

“The good news is what we’ve seen from the new audition shows,” he added. “This is a much better season than last year. If it were worse, then I think we would have had a problem, but it’s altogether a better year.”

Mr. Lythgoe also volunteered that the producers made some mistakes last year, going overboard with guest appearances and celebrity mentors for the contestants. Sometimes the mentors had something to contribute in teaching the contestants about their particular vocal styles, he said, but other times the guests were chosen for little more reason than that they had singles or albums coming out. “We took our eye off the ball and let other things get in the way,” Mr. Lythgoe said.

This year the show aims to rein in those urges, putting more focus on the contestants and providing longer and more probing looks at their backgrounds and families. Other changes also are in store. Already the 200 or so contestants who made it past the initial auditions and into the Hollywood round were allowed to play an instrument to accompany their singing if they desired.

“For some of them it worked very well,” Mr. Lythgoe said. “For others it was an abject failure.” He cited one man who played drums while singing “Hooked on a Feeling,” the song made famous in 1969 by B. J. Thomas. “It’s very difficult to sing in tune and play drums at the same time. It sounded like a complete nightmare. Even Karen Carpenter wasn’t that good at doing that.”

Which means that the performance is likely to be seen by viewers only during the Hollywood round, which has taken place and will be broadcast Feb. 12 and 13, just before the field is narrowed to the final 24.

The producers are still discussing whether to allow the contestants to accompany themselves with instruments when the live performances by the 24 finalists begin on Feb. 19. Mr. Lythgoe, first among equals among the show’s four executive producers, said he favors allowing the use of instruments.

“I think being able to play an instrument as well as sing shows a complete roundness of talent,” he said. But it does raise a fairness issue for those contestants who only sing. And “American Idol,” as the judges repeatedly tell contestants during the course of each season, is foremost a singing competition.

The show also is likely to feature more past contestants this year, particularly during the results shows, inviting back former winners like Mr. Studdard, runners-up like Katharine McPhee and contestants who have made a splash in other fields, like the Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson. Some things on the show will not change, however, including the producers’ refusal to divulge any details about the weekly voting other than who receives the least votes and is removed from the competition.

Sometimes a stronger performer might not receive enough votes to remain in the competition, perhaps because of a bad night or simply because fans seemed to assume that their favorite was safe. Mr. Lythgoe and Mr. Cowell both cited the case of Chris Daughtry, who finished in fourth place two years ago, when Mr. Hicks won the competition. Both men said Mr. Hicks was not the strongest contestant.

But Mr. Lythgoe said that situation still did not warrant revealing the vote totals during the season. “I think it would be absolutely stupid,” he said. “We’ve got to keep that element a secret. The shock waves caused by someone being voted off is what the show is all about.” In addition, in years like Season 4, when Carrie Underwood consistently received the highest vote totals, according to Mr. Lythgoe, “why would anyone watch the show if it was obvious she was winning every week?”

And while the weakened competition because of the writers’ strike might add to the potential audience pool, Mr. Lythgoe said he understands that the show is not for everyone, and he offers some advice that is unusual coming from someone who is hoping to goose his program’s ratings.

“If you liked ‘American Idol,’ tune in, and you probably will like it again,” he said. “If you tuned in and didn’t like it, absolutely do something else. Go out and do a bloody sport. Learn how to ballroom dance. Pick up a book. Don’t just turn the television on to watch something because nothing else is on.”

Can I please smack this man? Granny in Omaha, my fine white behind!
~tyg

Nigel needs to take a good look at what makes a good singer. It's not just about the voice range or how they look. It's about reaching out and touching people with music. Taylor Hicks does that very well. Even if I were 120 years old I'd go out and buy his cd. He is THAT good. Hey Nigel! Take a good look at ALL of Taylor's fans.

Yeah Nigel open your eyes and see what this world is all about..