Hmm. American Idol may be the most popular show on TV, but its producers are still worried that it’s growing a bit stale. That’s why the forthcoming Season 6, which begins Jan. 16, will feature a midseason surprise twist. "Something we’re working on is a big-event show, sometime in the middle of the season, something that will blow America away," executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz tells the New York Daily News.
What could this big bombshell be? A love duet between Simon and Paula? Human sacrifice? Breaking the semifinalist pool into tribes along racial lines?
Maybe that tribes notion isn’t so far-fetched. TMZ reports that the show will divide the semifinalists into ensembles that will sing classic vocal-group tunes by acts like the Bee Gees, the Beach Boys, the Supremes, and The Four Tops; apparently, they’ll then be judged as groups, rather than as individuals.
Is that a big enough twist for ya? Do you even think the Idol format needs shaking up? If so, is this the way you’d do it? If not, how would you change up Idol?
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Have a vote like survivor and have the contestants vote of a singer. That way the voting is not rigged. No busy phone lines etc. Votes in a bucket and pull them out live one by one.
Having to save his own face for having stated “You’re out of your leauge” to Jennifer Hudson, the big twist will be when Simon himself gets on that stage and announces J. Hud as the winner of American Idol Season Six, and also his retirement, because he realizes he has been wrong 90% of the time, and he’s just an annoying british personality. Didn’t we fight a war for independence to keep people like him in that side of the pond?
Have Mel Gibson direct a segment. Yeah, that’ll do it
When I was voting on Dancing with the Stars, you could only vote 5 times. I think they should do that on American Idol. Or have some kind of limits on voting. I like Simon and I believe he is right most of the time. If he isn’t he admits he’s wrong or that he made a mistake.
I think breaking the contestants into groups is a terrible idea. I always hate the group performances on the results show. And a whole season of it would be awful. Besides, is the format really that stale if the show keeps getting bigger and bigger?
I do agree that limiting the votes her phone line would make the voting more fair. 10 votes per line seems OK for big families. True, people will still abuse it if they have multiple lines and cell phones. But, it’s better than one fan calling hundreds of times for their one favorite. Of course, AI would never do that because then they couldn’t claim those huge numbers of votes.
Simon & Ryan finally come out of the closet
What\’s the big \’Idol\’ Season 6 bombshell?
What\’s the big \’Idol\’ Season 6 bombshell?
I think the group singing is a GREAT idea. There are so many songs that do not work well on the show for singers because they were intended for multiple voices or harmony. So, I think that a duet or group performance night would be great.
I think the show should have a Top 16 this year (instead of top 12) and then a group of 4 people can be eliminated during the group number, without throwing off the number of episodes for the season.
What a great idea. I hope that is it!
I love the group singing idea also. That was one of my favorite parts of Season 2 – remember the great performances of the Burt Bacharach song, the song-and-dance number at the soda shop, the Diane Warren original, the decade medleys and all on the results shows? They were fantastic!
How’s about a little stripped down impromptu singing? Like here’s your choice of three songs, pick one now and sing it a capella. Give them 5 minutes prep before hitting the stage.
In my opinion, the only part of IDOL that needs fixing is the voting process to make it more balanced.
What’s the point of having groups? The show is called AMERICAN IDOL, singular not plural.If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,dawg!
It will probably be some type of internal voting. Either the judges vote someone off or the contestants do. If not that, something that involves playing instruments or songwriting.
I think that Idol should open up to ALL ages. I think it would be interesting to see 40 somethings take on the 18-27 crowd.
Taylor Hicks debuted at #2 on the charts selling 298,000 copies, which is 6,000 LESS than Chris Daughtry sold in the first week. Daughtry’s debut album continues to sell well, staying at #7 with 181,000 copies in its 4th week on the charts. I find it funny that Chris outsold Taylor, but it’s not really that surprising. Chris has a much wider appeal and his album is much better and will get more radio play. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kat Mcphee outsell Taylor as well when her album comes out next month.
FYI, Fantasia’s 2nd album came in at a forgettable #19 in its first week, cementing her status as an Idol also-ran.
Jen B:
DAUGHTRY is Billboard’s #1 Rock album……check out the charts. The album is awesome and Chris is gonna be a major rock star for a long time to come.
Maybe Ryan Seacrest will finally come out of the closet and introduce Reichen as his boyfriend.
I HEART PJ
I wasn’t too shocked to see Taylor come in at #2, but I didn’t expect Fantasia to come in at #19. I mean people who I never thought would like Fantasia kept teling me OMG, DO U NOT LOVE THE NEW ‘TASIA CD? And I’m like, umm, NO. I tried. I gave it like 3 good listens, & I’m sorry Slezak, but your girl just ain’t got the goods for me. However, I expect Daughtry’s “ITS NOT OVER” to be the next rock hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart right after 2007 kicks off…
I’d raise the lower age limit from 16 to 18. It was good that the older age limit was raised to 28 last year, but I’m never crazy about the 16 year olds on the show. Most of them don’t belong on the show. Some are good, but even then, the contestants in their 20s usually blow them away at some point. I’d also do something about the voting. Maybe have 5 calls per household or something like that. It might take away from Fox’s claims of 17 million votes or whatever, but it would be more accurate, and would allow more households to get through.
Phil,
what can I say?
Either that or Ryan will get will unveil a makeover to make him look less gay. I know there are those in the midwest and the Bible belt that believe he is straight. More power to their innocence.
I hate the group singing and hope they are giving this part of the show the kick the bucket treatment. Hopefully Ryan will get the numbers completely right this time.
It’s not the debut numbers that determines whether an album is successful or not, it’s the overall sales. In a crowded christmas market Fantasia’s album may have started a little weak, but it’s the finish line that counts.
Group singing is an ok idea, but they can’t vote off an entire group! What if there is 1 really great singer in with 3 terrible singers? The great singer would never have a chance. Definitely need to limit the amount of votes 1 phone can make. It will also make it easier to get through.
Maybe Ryan could do a Rose ceremony
Hopefully, the twist will be that there will be no winner and the show will end for good.
i don’t have any other ideas…but i think that one is retarded! i’m not going to vote for a group…the reason I watch the show is to find ONE American Idol…not the American Idol boys…
DAUGHTRY has officially gone PLATINUM……over one million in sales in just 4 weeks, y’all!
Perhaps Paula will come to the show medication-free. At last she will act like a sane person. Maybe Simon will become the mother and Paula will be the annoying father. Best of all, maybe Randy attended an English class and will have a polished vocabulary. Worst case scenario, Clay will come back in order to defend his sexuality.
I think they should have the Top 24 sing songs that haven’t been done before throughout the show’s history. Weekly challenges should be Jazz, Rock, Duets (each singer cover duet hits all alone), Songs From Movie Musicals, etc. P.S. Elliott Yamin’s rendition of “A Song for You” should’ve been in EW’s 2006 Year-End Issue
as a Great Performance.
If they all had to do rock music, most would fall flat on their faces! Rock is not as easy as some people think it is. Emotions, the true feel for the words being sung must be there, everyone cannot do that. It is a good suggestion though. The same happens when broadway types try to do pop. Everyone needs to be true to who they are. The sing-alongs are dreadful. I remember the last one with Bo and Vonzell. She sounded so out of tune on her part, and she can sing! They all simply cannot sing together and sound great. The only good thing about this is the fact that someone will stand out.
Fantasia and Madonna singing a duet farewell song.