'Idol' auditions new format
Look for more woeful warblers as the reality show expands the tryout section
January 18, 2005
BY MIKE DUFFY
FREE PRESS TV CRITIC
How much "American Idol" is too much Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest?
'AMERICAN IDOL'
8 tonight
WJBK-TV, Channel 2, Fox
'IDOL' CHANGES
They're doing the revamp dance on "American Idol" this year.
The talent search juggernaut, a ratings blockbuster from the start, kicks off its fourth season tonight with a few rule and format changes to keep the show fresh and compelling, say the producers.
Key tweaks:
The upper age range has jumped four years to 28 in an attempt to attract more seasoned, experienced singers.
Celebrity guest judges -- who rarely had anything interesting to say -- have been dropped. But there will be celebrity guests from Gene Simmons to LL Cool J during the popular audition phase.
The semifinal elimination rounds have been given a gender tweak -- males and females competing on separate nights -- to reach a Top 12 of six men and six women.
By Mike Duffy
We'll get a chance to find out this winter and spring as Fox pumps up the visual volume on its signature talent showcase, which kicks off its fourth season with a two-hour premiere at 8 tonight.
Right up front, Fox is expanding the wildly popular audition phase of television's No. 1 reality series to 10 episodes. Holy pop overload!
And, yes, along with the many new Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard wanna-bes who can actually carry a tune, we will be subjected to the atonal wonderment of all those dreadful, delusional warblers who may have dreams of becoming the next William ("She Bangs") Hung.
"That's been the phase of the show that really, really goes down well with viewers," says "American Idol" executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz, adding that viewers love the auditions because "they're humorous, they're dramatic, there's all the emotions; there's the bad, there's the ugly, there's everything."
After the good, the bad and the ugly auditions, "Idol" will expand to three episodes a week for three weeks during an overhauled semifinal round, starting Feb. 21.
Some things never change, of course.
For those with a limited tolerance for B-list pop diva career rejuvenation, Paula Abdul, the "American Idol" judge who speaks no evil, is back to spew her sugarcoated gospel of innocuously positive twaddle. She'll share the spotlight with the more forthright assessments of fellow judges Randy ("I call everybody dawg!") Jackson and the blessedly acerbic, brutally honest Brit twit Simon Cowell.
It's always a close call on who's more irritating: Abdul or the icky slick, hyper-chatty host Ryan Seacrest. Making fun of "American Idol" is easy and often enjoyable.
But there's no denying the tremendous success of the show as an entertainment and advertising juggernaut.
A stunning 65 million viewer votes were cast in last spring's finale, won by Fantasia Barrino. The show's anointed stars have been a force in selling records.
And redheaded Clay Aiken, a runner-up to Studdard in the second season, looks like a decent bet for career longevity as a popular Mr. Nice Guy crooner.
The quest to find America's next prefabricated singing superstar is again expected to generate a frenzy among the show's target audience of mostly younger, mostly female viewers.
To keep them hooked and the format fresh, "American Idol" has transformed its semifinal round by splitting the genders. The total number of semifinalists has been reduced from 32 to 24, with 12 men competing separately one night and 12 women the next night. That will eventually give "Idol" a final Top 12 of six men and six women competing together in the closing weeks of the season.
"We have a (semifinal) boy competition and a girl competition running in parallel, but the public will choose the best boys and the best girls," says Frot-Coutaz. "We thought it would add quite a bit of spice to have a girl competition or boy competition because boys and girls are actually very different characters. They compete differently, they tackle the scenes differently."
By increasing its upper age limit from 24 to 28 this season, "Idol" also hopes to add some spice to the musical equation.
"I think there is something about being slightly older and having more life experience. You get some amazing stories," says Frot-Coutaz, who spoke with reporters during a recent Fox teleconference.
Last season, there was some controversy generated by jammed phone lines, resulting in unproven accusations of unfair voting. But Fox and the producers are standing firm on fairness.
"The phone system that is in place on 'American Idol' is very democratic and it's incredibly fair and it's under scrutiny every single week, from ourselves, from the network ... from AT&T and, frankly, it is a great system," Frot-Coutaz insists. "There is not much we can do to change it. And there's not much that we need to do to change it."
Regardless of the jammed phone lines bugaboo, "American Idol's" viewer allure has endured, turning the show into the "Survivor" of talent shows.
"It think it's a very pure format," says Frot-Coutaz, explaining the show's lasting appeal. "It's about taking people who live a normal life in some remote part of the country, but have an amazing talent, discovering that talent and making a dream come true. I think there's something very powerful in that.
"The last really important thing is that the power is in the hands of the public. It's the public's choice. It's not about the producers. Ultimately, it's the U.S. public who chooses. And I think that makes it very special."
Now if only they'd let us vote on eliminating Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest.
I predict happily jammed "American Idol" phone lines for that vote.
Contact MIKE DUFFY at 313-222-6520 or
duffy@freepress.com.