Tuesday, April 12, 2011

THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE MACHINERY: The great thing about Idol, really, is that even when the singing's not great there's still something to talk about. Re Pia's ouster, then, two items. First, my twitterbuddy Nigel Lythgoe may want to make Idol more like SYTYCD or X Factor:
Lythgoe, speaking to Yahoo at the So You Think You Can Dance callback auditions in Las Vegas, revealed that he had never expected Toscano to win the competition.

"I know the results, so I know she was never a frontrunner," he said.

... He also hinted at a possible format change in future seasons: "Maybe if we change the rules next season, maybe do the same thing we do on So You Think You Can Dance ... so that America votes for the bottom three, and then the judges decide who goes home ... I think that will be thought about."
Second, our friends from WhatNotToSing have crunched the numbers and have two major conclusions: (a) there wasn't as much cannon fodder in the finals this year, making everyone extra-vulnerable, and (b) Pia's real problem was that every performance but one of hers was of a song previously performed on the show, while the winners and runners-up have decidedly lower "repeat" percentages.

Finally: this week is Songs From The Movies week. Other than the obvious call of Paul McDonald singing "Falling Slowly," what else would you suggest for the contestants?  [Haley: "Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend" or "Seems Like Old Times," Scotty, "I'm Easy," and Jacob, "Let The River Run"?]

17 comments:

  1. vaildog9:23 AM

    Paul needs to go full Kenny Loggins and do Danger Zone or Footlose.

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  2. Paul Tabachneck10:09 AM

    EXCELLENT HEADLINE. 

    Although I think the word is technically "Machineryryryry."

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  3. The two things that are going to directly affect whether Idol does this sort of format change next season are simple:

    1.  Do they see an appreciable ratings blip downward this week following the "controversial!" elimination?  I know there have been "boycott the show since Pia was voted off!" sites, but if they don't have a downward effect on the ratings, so what? 
    2.  Whether the two new singing shows announced/set to air ("The Voice" and "X Factor") manage to get traction.  "X Factor" will, we assume, use the British elimination model (public votes bottom two, judges then choose which one of those two goes home, and in event of judges "deadlock," public vote controls), and looks like "Voice" also has a hybrid judge/public vote elimination model.  If they do (and NBC has clearly put A LOT of eggs in the "Voice" basket), may influence Idol to modify things.

    This sort of change isn't unprecedented in reality TV--Big Brother US had a first season where elimination was based on public votes and then shifted to a "housemates vote" model, and a number of other shows have added a substantial "fan favorite" or other public vote allowing a popular but unsuccessful contestant to get more prize money (Top Chef, Survivor, I think Project Runway).

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  4. Fred App11:04 AM

    My only prediction is that someone will make the unfortunate decision to sing "Against All Odds," and that person will be sent home.

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  5. Stefano? Well, it'd be better than "A Groovy Kind of Love" from the Phil Collins film Buster.

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  6. isaac_spaceman11:32 AM

    Nigel:  Your votes are shocking and depressing!
    America:  But the judges also liked the people we liked.
    Nigel:  You are not sheep!  The judges don't matter!  You matter!
    America:  Right, and we voted for people who we liked. 
    Nigel:  And now I will be forced to reallocate some of your power to the judges!
    America:  But I thought the judges didn't matter.
    Nigel:  I do not understand crumping! 
    America:  I ...
    Nigel:  You cannot tap dance to Stefano Langone!
    America:  But ...
    Nigel:  Pia Toscano is the music of my dreams!
    America: 
    Nigel:  She combines the sultry wiles of a young Gabor, the velvet-fisted lullaby-wallop of a Celine Dion, and the regional pulchritude of a Jenni Farley!
    America:  
    Nigel:  James Iovine has wronged her!  Her rudder begs the gentle hand of a Rickey Minor!
    America:  Not sure if it's the boring or the nausea, but this makes me want to lay down. 
    Nigel:  Henceforth, the show will be called American Pia, and we will only clear Celine Dion songs, and the winner will marry a reality-show dancer, but a masculine one because I am opposed to gay dancing, and the winner will be on the cover of Ladies' Home Circle, and it will be illegal to crump, and the victor will be chosen by seeing who can most quickly shatter a three-foot block of glass by singing "I Love You, Goodbye" while wearing a sequined ballgown. 
    America:  So James Durbin, then. 

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  7. Joseph J. Finn12:02 PM

    It's kind of sad that that seems to be all people remember Buster for, because Phil Collins is actually pretty good in it.

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  8. This won't be as funny as Isaac's post (unsurprisingly), but...  Dear Nigel:  If you would like to improve on ratings, improve the themes, outlaw songs that have been done too much, and give the kids more song choices each week.  If the Sing-Off can clear songs that are currently charting on Top 40, guess what?  So can you.  And don't have half-a-dozen people whose genre could be described as "diva."  Also, the judges in recent years have championed (1) David Archuleta, (2) Danny Gokey, and (3) Lee DeWyze.  No, I don't want them to have veto power.  Though I am definitely down with them actually giving critiques. 



    The only real question with "Songs from the Movies" is which contestant is going to give I Don't Want to Miss a Thing its seventh airing. 

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  9. bella wilfer1:42 PM

    I think Jenn makes a great point re: The Sing-Off.  They seem to have no problem clearing recent songs.  Is there a difference re: clearing rights b/c the songs are performed a cappella? (I can't imagine why there would be, just wondering if there's some legal reason?)

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  10. StvMg3:06 PM

    But how much did the judges champion Danny Gokey and Lee DeWyze? I have to think if the judges could have picked the winner of the last two seasons, the Idols would have been Adam Lambert and Crystal Bowersox.

    I think they need to consider a format change in which the judges have some control of the outcome if the winner ends up with Lee DeWyze-type sales. The charm of this show in the early seasons was that we generally had a deserving winner who at least initially had a successful career. The last two winners have been outsold by their runners-up and haven't produced particularly strong sales, though Kris was more successful than Lee.

    That said, I'm guessing there won't be a format change because Scott will win and will become the most successful Idol since David Cook.

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  11. Jenn.3:43 PM

    I doubt that there's any difference in licensing costs based on a capella versus with instruments.  In either event, you're using both the music and lyrics, plus the uses were identical (performance on TV and sale on itunes). 

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  12. Jenn.3:53 PM

    The suggested format changes would not have changed the results for the finals for either Season 8 or Season 9, unless the judges were given the power to select the winner from the top 2, which would be an enormous change not done in other vote-driven shows.  Voters still select the winner on SYTYCD, even if the judges have the final say in the first few weeks of the competition.  So, yes, the judges could save a Pia Toscano and a Jennifer Hudson (although she was in the bottom with two other favorites, and they couldn't have saved everyone in the bottom 3 that week, right?).  But I doubt that they'd select a format that kills the voters decisions in Top 4 (not saving Chris Daughtry) or beyond (not saving Crystal or Adam Lambert).

    I'd say that the judges pushed Lee DeWyze pretty hard.  It may have been part of a shell game to try to cover the fact that Crystal was lapping the field, quality-wise, but ultimately, they said repeatedly that Lee's pitch problems were irrelevant, he was so emotionally connected, gave him big pimpage Top 3 night.  I'd also say that they pushed Danny Gokey, which got him past Allison Iraheta despite an atrocious version of Dream On.  And they wanted Gokey to make Top 2 with Adam Lambert, but then Kris Allen pulled out Heartless, and that was that.

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  13. GoldnI4:43 PM

    First, does it have to be songs that were written specifically for a movie, or songs that just happened to be featured in the movie?  If it's the latter, then Scotty should just pick something off the "Walk the Line" soundtrack.

    Also, are we even sure that American Idol is going to be around another season to make these changes?  I think that would depend on how X Factor does in the fall.

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  14. isaac_spaceman5:42 PM

    It's hard to clear recent songs if you're doing Motown Night or Beatles Night. 

    Though in fairness to AI, (a) they do clear songs relatively quickly on their non-themed nights (sing whatever you want; sing something from your birth year); and (b) The Sing-Off is pre-taped, so they have a longer period of time to clear things.  My guess is that the lack of recent songs comes from a mix of theme nights and singer discretion (do you think [P/Th]ia or Stefano knew any songs that were popular in the last five years?  I don't) more than anything else. 

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  15. isaac_spaceman5:42 PM

    I'll bet he does Mrs. Robinson.  Just a hunch.

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  16. Jessica11:35 PM

    Stefano sang Just The Way You Are (2010 or 11) and it was hideous. HIDEOUS. That's the song that sent him home. And then the judges picked him as a wildcard..

    At least we're saved from seeing Thia perform 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' or 'Reflection' or 'Look At This Stuff, Isn't It Neat, Wouldn't You Think My Collection's Complete'

    It might be fun to see a Disney song pop up, actually, if someone did something really subversive to it.

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  17. victoria8:52 AM

    I really, really hope Paul doesn't do "Falling Slowly." It's a great song, but...not again. I'd love to see no repeats.

    If I were choosing songs, I'd give Casey "You Can Keep Your Hat On" (The Full Monty), Haley "Nobody Does It Better," Lauren "Baby, I Love Your Way" (High Fidelity/Reality Bites), Paul either "Ooh La La" by the Faces (Rushmore) or "In the Waiting Line" (Garden State), Jacob "Hope There's Someone" (The Secret Life of Words), Scotty "The Weight," James "On Your Own" (The Acid House), and Stefano.......I don't know, "Hakuna Matata" or something else that will ensure he goes home yesterday.

    That said, Jacob will sing "Kiss From a Rose," Lauren will do either "The Climb" or the theme song from that Gwyneth Paltrow country singer movie, and someone will do "Falling Slowly."

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