Nigel Lythgoe on American Idol: 'Nothing New'
After several major changes, the upcoming 11th season of "American Idol" will not go through much changes, according to executive producer Nigel Lythgoe.
Lythgoe said that fans should not expect any major changes when the much-anticipated Fox TV show returns in 2012, since it has already passed through major makeovers during the 10th season.
Lythgoe has already aided British show "Pop Idol" in 2002 into becoming the TV juggernaut that it has been for the past decade. He did return last year, thus ushering in the post-Simon Cowell era of "Idol." Coming back to the hit show will end a two-year hiatus that made him focus his attention on "So You Think You Can Dance" that he produces and judges.
"For the 10th 'American Idol' season, Lythgoe introduced new judges, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, to join holdover Randy Jackson. Veteran music producer Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M, was brought in as an in-house mentor for the contestants.
All of them are back for Season 11, Lythgoe said," as reported by Hit Fix on the changes that were done for Season 10, which did not have Simon Cowell or Paula Abdul, two of the old judges of the old "American Idol."
Simon Cowell is well-known for his blunt and straightforward criticisms toward the contestants, and left the show on 2010. Paula Abdul started as a cheerleader, and then rose to fame in the late 1980s. She was part of "Idol" for eight years before leaving to judge the now defunct "Live to Dance," and is now hosting "The X Factor" with Simon Cowell. Randy Jackson is the only remaining original judge among the three.
Lythgoe claimed that even though the new judges were the most prominent change that was done in the show, the biggest change done was the avoidance of 'fish-out-of-water' moments that forced highly talented singers to sing in styles that did not suit them in any way.
By doing so, different singers in the likes of Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart advanced much deeper in the talent contest, which they might not have done in the previous years of the show. In fact, the two finalists, Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery, were country singers.
Lythgoe really saw the diversity last season, and he expect similar results in season 11.