Nigel Lythgoe, American Idol exec-producer, may have previously stated that he expected Jennifer Lopez to rule the judges panel next season but he doesn’t want anyone to expect a Simon-like replacement. Now if you were hoping for Randy Jackson to be transformed in to something more “elder”, oh, and he’ll be leading the judges now after all:
“There are no roles to play,” Lythgoe said last night at the Carousel of Hope Ball at the Beverly Hilton hotel. “Randy is Randy. People have said to me, ‘Who’s the new Simon?’ Well, Simon’s Simon. There’s no one else like Simon…Randy has become the elder statesman now. He is the one that says, ‘Who do you think?’ He’s taken control of the panel.”
So which is it, Nigel? Jennifer or Randy? I’m guessing next week we’ll have a sound bite from Lythgoe telling us how Steven Tyler is now in front of the pack and calling the shots.
On a more useful note, Nigel also mentions that he’s working to help us care more about the American Idol 2011 contestants before they’re dreams are dashed away. He’s looking for ways to give the audience “more of a sense of the singers, so we care a little more” during the earlier, pre-Top 24 phase.
What do you think? More or less “getting to know” the early stage singers?
Source: E! Online
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Jennifer Lopez went on CBS’ new show “The Talk” (featuring Julie Chen of Big Brother 13) and she raved about how wonderful life was in her new role as an American Idol 2011 judge:
“I’m loving it. It’s so much fun. Exactly what I thought it would be. I did it because I thought it would be fun and I’d get to be in one place. It’s been great. I love everybody. It’s such a machine. It runs like clockwork. I looooove Nigel.
“I love Ryan contrary to whatever you say. I love Steven. I love Randy. Everything’s great.”
The hosts pressed Lopez on what was the hardest part about her wonderful job. She admitted that breaking the hearts of those who weren’t terrible, but just not good enough to make it. Wait, does this mean JLo has a heart after all?
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The search for the next American Idol continued this week as the new 2011 judges headed to New Orleans. Jackson, Tyler, and Lopez, with Seacrest along for the ride, headed toward the bayou and took in over a hundred auditions as part of the final round in Louisiana. So far Randy is pretty excited about what he’s seeing while Lopez thinks she could count on two hands how many hopefuls are Idol material:
“Look, here’s the deal. We’ve got two amazing artists on the panel with us now who are doing the journey with us. I think the show grows and gets better every year… Those contestants (who) go out there and sing, the talent, is what makes it different. For us, we’ve seen amazing talent this year. I don’t feel any pressure at all.” [Jackson said.]
Lopez counted about a dozen “real contenders” from all four audition cities so far (the show moves to Nashville next), singers “who I’d love to see in the finals if I was a viewer at home,” she said. “I’m excited about watching the journey and seeing if they hold up.
Let’s hope they find more than a dozen or this season is going to be in real trouble!
Don’t forget, if you’ve attended any of these final rounds of auditions then we want to hear from you. We’re looking for more details on the new judges.
Source: NOLA via MJs
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While JLo may have had her “Randy who?” moment. It’s American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe’s turn with “Simon who?”
Lythgoe told US that not only has Simon’s exit allowed for a more diverse crowd of American Idol hopefuls, but the emotional level of the show has been raised. Yikes. That’s pretty rough on ol’ Simon.
“We’ve had some incredible country voices — in truth, Simon would have gotten rid of them straight-away because he wasn’t a country fan,” Lythgoe told Us. “This season we have a 16-year-old kid with an incredible voice and a jazz kid who does this fabulous scat-singing. Again, we wouldn’t have had him on the show because Simon would have said, ‘He’s not an American Idol! Get rid of him!’ … What you are definitely going to get this season is an American voice and American music.”
With Cowell gone, “The energy in the audition rooms is totally different,” Lythgoe told Us. “You aren’t tired at the end of the day, even though we are seeing twice as many kids as we did in the past. We are enjoying it; we are laughing.”
Nigel goes on with more details on how each judge is handling their roles. He cites Steven Tyler for his kind way of letting down singers, Lopez is giving strong direction, but it’s Randy who’s really stepping up his game from past seasons. Maybe Jennifer will have a little competition for the lead after all.
Do you think American Idol can pull through without Simon Cowell?
Source: MSNBC
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Jennifer Lopez continues to be the best investment American Idol has made for its tenth season which premieres in January 2011. Now Idol’s executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is making the practically obvious prediction that Lopez will be taking charge of the now Simon-less judges panel.
“Randy, of course, has changed his persona. Randy knows what he’s doing, so he’s there,” the 61-year-old producer told us. “Jennifer gets stronger and stronger and she’ll take over. There’s no question in my mind.”
Nigel said between Steven Tyler, Randy Jackson and J. Lo, it’s the 41-year-old girl who’s going to be leading the pack.
“No question in my mind. She will take over,” he said, adding, “And Steven is very smart, very quick witted. So, I really like them all. They all bring something — and they don’t all agree with each other.”
Would you have expected either Steven or Randy to take over instead? Randy is obviously the heir to the throne, but considering Lopez historically demanding attitude I think this was inevitable. Are you ready for Queen Jennifer?
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