American Idol is not quite through with Season 7 but producers are already looking towards what changes can be made in Season 8 to try an lure more viewers. While the show has had a great run for 7 straight years, it seems that ratings are not what they used to be.
FOX, who is already looking into changes, may be including the ideas of the fans for Season 8. An online marketing survey has been posted with numerous questions about the show, from what nights do you watch, to how important certain cast members are to your overall enjoyment of the show.
You can download the survey here but I am not sure where it should be returned to if you do happen to fill it out. Maybe just mail it to FOX. The address can be found on their website.
So now I ask you all what you think should be done in Season 8 to bring ratings back to where they used to be? Simply leave your ideas in a comment and lets discuss.
My idea is simple and is sure to have the highest ratings ever – Bikini Night
[quote comment="32046"]50% of all songs sung on the show from 24 to 2 MUST have been released in the past decade. The winner is suppossed to be a POP STAR not a classic interpreter of the songbooks of the past century. If I am counting correctly only 4 songs this entire season are from 2000 or later. Sheesh[/quote]
ARE YOU FOR REAL? Ya’ll look at this – this is very telling right here. How relatable is this show?
[quote comment="32029"]Fewer commercials
Don’t have departing contestant sing the song that got them voted off but instead their choice of past performances
[/quote]
Take a cue from DWTS. Let the judges pick someone to do an encore performance.
I don’t think the person getting booted should be subjected to the humiliation of singing the song that got them the cab ride to LAX!
I would echo the ideas of many here regarding the mentors, Randy, Paula, etc. I think the biggest problem is the voting. More and more people thing the voting on AI is fixed. They should take a cue from Randy’s show that was on MTV, “America’s Best Dance Crew” – Have the audience votes determine the bottom 2 or 3, have them perform, and then have the judges determine who goes. I’d also suggest limiting the # of votes per phone number and add web based voting.
Kill the lame theme nights, or, if you must have them, make them more relevant. Neil Diamond? C’mon now. I’m not exactly a kid but I even find that old and cheesy. Also, allow ORIGINAL material. Let’s see how much musical depth these contestants really have!
If you want to see how this show ought to be done, tune in to Rock Star, if it returns or later this summer Nashville Star will be on NBC! You may or may not like the genre of music, but the formats of these two shows is much better than AI. AI was the original and these two shows have taken the idea and tweaked it to work for them. They have spotted weaknesses and corrected them. AI now needs to look to these shows to see what is right about them an incorporate those good things into their show.
The show has gotten too self-centered. The focus on the mentors instead of the contestants last year is only one example. The blatant attempts at steering the public a certain way have also gotten much worse. And the themes are pretty awful. If they want young viewers they need to do themes that young voters can relate to. Or even better, no themes at all, and let the contestants truly show what they would like to do.
AND I think another problem is THE VOTING PROCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Change it and watch the ratings go back up. Keep it the same and I don’t care HOW great the contestants are, the ratings will continue to slide. If you want a reality show where the public is SUPPOSE to pick the winner, then make me think that the couple of votes that I am allowed to place COUNT. DON’T ask me to sit on my butt for 2 hours and dial multiple phones and text over and over and over again when I know that ENTIRE hometowns, schools or religious denomintations are getting together and voting en mass!!! That makes my vote worthless. So I think some people think “Why bother?”. So just because a contestant gets a “million” votes does not mean they are the best singer. Only that enough people decided to vote hundreds of times for one contestant. Makes the voting night too stressful !!!!!!!!!!!! :dizzy:
50% of all songs sung on the show from 24 to 2 MUST have been released in the past decade. The winner is suppossed to be a POP STAR not a classic interpreter of the songbooks of the past century. If I am counting correctly only 4 songs this entire season are from 2000 or later. Sheesh
for me here are some effective changes that they must observe:
1. remove idol gives back…i find the show depressing and exploiting
2. bring back the type of audition that they had during seasons 1-3 – it seems that their audition this previous seasons have been so scripted already.
3. More AI winners to sing and be the guest in the show
4. contestants that were eliminated must not sing anymore…since they were voted off because of an awful performance…it wil be a torture to the audience to let hear them sing once more
5. replace paula abdul with a more sensible female judge…like queen latifa / gloria estefan
6. lesser gimmicks that were not related to singing like “audience participation by asking questions to the judges / contestants via phone…this is a singing competition, so we just want to hear them sing and nothing more.
7. replace also randy with someone who can reallky give good criticism not just “pitchy” and a person who is not used of “name dropping” :tongue:
8. yeah…replace ryan with dj slim :biggrin:
[quote comment="32029"]
Don’t have departing contestant sing the song that got them voted off but instead their choice of past performances[/quote]
This is an excellent suggestion. If the song was bad enough to get them voted off, why have to listen to it all over again?! Make it the singer’s choice of past performances. Then we maybe could have had David Hernandez sing “Papa was a Rolling Stone” again.
The judges thoughts should be 50% of the total score then added to the public votes.
Send Paula to rehab
Replace Randy with a weekly guest judge such as a previous season top 10 contestant.
Cut results night to 30 minutes
Stop the stupid questions from viewers who call in
Let the contestants sing what they want to sing (No more Themes)
If there needs to be a guest singer, have it be a contestant from previous seasons.
Replace Ryan with Justin Guarini
No more sob stories, just sing damn it
[quote comment="32007"][quote comment="31989"]How about one vote per phone line ?[/quote]
That would be the fair thing to do, although I’m not sure if it’s technically possible.
And for the commenter that bashed Chickezie… He may not be very marketable, but he had the best male voice this season. See his performance on Beatles Week 1.[/quote]
This is just an opinion
[quote comment="32029"]Fewer commercials
Shorter results
Less filler junk
No weird waving hands
Give us the ability to vote someone off
Don’t have departing contestant sing the song that got them voted off but instead their choice of past performances
No Randy
[/quote]
Yes!!!
But seriously..They should publish the vote totals so we know that out of 36 Million votes, Contestant x lost by 6,000 or 6,000,000 AND tell us how many seperate phone numbers produce each contestant’s vote total. Let’s have a little transparency. (Wo’t happen but I think that would boost ratings and excitment
[quote comment="32031"][quote comment="32026"][quote comment="32014"][quote comment="32002"]No one who has already put out a CD of any kind should be allowed to compete.[/quote]
Amen.[/quote]
As long as we spread this to include no previous appearance on singing competitions I go with that.[/quote]
If you have only sung for your family before you probably don’t have an idea if you are good enough to be on idol. To know if you’re really good, you have probably done some sort of local stuff like a county fair or musical or whatever.
How about nobody who is or has been a professional adult singer can participate? But come to think of it, that eliminates at least half of the final group.
I still think that one girl who was on the cheesy kid tv show shouldn’t have been given the boot in the initial tryouts.[/quote]
I don’t see why it would be limited to adult. If you did that then kids like the girl who originated Annie would be ok but David Cook, or Brooke (for example) wouldn’t be even though she was 100% more the profesional than they are. I also would say that appearing on and winning Star Search gives you a lot more professional TV performing experience than self producing CDs and playing bars around the midwest. My POV is that you could easily claim that of the remaining 5, Brookie, Cookie and Archie are music pros. Kristy, Carly and MJ also could be considered that. So bring back Amanda, Chikesie and the dancing David and dump the ringers!!!!!:w00t:
[quote comment="32026"][quote comment="32014"][quote comment="32002"]No one who has already put out a CD of any kind should be allowed to compete.[/quote]
Amen.[/quote]
As long as we spread this to include no previous appearance on singing competitions I go with that.[/quote]
If you have only sung for your family before you probably don’t have an idea if you are good enough to be on idol. To know if you’re really good, you have probably done some sort of local stuff like a county fair or musical or whatever.
How about nobody who is or has been a professional adult singer can participate? But come to think of it, that eliminates at least half of the final group.
I still think that one girl who was on the cheesy kid tv show shouldn’t have been given the boot in the initial tryouts.
Fewer commercials
Shorter results
Less filler junk
Nobody signed to a label/existing CD
No weird waving hands
Give us the ability to vote someone off
Don’t have departing contestant sing the song that got them voted off but instead their choice of past performances
No Paula
No Randy
Judging panel could include past idols as guest judges
[quote comment="32014"][quote comment="32002"]No one who has already put out a CD of any kind should be allowed to compete.[/quote]
Amen.[/quote]
As long as we spread this to include no previous appearance on singing competitions I go with that.
[quote comment="32022"][quote comment="32020"]I got the perfect fix the ratings problem.
Replace Seacrest with DJSlim :)[/quote]
Works for me!
Doc, Angie, Teri, Amy, Bon, Rachel, Randomx6, and I could rotate as judges.
We’re cookin’ now!!![/quote]
I’m ready!
[quote comment="32020"]I got the perfect fix the ratings problem.
Replace Seacrest with DJSlim :)[/quote]
Works for me!
Doc, Angie, Teri, Amy, Bon, Rachel, Randomx6, and I could rotate as judges.
We’re cookin’ now!!!
[quote comment="32000"][quote comment="31994"][/quote]
Hey Driller,
I am down with 1-5 BUT for 6-10 I would substitute Randy for Paula. Hope that idea isn’t too pitchy for ya dawg. I think its da bomb![/quote]
Actually I would replace both Randy and Paula, but I thought that was a little radical for a single season.
I got the perfect fix to the ratings problem.
Replace Seacrest with DJSlim :)
Can you just see Paula trying to explain why she gave contestant a an 8 and contestant x a 3 for two very similar performances? Better yet, can’t you just see the panic and apprehension in her face when she realizes that somebody wants her to THINK? :lol:
Improvements:
Make those three weasel judges all take a year off.
Beat Ryan’s head into something resembling a style.
Force the replacement judges to use a fair, merit-based scoring system, especially during the audition weeks.
Absolutely NO stupid people tricks! No “crying baby,” no “ear wiggling,” no “Adam’s apple wagging,” and most especially, no “man-boob tricks!”
Stop the time-wasting, horrible, ear-rending group songs on results nights!
50 lashes for any contestant who refuses three times in a row to heed a judge’s criticism. For example, if judge #3 tells contestant b to stop dancing like a broken scarecrow and he continues to dance like a broken scarecrow, whip him!
Cut all results shows to a merciful 30 minutes. No B. S.!
Employ a “good taste monitor” to protect the ignorant from repeating Jason’s and Archie’s Mistake of singing a song written for a female character.
Last of all but certainly not least, make it a producer’s job to see that Dr. Electro does not run out of Diet A&W Woot :w00t: Beer!
Take into consideration iTunes downloads in the voting system somehow. Have 25% of the vote come from how many times a song was downloaded. I don\’t know how this would work mathematically, but hey, I\’m an English teacher; I just come up with the ideas. The reason I suggest this is that there is probably a difference between voting for someone and actually spending a dollar to buy his/her music. Think about it; if iTunes participated in this, they would make tons of money even if they reduced the price of a song. In the long run, the results will be more authentic because it may give a clearer indication of who will sell.
[quote comment="32011"]
I would also like to see the judges more responsible for their remarks, for example a 1 to 10 point score system. let them explain themselves instead of this…..I dunno dude, that just didn’t get it for me ya know what im sayin? It might prompt the judges to give more constructive feedback as well as help the contestants understand the area the judges want them to improve. Base the one to ten on certain criteria like, showmanship, vocals, connection with the audience, ect.[/quote]
I really like this suggestion. Half the time the judges, namely Paula and Randy, blather on and on in their usual mangling of the English language. Constructive criticism should be the name of the game.
[quote comment="32002"]No one who has already put out a CD of any kind should be allowed to compete.[/quote]
Amen.
I completely agree that contestants should sing to their strengths and the results show should be shorter. And Ryan should be less of a jerk sometimes. Love the new smiley’s Slim.
:biggrin:
[quote comment="31996"]Oh yeah…let them sing the whole song! 90 seconds is just wrong.
I don’t know if the contestants are limited on decade theme nights to pop music, if not, then they should sing to their strengths regardless of judges comments, (cough, Simon, cough). Kristy Lee Cook should have been singing from the Patsy Cline, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McIntire, Faith Hill, Martina McBride songbook all season. She’d still be here.[/quote]
90 seconds of a song is 2 short, I keep waiting for that 2nd verse and it never comes. It seems to me a contestant becomes more comfortable the farther along into the number they go. I would also like to see the judges more responsible for their remarks, for example a 1 to 10 point score system. let them explain themselves instead of this…..I dunno dude, that just didn’t get it for me ya know what im sayin? It might prompt the judges to give more constructive feedback as well as help the contestants understand the area the judges want them to improve. Base the one to ten on certain criteria like, showmanship, vocals, connection with the auddience, ect. :cool: :cool: :cool:
[quote comment="31989"]How about one vote per phone line ?[/quote]
That would be the fair thing to do, although I’m not sure if it’s technically possible.
And for the commenter that bashed Chickezie… He may not be very marketable, but he had the best male voice this season. See his performance on Beatles Week 1.
Here’s a simple change: Get better contestants. After watching the Top 12 Boys Show, I could easily have seen half of them go right then and there.
In case you’re wondering who:
1. Jason Yeager
2. Luke Menard
3. Colton Berry
4. Garrett Haley
5. Danny Noriega
6. Chikezie Eze
The only ones I thought had potential at the time were Michael, Jason C., all 3 Davids, and Robbie.
So hey, exactly half.
No one who has already put out a CD of any kind should be allowed to compete.
Half hour results show at the most. Come on – how much filler must we be tortured with? As it is, most folks I know only turn on the show for the last 5 minutes (I come here).
[quote comment="31994"]1. Nuke the mosh pit.
2.
Cut the phone lines on results night. No more stupid call-in questions.
3.
Reduce the results shows to 15 minutes
4.
Let the contestants sing to their strengths every week.
5.
If results shows must be 1 hour long, bring back more Idol alumni to pimp their CD’s (Josh Gracin, Ace Youn, Kellie Pickler, etc.)
6.
Replace Paula.
7.
Replace Paula
8.
Replace Paula.
9.
Replace Paula
10. Replace Paula[/quote]
Hey Driller,
I am down with 1-5 BUT for 6-10 I would substitute Randy for Paula. Hope that idea isn’t too pitchy for ya dawg. I think its da bomb!
Go ahead and have theme night. But let them sing a free choice as well as a theme song. Separate number for each song and total added up.
[quote comment="31990"][quote comment="31989"]How about one vote per phone line ?[/quote]
While I like that idea I don’t think they would ever implement a voting cap. They like using those big numbers. Last night we had 35 million votes.
Capping the votes to 1 per line and they would have to come on air and say last night we had 500,000 votes. Now it doesn’t look like anyone is watching.
Capping votes should have been done during the first season. Changing that now would wreck havoc IMO.[/quote]
Totally agree. Should have been done from the get-go.
[quote comment="31995"]How about drop the themes and let it be contestants choice period each week
I guess that was Driller’s #4 idea[/quote]
Yep, pretty much.
Oh yeah…let them sing the whole song! 90 seconds is just wrong.
I don’t know if the contestants are limited on decade theme nights to pop music, if not, then they should sing to their strengths regardless of judges comments, (cough, Simon, cough). Kristy Lee Cook should have been singing from the Patsy Cline, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McIntire, Faith Hill, Martina McBride songbook all season. She’d still be here.
How about drop the themes and let it be contestants choice period each week
I guess that was Driller’s #4 idea
1. Nuke the mosh pit.
2. Cut the phone lines on results night. No more stupid call-in questions.
3. Reduce the results shows to 15 minutes
4. Let the contestants sing to their strengths every week.
5. If results shows must be 1 hour long, bring back more Idol alumni to pimp their CD’s (Josh Gracin, Ace Youn, Kellie Pickler, etc.)
6. Replace Paula.
7. Replace Paula
8. Replace Paula.
9. Replace Paula
10. Replace Paula
[quote comment="31991"]8 contestants 3 or more songs a night- real time digital voting-loser of each round must remove an article of clothing – whatever state you are in at the end of the show you come back in that condition the following week – when Fox has to start pixalating a contestant, they are off the show.[/quote]
Now thats funny. I am down with that idea :)
[quote comment="31989"]How about one vote per phone line ?[/quote]
Rather than that, 2 numbers. One number to vote for a contestant and one to vote against. Combine the totals and lowest positive score goes home
8 contestants 3 or more songs a night- real time digital voting-loser of each round must remove an article of clothing – whatever state you are in at the end of the show you come back in that condition the following week – when Fox has to start pixalating a contestant, they are off the show.
[quote comment="31989"]How about one vote per phone line ?[/quote]
While I like that idea I don’t think they would ever implement a voting cap. They like using those big numbers. Last night we had 35 million votes.
Capping the votes to 1 per line and they would have to come on air and say last night we had 500,000 votes. Now it doesn’t look like anyone is watching.
Capping votes should have been done during the first season. Changing that now would wreck havoc IMO.
How about one vote per phone line ?
[quote comment="31986"][quote comment="31984"]Bikini night for BOTH sexes, Slim ? :tongue:[/quote]
If we must :)[/quote]
Yes, you must. :silly:
[quote comment="31984"]Bikini night for BOTH sexes, Slim ? :tongue:[/quote]
If we must :)
Bikini night for BOTH sexes, Slim ? :tongue: