Is the show itself going to change?
Rumors have abounded that some big changes are in store for the structure of the show itself: a deeper look behind-the-scenes, music videos that will showcase the contestants acting chops, an ‘Idol Mansion’ where all the contestants will live, and a streamlined online-voting process. While much of this is speculation and has yet to be confirmed, the producers did have these things to say about the make-up of the new season.
“Every week, we're going to have the best producers in the world working with these artists,” says Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M and Idol’s new in-house mentor. “They're going to be bringing them along the same way they bring any artist that signs with Interscope along every week. I think you're going to see a remarkable difference from week to week; much bigger than it was in the previous shows and previous airings.”
This season contestants are going to be judged not just on their singing ability: acting, dancing, and on-stage presence will also be critiqued. In short, they’ll be measured not just as singers but as entertainers. “If you stand somewhere one week and just sing,” says Iovine, “the next week you have to show improvement in your presentation, in the way you sing, in everything.”
“We will want them to move,” Lythgoe adds. “Artists nowadays don’t just stand on the spot.”
“They need to presesnt themselves a lot better, for instance, than they did last year,” continues Ken Warwick, another of Idol’s executive producers. “We’ve got, as producers, to be honest, sick to death of them standing there, hiding behind a guitar and just ‘Sing, sing, sing-a-lang.’ And we say, ‘Next week is rock week.’ ‘Oh, great, rock week,’ and they’re jang-a-lang, same thing. So it’s going to be a big step-up musically. It certainly is.”