How to Improve "American Idol"

We're hearing a lot these days about what's wrong with "American Idol" and what changes need to be made. While "Idol"'s ratings remain high, they aren't quite as high as they were in seasons past, leading the people behind the show to consider an overhaul. I've read several articles and blogs making suggestions, so I figured I might as well put my opinion out there too. Nigel Lythgoe, I hope you're reading this.

I'd like to start by addressing some of the suggested changes that I disagree with. While I do think "Idol" needs changes, I'm not of the opinion that they need to be drastic. Here are some things that I think should stay the same in spite of the fact that some people want them changed.

1. Keep the group numbers. I know they're cheesy and sometimes a bit awkward, but the group numbers can be so much fun too. I'm disappointed sometimes in how lackluster they are, but there are other times when they're the highlight of the results show. It's good to see the Idols out there singing together and not taking themselves too seriously. It reminds us that this show is supposed to be fun.

2. Keep the Ford commercials. Some people consider them useless filler, but I think they're fun to watch and the contestants say they're fun to shoot. I like those moments when the Idols are enjoying themselves together rather than competing, and it's always cool when they pick some obscure favorite for the song. When they used "I Want You to Want Me" this year it was the best part of the show, as Chikezie ended up going home that night.

3. Keep the elimination format. Some people hate the gender-balanced Finals, as it often doesn't reflect the 12 most popular contestants in the competition. Still, the entire reason it was adopted was because of the Season 3 Finals that featured 8 girls and 4 guys. Most of the girls were "divas" and the guys weren't strong enough to give them a run for their money. Diversity among the contestants is one thing that makes the show interesting, and you're more likely to have that diversity with the current format in place.

Now that we know what not to change, let's talk about what should be changed.

1. Shorten the results shows. Apparently they're already planning to do this, but I just wanted to affirm that it's a good idea. I know the group numbers and Ford commercials take up time, but there's plenty of other stuff you could cut. The viewer phone-in questions, for example, are a complete waste of time. More importantly, instead of dragging out the drama with the results, just get to the point. You don't have to spend two minutes talking to each contestant about his or her performance and shooting the breeze with the judges before saying "safe" or "in the Bottom 3".

"Canadian Idol" manages to do their results shows in half an hour, and they sometimes include guest performances, group performances and special video segments. They get that stuff out of the way early and then handle the results all at once at the end of the show.

I like the hour-long results show during the Semifinals, as there are four people to send home and it's nice to give each one a final moment in the spotlight, but a whole hour to send off one person is boring. As long as the Ford commercials and group numbers stay I'm all for the shorter results shows.

2. Don't have too many narrow theme weeks. I can understand not choosing theme weeks that are too broad, as they can seem not even to be a theme sometimes. Still, I had a hard time enjoying theme weeks from Dolly Parton, Mariah Carey and Andrew Lloyd Webber this year because I wasn't very familiar with their music. I'm familiar with several of Neil Diamond's songs, but someone who wasn't wouldn't have enjoyed that week either. One or two of these types of themes is OK, but doing four of them over a five-week span is a good way to bore people. If you pick themes that aren't too broad or too narrow you can appeal to a wide range of people without losing the cohesive feel of the week.

3. Cut down the audition episodes. Seriously, I know the bad auditions bring in ratings, but we don't need a month of audition episodes. I was really sick of the audition episodes by the last two weeks of them. Once again, our neighbors to the north give us a good example of how to handle it better. They fit all their auditions into two two-hour shows and they give more focus to the good ones than the bad ones. Speaking of bad auditions, that's another point I'd like to make...

4. Cut out most of the bad auditions. Some are entertaining, but most aren't funny and take up way too much time. Half the time I just want to tell the people to shut up rather than listen to them. Two or three funny ones per audition episode would be OK, but every other audition being some tone-deaf person screeching is just irritating. The fact that some of these useless people get screen time and some of the people in the Top 24 don't is frustrating, which leads me to my next point...

5. Let us get to know everyone in the Top 24. Contestants who come into the Semifinals with no previous screen time are at a major disadvantage. If they have bad or mediocre performances early on they can't overcome it as easily as someone who the viewers have already gotten to know and love. It makes the show predictable, as it's obvious who the producers want to go far and who they don't. Just look at my post on the Top 24 and you can see that I predicted 9 of the Top 12 correctly. The three who made it that I didn't predict would (Chikezie, Amanda Overmyer and David Hernandez) finished 10th through 12th. Stop the blatant pimping and at least give the appearance of a fair competition.

I realize the Top 24 isn't even decided yet when the audition episodes start airing, so it's not always possible to include each contestant's audition in the episode for his or her audition city. Still, Hollywood can be used to introduce America to a contestant, similar to what was done with David Hernandez this year. I couldn't help but feel bad for Garrett Haley, who was never seen until the chair episode and ended up being the first person eliminated. He seemed like a funny kid, and his voice was probably just as good as David Archuleta's. Who knows what we might have seen from him had there been more voters invested in him? As it was, more people cared about Josiah Leming than Garrett when the Top 24 rolled around.

I once read a suggestion that there be a special show to introduce America to each member of the Top 24. I actually think that's a really good idea. Cut out some of the audition episodes and have a two-hour special where each contestant gets an equal amount of time to tell us about himself or herself. Maybe someone the producers don't think is especially interesting or marketable could connect with America and end up going farther than anyone anticipated. How unpredictable would that be?

Finally, the most important suggestion of them all...

6. Find contestants who are interesting and likable. Remember Chikezie? He was funny, talented and creative. He threw curveballs at you during his performances, and when he was on he nailed it. I'm going to confess something here that will probably make everyone reading this think that I am one pathetic loser (because let's face it, I probably am). I actually teared up a little when Chikezie got eliminated. I'd never done that before, and I couldn't even figure out why I did at the moment. I think the answer lies in my long-winded rant from that night. After Chikezie was eliminated we were left with nine contestants, only one of which I really loved. I felt like we were robbed of several great, interesting performances that Chikezie could have given us. I still listen to his two Beatles performances on mp3 all the time, and they're still pump-your-fist-and-say-"yeah!" awesome.

I love music and I love creativity. I don't want to see one-trick ponies who make predictable song and arrangement choices. I want to see contestants whose performances I can look forward to each week. That's what's going to get me and many other people excited about "Idol", not contestants who are merely talented. There were several contestants I found interesting this year, but they were all eliminated early. After a while I was only watching out of curiosity.

"American Idol" is a great show, but there are so many things that keep it from realizing its full potential. As a fan I can only hope that some of these ideas I've suggested will be implemented, and that Season 8 will bring back the magic. Let's not let a great concept go to waste.