American Idol 6 News (Page 9)

We've arrived at the final part of Entertainment Weekly's American Idol 6 preview. The focus of it?

The one. The only. Simon Cowell.

5. Simon is even crankier than usual
And with good reason: He's doing double time exec-producing The X Factor, developing season 2 of NBC's America's Got Talent, and overseeing bands like Il Divo, the favored crooners of suburban mothers everywhere.

"Simon's working more than he's ever worked before,'' says Seacrest, ''and he has been more testy than ever before.''

And when Cowell gets testy, Abdul gets flustered, Seacrest gets cocky, and Jackson gets� Well, he says ''dawg'' a lot.

Even just sitting in a room with the four friends during a break is entertaining enough to conjure up ideas for an American Idol spin-off. They've got a quirky, endearing camaraderie, and as they talk, the topics fly at random:

First, there's Underwood bringing fellow season 4 contestant Anthony Fedorov as her date to November's CMAs. (''That was the biggest news the next morning,'' Seacrest laughs. ''Do you think they ended up hooking up?'')

Reports of John Mayer and Jessica Simpson's rekindled romance get them gossiping (''What is he doing?'' Jackson whispers to Seacrest). And then it's on to the misconceptions the public has about them. (''Last year, when no one understood what I was saying, and even though I've never been drunk in my life, I'm accused of filling my Coca-Cola cup with alcohol,'' Abdul says. ''Yeah, that was really fun for me.'')

At times, they even let out a few honest-to-goodness compliments.

''What I love about Paula is she's a genuine fan,'' says Cowell. ''She's the only one who's emotionally involved. Someone's got to do it.''

Adds Seacrest: ''The first thing that happens every year when we see each other is we have that look like on the first day of school when you haven't seen your friends all summer and you have so much to gossip about.''

So while they bicker and feud and cry (Paula), and occasionally even stomp off the set, millions of fans wouldn't have it any other way.

''It's one of the greater phenomena when people click like we do,'' says Jackson. ''We grow and change every year. It's a circus... but it's a fun circus.''

The Magistra, an American Idol blogger just like ourselves, recently reported on season six auditions in Birmingham.

Evidently, the field looks weak. But many great contestants - such as winner Ruben Studdard - hailed from the state. So there's gotta be some hope, right? Here's her predictions for these auditions, along with a clip of Simon and Randy arriving in the city ...

1. Studdard will make a super surprise guest appearance at the auditions, because what else does he have to do?

2. This year’s eventual American Idol winner will come from the Birmingham auditions.

3. The winner will be from the South because America will never crown a Northerner as the American Idol.

4. The eventual winner will be a country singer, whose lack of talent Simon will malign for the first twelve weeks of the competition. Nevertheless, by the finale he will be singing this person’s praises and saying, “I totally knew he/she had it in him/her to be the winner of this here competition.”

5. The Powers-That-Be will choose the Birmingham audition episode to premiere Bo Bice’s brand spankin’ new Pantene Pro-V commercial.

6. Crazy Dave will audition once again in Birmingham. This time, he will not score a ticket to Los Angeles, but he will score Paula’s digits.

7. Ryan Seacrest’s Alabama costume will include bare feet, a straw hat, and overalls with no shirt. Because he’s just that subtle.

8. Paula will provide the savviest advice of all the judges during the Birmingham auditions when she tells one contestant, “Meat, meat, apple pie. Brownie sundae in my eye. Peace pipe, peace pipe, chicken dinner. Turn your head and cough, you sinner.”

9. The Most Imitated Former American Idol Contestant at the Birmingham auditions will be Taylor Hicks.

It's time for the fourth part of Entertainment Weekly's American Idol preview. Previously, we focused on the new song writing competition. Now, it's on to news about a certain legend ...

4. The finalists just might meet a Beatle
We've come a long way since nebbishy Paul Anka coached Clay Aiken on performance technique. Last year's roster of guest stars included Rod Stewart and Stevie Wonder mentoring finalists for Tuesday-night performances — and then singing their own hits the following evening, which exposed them to a new, non-AARP audience and reaped huge sales gains for their latest albums.

Expect more marquee names as season 6 progresses, and if all goes according to plan, look for them to reach an epic scale. Confides Cowell:

''Everyone wants Paul McCartney, and there's a chance this year. It would be fantastic to do the Beatles songbook.''

Jackson, who's always boasting about his connections, says he's finally ready to start calling in some favors:

''I don't cross my Idol life and my producer life that much, but I may call [Mariah Carey] this season and say, 'Yo, come on, dude. Get in this game.'''

Producers won't confirm any names, citing the hellish logistics it can take to get a top performer through the stage door. '

'You'd be amazed how many big names we turned down that didn't want to work with the kids,'' says Warwick. ''People phone up saying, 'I'll perform on Wednesday, but that's it.' Record labels try to get some of these arrogant stars to work with the kids, and we just say no.''

Of course, big demands and bigger egos won't stop Lythgoe, who has one notoriously hard-to-reach singer on his wish list.

''Some singers do contact us, but generally the ones you really, really want don't. I can't see Barbra Streisand calling [and] saying, 'Hey, Nigel, maybe I could come on.'''

But if she does, we officially request an all-Yentl soundtrack week.

There's going to be a major surprise on American Idol, season six. But what will it be?

Here's a recent column from MSNBC.com taking a few serious and a few silly stabs at the notion ...

Give past contestants a second chance
The Boston Globe’s Joanna Weiss recently suggested that the show “take a page from Project Runway and bring back a rejected contestant or two - someone beloved by fans, or perhaps somebody hated. Maybe even a rejected contestant from a previous season.”

That, of course, wouldn’t be all that unusual for American Idol, which in its first season, brought back five “wild card” contestants who’d been eliminated earlier. Of those, RJ Helton advanced and joined the top 10 finalists; he went on to place fifth overall.

Still, Weiss’ suggestion that contestants from years past - like popular Chris Daughtry from last season, for example - could get a second chance would certainly shock America.

Building off her idea, perhaps a number of those who’ve been eliminated will come back for one episode, and then viewers will vote to let one join this year’s competition as a finalist, a sort of wild-card competition but with alumni candidates, and viewers in charge.

Some of those who’ve unexpectedly lost or been eliminated have gone on to successful careers, so it’s doubtful that contestants such as Clay Aiken or Jennifer Hudson would return to the show. But if they or others did, it would certainly be the type of event that producers are hinting about.

Let viewers fire the judges for a week
The most shocking part of every season of American Idol are the unexpected eliminations; the only people on the stage who are safe are judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson, and host Ryan Seacrest. America would really be surprised, then, if Seacrest announced that viewers could vote to eliminate a judge.

Because they’re all under contract and unlikely to be really fired unless they do something inappropriate, perhaps viewers could be allowed to select one judge who’d have to wear a muzzle for an entire episode. Just think: No allegedly witty, biting cutdowns from Cowell; no noncommittal “dawg, you did your thing” from Jackson; or no whining, sycophantic praise from Paula Abdul.

It’d be a gift to America.

Perhaps that muzzled/fired judge could be replaced for a week by a past contestant like Justin Guarini, who doesn’t seem to have anything better to do with his time. Or perhaps even a viewer could sit at the big table and drink out of the sponsored cups.

Taking the idea one step further, the entire panel of judges could be replaced for a week, maybe with a mix of industry experts, past contestants, and viewers. The real judges could watch the action from the side of the stage, enclosed inside a glass box so we can’t hear a word they’re saying.

Borrow some ideas from Down Under
A more likely possibility might be something borrowed from another version of the series. Australian Idol underwent a significant makeover last year, improving ratings by making changes unlike any other version of the show worldwide had ever seen.

Still, these weren’t groundbreaking changes; the show allowed contestants up to age 30, allowed them to play instruments, featured more singer-songwriters in the competition, and compressed the more boring parts of the show.

But their biggest change seems like a possible candidate for American Idol 6's mid-season surprise. During the Australian show’s season, the “Up Close and Personal” episode shows contestants’ lives outside of the competition, and last year, they wrote and performed original songs as part of that episode.

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Fox has released its schedule for the first two months of American Idol Season 6. The season will kick off with Minneapolis auditions on January 16th. The top 24 finalists will be announced on Valentine's Day.

Here are the upcoming shows:

• Tuesday, Jan. 16 (8:00-10:00 PM) Season Premiere, Part 1 – Minneapolis Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 17 (8:00-10:00 PM) Season Premiere, Part 2 – Seattle Auditions
• Tuesday, Jan. 23 (8:00-9:00 PM) Memphis Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 24 (9:00-10:00 PM) New York City Auditions
• Tuesday, Jan. 30 (8:00-9:00 PM) Birmingham Auditions
• Wednesday, Jan. 31 (9:00-10:00 PM) San Antonio Auditions
• Tuesday, Feb. 6 (8:00-9:00 PM) Los Angeles Auditions
• Wednesday, Feb. 7 (9:00-10:00 PM) “Rest of the Best” Auditions
• Tuesday, Feb. 13 (8:00-9:00 PM) Hollywood Round, Part 1
• Wednesday, Feb. 14 (9:00-10:00 PM) Hollywood Round, Part 2 – Top 24 Semifinalists Announced
• Tuesday, Feb. 20 (8:00-10:00 PM) Top 12 Male Singers Perform
• Wednesday, Feb. 21 (8:00-10:00 PM) Top 12 Female Singers Perform
• Thursday, Feb. 22 (8:00-9:00 PM) First Results Show (Live ET/Tape-Delayed PT) – Two Male and Two Female Contestants Voted Off
• Tuesday, Feb. 27 (8:00-9:30 PM) Top 10 Male Singers Perform
• Wednesday, Feb. 28 (8:00-9:30 PM) Top 10 Female Singers Perform
• Thursday, March 1 (8:00-9:00 PM) Results Show (Live ET/Tape-Delayed PT) – Two Male and Two Female Contestants Voted Off
• Tuesday, March 6 (8:00-9:00 PM) Top 8 Male Singers Perform
• Wednesday, March 7 (8:00-9:00 PM) Top 8 Female Singers Perform
• Thursday, March 8 (8:00-9:00 PM) Results Show (Live ET/Tape-Delayed PT) – Two Male and Two Female Contestants Voted Off; Top 12 Finalists Revealed
• Tuesday, March 13 (8:00-10:00 PM) Top 12 Finalists Perform
• Wednesday, March 14 (9:00-9:30 PM) Results Show (Live ET/Tape-Delayed PT) – One Contestant Voted Off

In the last preview of American Idol season six - courtesy of Entertainment Weekly - we talked about how awful the auditions were this year.

Now, we're gonna delve into a new part of the show ...

3. The songwriting competition
Purists agree that last year's finale - featuring Prince, Mary J. Blige, and that painfully awkward Claymate who nearly fainted on live TV - was a high point for the entire series. But all that brilliance came to an ear-bleeding halt when Taylor Hicks was forced to sing the dreadfully sappy ''Do I Make You Proud.''

Sure, his winning version debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart a month later, but as Cowell gleefully admits, ''that song was horrific.''

Producers agreed. This year, they're planning a national songwriting contest to determine a winning single; the competition, which is not yet finalized, is slated to be open to anyone - signed or unsigned - who submits a tune to a to-be-named website. That is, if the show's executives can work out the specifics.

''The short list of songs will be [chosen by] the three judges and the producers,'' predicts Warwick.

But Lythgoe says the judges should have nothing to do with the final choice. His solution?

''I would love to do two or three shows with past [American Idol] contestants singing the songs, and then have America judge the songs,'' he says. ''But that is not confirmed with Fox yet.''

The judges are none too happy at the prospect of being cut out of the song-selection process.

''People always ask, 'Why did you pick that song?''' Abdul says. ''It's weird. We have everything to do with the rest of the season and nothing to do with the final song.''

Whichever side emerges victorious, two facts remain: The most popular finale song was season 1's ''A Moment Like This,'' and that was the one winning Idol tune that Cowell - who's since been booted from the selection committee - personally commissioned. (He's releasing it again as the first single for Leona Lewis, winner of U.K. sensation The X Factor.)

''It's no skin off my nose,'' he shrugs, ''but if I hate [the song] I'm going to say it.''

And Randy's thoughts? '

'Finding a hit song at any time is one of the hardest things in the world. I wouldn't want to be the guy looking through them all.''

In part one of the American Idol season six preview we quoted from Entertainment Weekly, the focus was on a wide open field.

In part two, let's delve into the less than ideal auditions themselves ...

2. Auditions hit all-time lows
American Idol fans fall into two camps: those who live for the season-opening weeks of early tryouts, when William Hung types crawl out from under their rocks and shame themselves, and those who wait until the top 12 are chosen so they can watch them blow their pipes each week.

Fan of the former variety? Brace yourself for some new lows.

''Season 6 has the most delusional people I've ever seen,'' says Paula Abdul. ''If people love that part of the show, they'll love this season.''

And they'll be positively besotted with the city of Seattle, which Lythgoe says ''stands out as possibly the worst city I've ever seen for crazies. Maybe they're drinking too much coffee.''

The lack of talent wasn't the only thing in the Pacific Northwest that made early auditions so excruciating. Three guest panelists — Olivia Newton-John, Jewel, and Grammy-winning songwriter Carole Bayer Sager — were invited to help make judgment calls, and Cowell wasn't having it.

''It's rather like having a dinner party for four people you know very well,'' he says, ''and then somebody says there's a fifth person you don't know. One year, we're going to say to [the producers], 'We'd like someone to work with you for a while. We don't think you're doing a good enough job.'''

According to Warwick, things were so awkward that Bayer Sager, who was ''really quite subdued,'' could have most of her critiques edited out. (When reached for comment, Bayer Sager said she was ''very happy'' with the experience.)

''Lovely lady,'' Warwick says, ''but how can I put this nicely? She didn't add much.''

If you're a fan of American Idol, the cover story of this week's Entertainment Weekly is music your eyes.

It delves inside the new season, speaking with judges and producers from the show. You can read the entire thing here - or check out various parts from the article as post them on our site. Here's the first:

1. There's no obvious front-runner
One girl pulled a tuning fork out of her shoe. Another had a squeaky, helium-high voice that made season 5 urchin Paris Bennett sound like Isaac Hayes. One guy was so obsessive during auditions that he took copious notes about each contestant, his or her song choices, and each judge's reaction.

There's even a contender named — boy, we hope we're spelling this right — Chiquini. The one element that's missing as we enter season six? A sure thing.

''Occasionally someone like Carrie Underwood or Fantasia walks in,'' Simon Cowell says, ''and you just absolutely know [they] could win. This year, I think it's going to be more like season one, not as obvious. I really hope that, actually.''

Which is not to say that the judges don't have a couple of early favorites. Randy Jackson cryptically predicts the winner will be ''someone with curly hair,'' while Cowell is eyeing two strong contenders:

''One guy who stands out in the crowd and has what I call the likability factor. He's not what I would call the typical American Idol because he's different... but everyone liked him ... [The other is] ''one girl who's got an incredible voice... but not much personality at the moment.''

No personality?! No excuse. Serious hopefuls have had five years to study at American Idol University, and they should know that a snooze-inducing persona will buy them a one-way ticket to Crushed Dreamsville.

As such, says Idol host Ryan Seacrest, ''this is a very intense year. These are the savviest contestants we've ever seen. There's aggression, intensity, a bit of every man or woman for himself or herself. They don't care about making friends. They want to make money.''

They also want a reaction from Simon, but now they aren't so quick to take his criticism.

''With Simon getting it wrong regarding Taylor, it's ammunition for the contestants,'' says exec producer Nigel Lythgoe. ''If Simon says 'I don't like you,' now they say, 'I don't give a s---. You didn't like Taylor last year.'

We already talked about the big surprise.

Now, TMZ.com has exclusively obtained a script and production schedule for the new season of American Idol. Season Six contestants who make it to Hollywood will be put into singing groups and judged on their performances.

Contestants for the new season were asked to perform various musical numbers, including songs by the Bee Gees, Beach Boys, The Supremes and The Four Tops. Wannabe Idols are tossed into a film-style schedule, starting their day at 6:30 a.m and wrapping at 5:30 p.m.

One of the songs they are judged on? California Dreamin'. Seems apt for American Idol hopefuls, doesn't it?

American Idol executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz promises a big event midway through the coming season of the FOX talent show - but she won't say what it is.

"If there's one thing that makes American Idol so big, it's a huge event," she told the Daily News. "Something we're working on is a big-event show, sometime in the middle of the season, something that will blow America away."

Earlier in the day, Ryan Seacrest also talked about the upcoming season.

Hard to believe the folks behind American Idol can get the show any bigger than it already is. When it's on - and it's only around 19 weeks a year - the show is the biggest thing on the small screen, generating huge Nielsen ratings and daily water-cooler buzz.

Each season the show rolls around, there are gentle warnings that the audience level will drop. But each year the show does better.

Last season, the Tuesday edition of American Idol was watched by an average of 31.02 million people to rank No. 1 for the season. That's up three million from the 27.44 million the season before.

Moreover, the show has launched the careers of music superstars Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Dreamgirls star Jennifer Hudson.

American Idol returns with two-hour editions on Jan. 16 and 17 at 8 p.m.

Few shows have had the run it's enjoyed and remained as strong. But Frot-Coutaz said a drop is not out of the realm of possibility.

"Look," she said, "it's always in the back of your mind. The only thing we can do is make the best show we can and find the best talent as possible. The rest, some of it is up to Fox and how they promoted it. The rest is the competitive landscape. If we keep giving [viewers] something entertaining, it will be fine."