Nigel Lythgoe: "The Voice needs better talent"

Nigel Lythgoe was on a conference call yesterday to promote tonight's American Idol episode (where someone faints) and talk about the ratings decline this season.

I find it a bit surreal that Idol will not be the #1 show this week in terms of ratings or number of viewers -- and for the first time, Nigel cannot claim to "still be the #1 show" as a response to his moron followers on Twitter. (I'm jumping the gun here, anything can still happen tonight or Thursday, but unlikely). The PR language now is this:

1. Idol after 11 seasons is still getting amazing ratings
2. Idol produces "stars" (drop names of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and NOW Katharine McPhee)
3. Idol has the best talent
4. Idol competes against itself

I can see that many of the Idol faithful have taken to this in the blog comments when either defending Idol or attacking The Voice/The X Factor, LOL.

All of Nigel's claims can be refuted of course, but what is more significant is how Idol is now all of a sudden in a bit of retreat -- both in ratings performance and in rhetoric. Is there anything wrong with the franchise? I don't think so -- the ratings are still good! -- but some of Nigel's words don't inspire confidence.

For example, he says that he's concerned more about getting the show right, than the ratings. Woah. When did this happen? You get the show right so you get better ratings! I can cite many examples from this season that Idol has done differently that are contributing to the decline in interest. FOX sends me surveys all the time to check on how the show is doing from week to week - so they obviously want to know what works for ratings.

He also admits for the first time that the challenge from The X Factor and The Voice has affected American Idol. The X Factor, he says, makes it look like there are 2 seasons of Idol on FOX instead of the annual event. He also mentions "viewer fatigue" from reality singing shows, and The Voice and The X Factor "feeding from the Idol talent pool" as reasons for Idol's audience decline.

First of all, if there's "viewer fatigue" then The Voice wouldn't be doing so well, and The X Factor wouldn't be FOX's biggest hit last fall. But there's definitely "viewer fatigue" with Idol -- it's been in steady decline since Season 6. Secondly, "feeding from the Idol talent pool" doesn't make sense. Kelly Clarkson hasn't made an appearance on The Voice yet! And Nigel ridiculed Simon Cowell on Twitter for not getting the "20 million viewers" for The X Factor. Is he actually admitting now that Simon leaving has caused Idol's rating to go down?

I'm a little disappointed, because I'm used to a more combative approach with regards to defending American Idol. And this "blame others" reasoning is not sitting well with me either. However, it is what it is. This is uncharted territory for the show. The mission for Nigel right now is to hold on to the show's still massive audience and delivering the programming they want.

American Idol is seeing very strong challenges from The Voice, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family and even The X Factor from afar this season, but it shouldn't give up the #1 crown so easily. This should motivate the show to be better don't you think?

Via Brian Mansfield and THR

From Brian Mansfield:

"American Idol" producer Nigel Lythgoe will be holding a conference call with reporters shortly. I'll be tweeting highlights. Stay tuned!

Nigel Lythgoe thinks "The Voice" is "a fun format." It's very gimmicky, he says, and he likes the relationship between Blake Shelton and Adam Levine. However, he adds, it needs better talent.

After 11 years, Nigel Lythgoe says he's thrilled with the audience "American Idol" pulls. "We're constantly compared against ourselves and against our own ratings. Of course, there's going to be some deterioration in the ratings." That said, The X Factor and The Voice have diluted the ratings. But Nigel says he's more worried about getting the show right.

"We always said we were not going to do two series of 'Idol' a year," Nigel Lythgoe. But now, with "The X Factor" and "The Voice," it feels like three. "Of course, there's viewer fatigue," he says. But, after 11 years, he doesn't feel like "Idol" needs to defend itself against criticism about ratings.

"We're turning stars out," says Nigel Lythgoe, pointing to Katharine McPhee's role on "Smash" and Kelly Clarkson's upcoming mentoring role on "The Voice." But Nigel's not sure that America's going to get a musical show like "Smash" that doesn't have the campy quality of "Glee."

Nigel Lythgoe says Jimmy Iovine will be returning to "American Idol" this year. Plus, the show will have guest mentors. Nigel says he hasn't gotten a response from President Obama to appear on "Idol": "I've got a feeling he's a little too busy to answer me."

The difference between Simon Cowell's criticism of singers and the kind artists like Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler give them is that Simon is coming from the attitude of "Can you make me money?" The artists, on the other hand, "are as honest as I think they can be for themselves and, at the same time, as supportive as they want to be for the artists." If all a viewer wants is negativity, "then don't watch." But if you want great talent, then tune in, "because that's what you're going to get."

Nigel Lythgoe says that, after so many years of watching "Idol," he's surprised contestants "still don't realize how tough Hollywood Week is." He chalks up a lot of this year's problems to dehydration and general stupidity. "They were dropping like flies." He adds that "tent girl" Amy Brumfield brought a bug to Hollywood that got passed around.

Simone Black was the contestant who fell off the stage, and Nigel Lythgoe was right beside the stage when it happened. "It was almost like slow motion," he says. Nigel says Group Night will be very dramatic this year "because of all the passings out."

Nigel Lythgoe says he loved Idol Season 10 because of the diversity of talent. "That has brought more and more diversity to the judges this year, so the jazz singers felt more comfortable in coming." And Adele had a huge influence with this year's contestants -- both boys and girls. "That shape of singer ... has come out and feels proud, and rightly so, to come to the audition and expose their talent."

Nigel Lythgoe says he didn't always agree with who the "American Idol" judges kept and who they kept. But "That's what makes it subject, that's what makes it interesting."

Nigel Lythgoe on the prospects of American Idol without Ryan Seacrest: "There can always be an Idol without anybody. ... I believe that Seacrest is probably the best host in the business ... I would hate to think of him leaving American Idol. ... I hope he doesn't leave, to be frank with you."

Nigel Lythgoe says the Idol's producers are trying to get all the potential finalists in front of the viewers before the end of the "green mile" episode. "At this moment in time, there's an awful lot you haven't seen yet. A great many you haven't seen yet."

“We are as strong or as weak as our final talent as the final talent that we present to America,” says “American Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. “And that’s what we have to stand by.