Moving Forward By Looking Back

Another season of Idol has come and gone. While it was great having our favorite show back on TV it seems like a lot of people that this was the worst season yet. People really couldn't get into the contestants for some reason. I don't really agree with that but I do agree that the excitement just wasn't the same as in past seasons. I think there are severals things the producers can do next year to help rebuild the excitement the show once had.

1) Cut back on the audition episodes. Every year we get more and more audition episodes and we see less and less actual talent. We have to sit through 3 weeks of bad auditions before the show actually starts taking place. That's just way too much. If they want to show that many bad people then I'd rather do it in two weeks with 2 hour episodes rather than waiting a full month before we get to Hollywood rounds.

2) Show more of the Hollywood rounds. It was ridiculous that we only got one hour of Hollywood week this year before we got to the Green Mile episode. How are we supposed to get to know some of the contestants if we don't see their audition and don't see anything in Hollywood? We need to see some episodes of the Hollywood round to get familiar with you is left in the show.

3) Get rid of the guest coaches each week. Idol has become nothing more but a way for current artists to sell albums. The whole purpose of this show is to find new, undiscovered talent not to help current artists make money. We just don't need to see them every single week. Having them on the show takes away from the audience getting to know the contestants a little more.

4) Better theme nights. While it's arguable that every season has its share of bad theme weeks I still think that season 1 has had the best. The themes were broad enough that the contestants were able to pick songs that fit their style but still fit the theme of the week. Choosing themes based on the artist is so limiting it's not even funny. The worst of this was Gloria Estefan week which was a total trainwreck. This year we had Gwen Stefani, Bon Jovi and Barry Gibb week. While I actually liked Bon Jovi week I still think that these were too tight of a theme. We need to go back to 90s, 80s, jazz, country, etc. These theme are broad enough to allow the contestants to find a way to work within that theme.

5) Bring back the group performances on elimination night. Rather that have the guest coach perform and take away time from the contestants, I would rather see them perform their group numbers again. I find them fun and a great way to compare the contestants against each other.

6) Get rid of the 1 hr result shows. One hour is way too long for a 5 minute result. And the filler just isn't any good. Read #5 for more. It's a great way to cut the show back down to 30 min.

7) The one thing I did like this season were the singles each week. It was great to finally get a studio version of the song that was sung the night before. Many times you hope your favorite contestants sings that song for the final compilation CD and it doesn't happen. This is a great way to get those songs, plus create your contestant's first CD before releasing something on an official label. I hope they continue this practice next year.

So that's it. That's what I would do to make the show better. Let me know if you agree.