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'Idol' Will Reveal Some of the Top 24 on Tuesday

by Kona Gallagher, posted Feb 15th 2010 10:30AM

ryan seacrestWe've got even more 'American Idol' changes coming this season. Traditionally, the Tuesday episode is for auditions, and the Wednesday (or sometimes even Thursday) episode is for results. However, 'Idol' feels as though they haven't shaken things up quite enough already this season, so they're making yet another change to the formula. This Tuesday, February 16, in a special two-hour episode, not only are we going to see auditions, but we're also going to learn who some of the Top 24 are.

This news doesn't seem to be a change 'Idol' has had planned for very long. The last we heard from FOX, the entire Top 24 was set to be revealed on Wednesday, February 17. So what's behind the change? Perhaps the folks behind 'Idol' sense that the audience is getting audition fatigue, and we want some more action. Maybe they want to keep the momentum going from Ellen DeGeneres' debut last week.

In general, I like the idea of finding out who some of the finalists are on Tuesday, especially because people have complained about the Hollywood week episodes not doing a very good job at letting us know who is still in the running and who isn't. If the results are spread over two nights, then the less-crowded landscape should make it easier to keep track of everyone who we're interested in.

What do you think of the change? Are you glad we're going to find this out early, or do you thing 'Idol' should just stick with the format that's been successful for them for so many years?

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gillygirl

Maybe they are doing this because other sites have already divulged the top 24. Its no secret to anyone who really wants to know. Just check out FORT or Joe's' sites.

February 15 2010 at 7:58 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kris

I like the idea of splitting the auditions and decisions over two nights instead of all of the auditions on one night and decisions on the other. Who wants to sit for 1-2 hours just to see the finalist hopefuls cry with sorry or jump with elation? Mixing the decisions into the auditions makes a lot more sense.

February 15 2010 at 3:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nornny

I'm a fan of this. The changes Idol made this year have so far been much less disastrous than last year's.

What I always found unfair was how some semi-finalists go in with zero previous screentime. It's an advantage at times (Kris, Kelly), but mostly, it's almost a foregone conclusion that they'll be gone before the finals, especially in a Top 24 voting format where they need to survive 3 weeks in a row. I'll give the producers some benefit of the doubt like limited amount of airtime, songs from audition episodes not being cleared to air, but still, it's JUST 24 people and you had up to 6 weeks to give them some bit of attention...

Hopefully, a slow reveal gives some equal time to these "cannon fodder" rather than MORE screentime to the producers' picks (i can forsee producers revealing a favorite as a semi-finalist on Tuesday, and then shoving it down our throats again on Wednesday, just to cover their bases).

I think the more we can invest in ALL of the Top 24 (not just the 12 the producers want us to like), the higher the stakes and investment for the audience. Because even the semi's can drag and have generally low ratings when we all know rabid fans will carry certain contestants forward with prior screentime.

February 15 2010 at 12:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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