Nigel Lythgoe 'Thrilled and Delighted' With 'American Idol' Premiere

Yesterday we reported how the ratings for the debut of 'American Idol' Season 10 were lower than for previous seasons. However, exec producer "Nasty" Nigel Lythgoe says he's not worried.

Speaking about the new Cowell-less show, he told The Hollywood Reporter that he's "thrilled and delighted at the reaction to the new panel."

He also teased that viewers can expect to see an incredible range of performers in the coming weeks. "Wait until the talent begins to surface," he said. "There will be more than one star this year."

So is all the hard work paying off for the revamped 'Idol'? This season's brought a raft of changes, including all new judges, some new rules, and a tweaked format. Lythgoe seems to think that it is. He pointed out that the ratings for the first half of the premiere were up 45 percent from last year's finale performance night, and were 18 percent higher than the Season 9 finale results show.