NY Times
May 1, 2008
‘Idol’ Judge Admits Rehearsal Guided Her
By EDWARD WYATT
LOS ANGELES — Paula Abdul acknowledged on Wednesday what some “American Idol” viewers have long suspected: The show’s judges sometimes see portions of the dress rehearsal for the show and use that to help formulate their comments on the evening’s live performance.
The issue came up on Wednesday as Ms. Abdul, one of the three judges on “Idol,” the Fox talent competition, tried to explain comments she made during Tuesday evening’s live broadcast, in which she offered a critique of a performance that had not yet taken place.
After being informed of her error during the broadcast, Ms. Abdul eventually explained that she mixed up her notes and had meant to comment on another contestant. But during a radio interview on Wednesday morning Ms. Abdul revealed that she had seen part of the dress rehearsal, which takes place about two hours before the live broadcast, and had mixed up the rehearsal and the live performances.
The issue raises questions about the credibility of the show, which each week is the most-watched program on television, recently attracting about 24 million viewers per episode, a third more than the next most-watched program, “Dancing With the Stars.” The judges frequently warn the contestants that they have to inspire and excite the audience each week and that they risk elimination if they let their attention wane. “American Idol” has long promoted that each contestant’s fate hangs on the live broadcast, when anything can happen. On Wednesday online chatter about Ms. Abdul’s mistake included some critics, like Michael Slezak on Entertainment Weekly’s ew.com, even raising questions about whether the judges are given scripted comments to recite about the contestants.
Cecile Frot-Coutaz, chief executive of FremantleMedia North America and an executive producer of “American Idol,” said Wednesday that the judges are never given scripted comments, and that she does not believe that the credibility of the show has been compromised.
“The judges have always acknowledged they occasionally watch rehearsals, but in the end they only comment on what happens in the live show,” she said in a written response to questions about the incident. She added that the judge’s opinions do not determine the viewers’ votes.
This is not the first time that the issue has been raised. Earlier this season Ms. Abdul commented about viewing a rehearsal, telling Michael Johns, a contestant who has now been eliminated, that his version of the Beatles song “A Day in the Life” had been “phenomenal” in rehearsal but less so in live performance.
And in March 2007 an article published in The Independent, a British newspaper, offered a behind-the-scenes look at “American Idol,” reporting that the judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson watch the television feeds of the dress rehearsal to “give themselves an idea of what comments they will make when the show goes live.”
The strange episode on Tuesday featured performances by the Top 5 finalists. Each singer prepared two songs for Tuesday’s show, and early in the broadcast Ryan Seacrest, the host, told the audience that the judges would not offer their regular critiques until after the singers had performed both songs.
But after each singer had performed a first song, Mr. Seacrest reversed course, bringing the performers onstage and asking the judges quickly to critique the performance of the first song.
On Wednesday, during his daily radio show on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, Mr. Seacrest said that Nigel Lythgoe, an executive producer of “Idol,” informed him of the change as the fifth contestant, Syesha Mercado, was performing her first song, only seconds before he was to query the judges.
When Mr. Seacrest asked Ms. Abdul for her comments, she offered her critique on Jason Castro’s “first song,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” then added: “The second song, I felt like your usual charm, it was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty. And the two songs, it made me feel like you’re not fighting hard enough to get into the Top 4.”
As Mr. Seacrest anxiously glanced offstage for help, Mr. Jackson, beside Ms. Abdul at the judges’ table, gently prompted her to make comments “just on the first one.” Confused, Ms. Abdul said to Mr. Castro, “I thought you sang twice.” After realizing what had occurred, she then explained that she got her notes mixed up and had meant her comments to be about the next singer, David Cook. But instead of repeating that she thought Mr. Cook had given an uninspired performance, she told him, “You were fantastic.”
Attempting on Wednesday to explain her misstep, Ms. Abdul spoke on Mr. Seacrest’s radio show and said she had seen Mr. Castro’s rehearsal of his second song as she was bringing in a friend to the dress rehearsal audience.
When Mr. Lythgoe changed the format, she hurriedly made further notes, she said, mixing up Mr. Castro’s live performance with the rehearsal that she remembered.
Mr. Seacrest, during Tuesday’s ”Idol” broadcast, was left to remark on what seemed to be Ms. Abdul’s clairvoyance. “Paula,” he said, “you’re seeing the future, baby.”
