Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan at American Idol’s new Ohana Round in Hawaii (ABC Photo)

American Idol will unveil its new Ohana Round Monday night as the Top 30 compete for a spot in the Top 20.

That’s right, 10 of the remaining 30 singers will be cut Monday night. And this time, the judges won’t be the only ones involved in the decision-making process.

According to Ryan Seacrest’s tease at the end of the last Idol episode, the “game-changing” Ohana round will introduce a “dramatic power shift.”

Part of the decision-making process will be turned over to industry experts, the contestants’ families and the contestants themselves.

According to TV Insider, each of those groups will pick one platinum ticket recipient.

The site doesn’t say what benefit will accompany the platinum ticket. My guess is a free pass to the Top 20.

See also …
A look at who should make the Top 20
Guys who made the Top 30
Gals who made the Top 30

For those wondering, the industry expert group will include:

* Kaniyia Brown & Terry McCaskill, social media personality duo;

* Sasha Farber, a dancer and choreographer;

* Anthony Gargiula, an artist and music creator;

* Loren Gray, a singer and actress;

* Shirley Halperin, co-editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone;

* Cheryl Porter, singer and vocal coach;

* Kelly Sutton, a country music personality and Grand Ole Opry announcer.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about this new round. It replaces the old Top 24 or Top 26, a round that was split over two episodes so viewers could see everyone perform.

I doubt that’s going to happen with 30 singers performing in one night. My guess is viewers will get to see full or nearly full performances from a few show favorites and chopped up snippets of performances from the other singers.

Remember, Idol is sure to waste airtime fawning over the industry execs. And then waste more dwelling on the voting drama as the groups mull who should get a platinum ticket.

And then they have to leave time to announce results at the end. Add 30 performances, and it’s just not going to fit in a two-hour time slot.

The good news: Idol has assembled a talented cast. We can expect full performances from all remaining singers beginning next week when the first half of the Top 20 perform. And fan voting is coming soon.