Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Garrett Jacobs, Marcio Donaldson, Cade Foehner and Gabby Barrett pose for a photo prior to Sunday’s Top 14 show. (ABC Photo)

But fear not, West Coast fans. You won’t be left out. At least not sorta.

ABC on Monday announced plans to simulcast American Idol to all 50 states next Sunday.

That means the show will air at 8 to 10 p.m. on the East Coast and 5 to 7 p.m. on the West Coast.

Everyone can watch the performances and vote at the same time, with results announced at the end of the show.

Just last week, NBC and The Voice drew heavy criticism from West Coast fans for a live playoff format that required them to vote during the same time span, without watching any of the performances.

Idol should be applauded for helping fix at least part of the problem with live voting.

But there’s no getting around this. It isn’t particularly convenient to watch a singing show between 5 and 7 p.m.

The old Idol — the one that drew 40 million viewers weekly and everyone talked about? Yep, West Coast fans probably would have tuned in.

The new Idol, with ratings that dropped off significantly last week? We’ll see.

And as I’ve said repeatedly, I don’t think live voting is fair to contestants on the West Coast.

In this case, the Idol contestants with the most to lose should they make the Top 10 included California-based Marcio Donaldson and Michael Woodard and Colorado-based Jurnee.

The switch to live voting is necessary because Idol cuts back to one night per week — Sunday’s only — beginning next week. A Monday night episode will return for the season finale.