Idol Chatter & Voice Views

I’d love to post a blog today explaining all the upcoming changes for season 10 of American Idol.

But the fact is, no one seems to know for sure.

And the reports out there from those who pretend to know are contradictory.

One says online voting might be introduced this year. Another says it definitely will not be.

One says the contestants might be required to make their own music videos this year. Another says the video idea has been ditched.

Nigel Lythgoe previously indicated the themes would be tweaked so that, for instance, a country singer isn’t forced to sing R&B and vice versa. One story includes a quote from Nigel in which he backtracks from that stance.

A couple of reports indicate that the Idol contestants will have music available sooner this year, but fail to elaborate.

I mean, are we talking original music? Because for the past couple of years, you’ve been able to download each contestant’s studio performances of the songs they sang on the show. And they’ve been available the same week the show aired. You can’t release music much faster than that.

A couple of the other reported changes are downright discouraging, if they’re true, including the possibility that Idol is again doing away with gender parity, meaning there won’t necessarily be the same number of guys and girls advancing to the finals.

In theory, I agree with the notion. If there’s a surplus of great male contestants, why penalize them by advancing a less worthy female.

In practice, it sure didn’t work in season eight. That year, Idol wound up with eight guys and five gals in the finals. And Scott MacIntyre, Anoop Desai, Matt Giraud and Danny Gokey all seemed determined to sing the same type of music. And several very talented female contestants were bypassed in the process.

The result: One of the most boring Idol seasons in recent memory.