Idol Chatter & Voice Views

American Idol judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie at the American Idol Top 5 show. (ABC Photo)

But ABC and the show’s producers will be trying to bring down costs for Season 18, multiple sources say.

With that in mind, here are some suggestions on how to improve on what was a very strong 17th season for the best singing show on television.

1. The judges are dispensable: What does Katy Perry do to earn her reported salary of $25 million per year? Swipe a bucket of ice cream from Ryan Seacrest. Feign fainting when a good-looking male takes the stage? Get lassoed by a cowboy? From my standpoint, her antics are the most groan-worthy part of the show.

Meanwhile, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan aren’t exactly fountains spewing steady streams of sage advice. Lionel’s my favorite of the trio, but lately he seems more concerned about who’s stealing from his wardrobe than critiquing performances.

I realize the days of a scathing Simon Cowell are gone, but a three-job panel that could provide honest, constructive criticism that goes beyond “that wasn’t your best vocal” would be a refreshing change.

2. Cut the Top 24 celebrity / contestant duets: We’re looking for the American Idol, not America’s Next Great Duet Partner. Duets never have and never will be particularly helpful in determining who deserves the Idol crown.

Quick: What Idol duets do you remember? I recall Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta being pretty special in Season 8. And I remember those great Haley Reinhart / Casey Abrams duets in Seaosn 10. That’s it.

And you’ll note that none of those involved celebrities. If you’re looking for places to cut, I’d start right there.

3. Coach the contestants: Voice contestants praise the support they get from the show’s vocal coaches and the other individuals who work behind the scenes to make every performance a success. Do Idol contestants get the same type of support?

I ask because former Idol finalist and current Voice finalisst Dexter Roberts went on the record saying that’s why he prefers The Voice. I ask because a couple members of Idol Season 16 cast marveled over vocal tips they were getting from guest mentors, when I just assumed they were getting vocal coaching all along.

If that coaching isn’t being provided, it might explain why some contestants didn’t seem to progress that much during Idol’s Season 17 finals.

4. Nix the themes: Seriously, just let the singers sing the songs they’d prefer to sing. Or at least have themes that are as broad as possible, so everyone can do the type of music they do best.

I understand having a Disney night given ABC’s connection to Disney. It was also the weakest night of the finals. Elton John night? Most of the Season 17 cast wasn’t born when Elton had his last hit. And I’m pretty sure if you asked Laci Kaye Booth to make a list of songs she’d love to cover with her Idol life on the line, “Saturday’s Night’s Alright for Fighting” wouldn’t rank in her top 500.

Here’s an interesting state from WhatNotToSing.com. The average age of American Idol’s 10 finalists in Season 17 was 21.8 years old. The average age of the songs performed during the finals? Get this: 36.6 years. Wow!

That said, kudos to Idol for allowing contestants to sing original music. That would never happen on The Voice.

And kudos as well on an entertaining Season 17.

Check back during the Idol finals Sunday night. I’ll be live blogging throughout with song by songs grades.

See also …
Ranking the Top 3 on American Idol
What YouTube tells us about the outcome
Social media stats for the Idol Top 3
Partial set list for the American Idol finale