Idol Chatter & Voice Views

I certainly won’t get my hopes up too high, because we’ve heard about possible changes to American Idol in the past that never came to fruition.

Everyone remember Nigel Lythgoe’s idea of cutting the results shows to 30 minutes?

But the New York Times is reporting that the company that owns the rights to American Idol is seriously considering changes to the voting system.

More than any other “tweak,” that’s a change the show needs to make.

And it has nothing to do with the fact that white guys with guitars have won the past five seasons.

The beauty of Idol is that it’s a viewer participation show. With the exception of the judges’ save — which has added a dramatic flair — viewers and viewers alone determine the outcome.

Except that under the current voting system, the outcome is really determined by those viewers who have the time to cast votes for two hours straight on Wednesday night, from 10 p.m. to midnight (EST).

Do you fit in that category?

I sure don’t.

There’s a little thing called a job to get to the next morning. And I don’t think sleeping in because I stayed up until midnight casting votes for the next American Idol would be an acceptable excuse for showing up late at work.

For those of us who aren’t inclined to spend two hours texting or dialing like crazy after the show, the current voting format screams: Don’t bother. You can’t possibly make a difference.

I voted for one contestant this past season. And it wasn’t an Idol.

It was for Juliet Simms, one of the finalists on The Voice. I went to the show’s website and cast 10 votes for her. It took about five minutes. Maybe less. Because I was limited to 10 votes via that method.

Idol needs to switch to a similar voting format. It’s pretty simple concept, really. Get more viewers involved in the decision-making, and they’ll be more invested in the show.

And if the votes are more evenly spread between singers of all sorts, males and females … well, that would be a pleasant bonus.