Nigel Lythgoe on American Idol Season 11: "After 11 Years, Isn't It Fantastic That We're Still America's Number One Show?"

Nigel Lythgoe said it plainly: "If what you want is real good talent without gimmicks, without fireworks going off, without flashing lights — just blood…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

On February 7, 2012, Fox held a press call with American Idol Season 11 executive producer Nigel Lythgoe ahead of Hollywood Week, which was set to begin the following night and run for three nights. Premier Guide Miami was among the outlets on the call.

If what you want is real good talent without gimmicks, without fireworks going off, without flashing lights — just bloody good talent on the stage — then watch American Idol. Because that's what you're going to get.

On ratings, fatigue, and 11 years of survival

Asked about the season's rating decline, Lythgoe put it in perspective with characteristic bluntness: "You're asking me in the 11th season when I thought I was going home after three weeks. Don't forget, Simon Cowell only packed for three weeks when we first came out here." He acknowledged the competitive landscape honestly: "We've now got two major programs in The Voice and X Factor against us. Whether people like them or dislike them, they're still feeding from the same talent, and it's still going to dilute our audience." But he refused to be defensive: "After 11 years I don't think we should be defending ourselves. I think we should still be saying, 'Isn't it fantastic that we're still America's number one show?' So far." On viewer fatigue: "It's the same as too many science fiction dramas or too many hospital dramas. We always said we were not ever going to do two series of Idol a year. Now, of course, with the X Factor sitting there it feels like two Idol seasons on Fox." His bottom line: "My job is to worry about making the best shows that I can make, and that's what I would like to continue doing."

The Adele effect — and what's changed in the audition room

Lythgoe described a clear shift in the talent pool since Season 10: "Adele has certainly had a huge influence on the auditionees this year. I've never heard so many Adele songs. Last year it was Lady Gaga. This year it's Adele — boys and girls singing Adele." He also noted a broader cultural shift in who felt comfortable showing up: "I'm probably going to be very un-PC in saying that that shape of singer as well has come out and feels proud — and rightly so — to come to the audition and expose their talent, and it's really good." On the diversity of the season: "Last year we had jazz, we had country, we had rock, and we allowed them to stay in their genres. I think that has brought more and more diversity to the judges this year so that the jazz singers felt comfortable in coming." On the talent overall: "I think the talent is terrific. I think the diversity of talent is terrific. I haven't agreed all the time with the judges' choices, but that's great. That's what makes it subjective. That's what makes it interesting, and that's why people watch the show."

Hollywood Week — dehydration, passing out, and a girl who fell off the stage

Lythgoe was candid about the physical toll Hollywood Week took on contestants this season: "Having been there for ten years and the kids have watched this since some of them were five years old, I'm shocked that they still don't realize how tough Hollywood Week is. Most of our people passing out — they were dropping like flies. They just weren't drinking, and it's all dehydration basically." He singled out one incident that stood out even by Hollywood Week standards: "I was right by Symone Black, who was the girl who fell off the stage, and it was almost like slow motion. The cameras weren't expecting it — we just caught it on a wide angle. She just disappears below the frame. But when she dropped I watched myself walking towards the body, as it were, in slow motion. She wobbles. You literally see a wobble and her eyes dropping to the back of her head, and she falls. And the cameraman, bless him, tries to dive to catch her because he's on the floor on his knees, and he doesn't get there and knocks his camera that falls on top of him. So it's a complete, oh my God, this is terrible. I'm shouting for medics and it's scary, to be frank." He also noted a contestant who spread illness through the group: "Amy Rumsfeld — 'Tent Girl' — came ill and she certainly passed a bug around, which didn't help. People were vomiting." On the contestants who handled it best: "The best ones were going to bed by 11:30, 12 o'clock. The ones that sucked when they started and sucked when they finished were going to bed at 3:45, 4 o'clock in the morning."

On Jennifer Lopez, honest judging, and what Idol actually is

Pressed on whether Jennifer Lopez would be encouraged to give sharper feedback after a stretch of what one reporter called an "everyone's beautiful mode," Lythgoe defended the difficulty of the position: "You're dealing with artists here who are dealing with other artists. This whole process of judging is extremely difficult — being as honest and as articulate as you can be, and at the same time trying to support the artist." He drew a sharp contrast with the Simon Cowell school of judging: "A recording executive like Simon Cowell can say, 'You suck. Go and sue your singing teacher. Pack your suitcase. You're going home.' Very easily — because his thought behind everything is, 'Can you make me money?' And that is that world. An artist like Jennifer or Steven go, 'Oh God, I remember when I took criticism for this. I don't want to be too harsh. My fans won't love me if I'm too harsh.' And that's the way that goes." He was equally direct about what the show stands for: "If all you want is negativity — if all you want them to say is, 'You didn't sing that well, and that top note, you shouldn't have gone for that, and that was rubbish, and I don't like what you're wearing' — then don't watch. If what you want is real good talent without gimmicks, without fireworks going off, without flashing lights, and just bloody good talent on the stage, then watch American Idol. Because that's what you're going to get."

On Ryan Seacrest, Katharine McPhee in Smash, and why he won't change the format

On the ongoing speculation about Ryan Seacrest's future with the show, Lythgoe was unambiguous: "I believe that Seacrest is probably the best host in the business. Why he hasn't received an Emmy yet, I'm not sure. I would hate to think of him leaving American Idol. I think he is the glue that sticks it all together and moves it along. I just hope he doesn't leave, to be frank with you." On Smash , which had just premiered with Idol alumna Katharine McPhee in the lead: "I think Katharine McPhee is fantastic. It's going to be interesting to see if the public stays with it. I'm not positive that America is going to necessarily get a musical show at this time without the campery of Glee, if you like." On whether the format needs changing after 11 seasons: "We have survived for 11 years. Whatever sort of bad press we're getting about these ratings — my God, the rest of the world would love these ratings. Why on earth would we start looking at other things to put in there? I have no idea." On the judges' save: "The judges do not have any more than one save at this time." And on the season's changes: "We're not doing the Beatles show again this year. We're going to the Elvis stage in Vegas, and we are going to Le Reve to do our 'Green Mile' show. The more we can show their natural talent, the better." American Idol Season 11 aired Wednesdays and Thursdays on Fox.

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