Some further answers.

Simon can be sarcastic, but you usually can tell when he's being so. I bought it that he wasn't familiar with some of the songs.

They will narrow it down -- two boys and two girls will go in each of the next three weeks (including this week), and afterward, the top 6 boys and top 6 girls will compete together, with one person being eliminated each week.

They definitely have access to coaches. You should see marked improvement in many of the contestants next week -- the first week is often shakey, due to their nerves.

While a few AI winners have tanked, many prior winners and top 12 contestants have gone on to have successful careers. Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson in the recording industry, Fantasia on Broadway and Jennifer Hudson in film to name a few.

Even those that haven't been huge hits have gotten records released off of their 15 minutes

http://www.idolsmusic.com/america.htm has the full list, it also lists things they did before they were idols.

LAST EDITED ON 02-21-08 AT 11:29 PM (EST)

Thanks to all of you for the information; this is what we were wondering about. I will definitely check out the URLs you all posted. Very useful to know.

LAST EDITED ON 02-22-08 AT 10:42 AM (EST)

One change this year was that the contestants had to sing something from the '60's this week--usually at the top 24 stage they get to select from anything that the show can get clearance on and what the contestants usually chose is something that showcases their strengths--like Daughtry doing some Fuel early on.

I think the show had more production value in it last night--the video of the top 24 with the fake paparazzi was a nice way to celebrate all the contestants--it let them all have a moment.

I would have to look back over the past few years but I don't recall the top 24 doing a group number like last night's number, either--with all the deliberate costuming, solo sing outs, etc. I thought we didn't see that "cheesy goodness" until there were fewer contestants.

If you continue to read this board you will see the discussion of producer manipulation to get 'their' candidate into the top 4 or be the winner. Song selection plays a role in that. In past seasons we have had reports of songs being prepared for the show only to get a very late negative response from the producers leaving the contestant about a day to prepare a new song. When the contestants' stage presence and moves play such a large role in the judges' comments, you can see that having only one day puts them at a big disadvantage. And it seems that these song issues happen to contestants that are NOT the producers favs. Hmmm.

Simon seems to know more about pop than he does rock and R&B. Part of the fun of watching is to see how he embarrasses himself and then trys to recover from his gaffs.

As for voice lessons, I think AI tells them to get vocal coaching between the audition rounds that are held in various cities over the summer and the Hollywood rounds that are held late in the year. I think they have a few months to get ready for Hollywood. Once they are in the top 24 I don't think they have much time to work with a vocal coach...the schedule is quite grueling,particularly when it gets to the top ten. They get coaching from Brydie, the AI coach and some from guest coaches, etc.

Does anyone recall if they still have access to/spend time with their own vocal coaches once they are at the top 24 stage?

Another good reference place for AI is MJ's Big Blog. She has been writing about AI for several seasons.

http://mjsbigblog.com/

I think "cheesy goodness" came from her.

Edited to add: Wikipedia has good background on each season on AI, too.

P.S. MTV has some good articles on AI.

Last year's F2 "must sing" song demonstrates some of the producers' guiding hand in the eventual outcome. Some years the F2 sing different new "must sing" songs, sometimes they sing the same song. Last year they wanted Jordin to win; they had Jordin and Blake sing the same song.

Here is a link to an interview with Blake, who was in the top 2 last year, losing to Jordin Sparks.

http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2007/12/21/exclusive-blake-lewis-talks-about-getting-screwed-on-american-idol/

Here's a snippet from the Buzzworthy interview:

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"BW: When you first heard “This Is My Now,” the ballad you had to perform during the finale, did you think you were toast?

BL: Oh, totally. Me and Jordin went in a room with some guy who was producing that song and I was like, what the f— is this? This is a piece of s—. And you’re not going to let me arrange it? OK, cool. Thanks guys. I didn’t want to win American Idol anyway; I wanted to get second. Then we found out we had to learn it in, like, three days or something ridiculous. It was dumb. It was just like, are you kidding me? It was really a piece of crap song. And the guys who wrote it were like, we’re sorry, dude.

BW: It seemed totally unfair…

BL: When I found out they wouldn’t let me change it, I was like, you’re kidding me. I mean, my range is alright but … I don’t do power ballads. And if I do, I write them and tailor them to my voice. But this one, I was just like, ummm… So I totally just, like, brushed it off and picked a key that I shouldn’t have picked. But it didn’t matter. Honestly, I picked Jordin to win during Hollywood Week."

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A couple a years ago MTV ran a series of articles on "What you don't know about American Idol" that were really good. Can't find them just now; search on MTV was unavailable.

Good info--for example, that's where we learned that Simon's vote is 2x the value of Randy's or Pauls's vote in determining the top 24, etc.

I have never heard the 2x thing before.

If Simon's vote is 2x Randy or Paula in the Top 24, that bit about how he wanted Nerdy Politician Guy over Colton doesn't make sense. And if it's 2x then we'd have ties. Three judges means there will always be a majority. I don't get it.

LAST EDITED ON 02-22-08 AT 12:43 PM (EST)

Totally fascinating! I checked out the URLs and other info. Sounds like the producers decide in advance.

Can you tell who it is this year?????????

I really appreciate the info!!!

Thank you!

You can pretty much tell by the judges comments. The faves (I don't think they've narrowed it down to just one yet) will be majorly praised if they even do a halfway decent job. And if they happen to gak it up one night, the criticism will be very minor. No "horrendous" or "abysmal" from Simon.

Judge comments are telling. Sometimes who gets the "pimp" spot is telling. Usually you do want someone who did really well that week to close the show, but often the ones that get it are the overly praised ones.

Most people will remember the last performance more than any other, so that tends to make you more likely to get votes, and sometimes it becomes obvious that they won't give the pimp spot to someone no matter how well they do.

Sometimes you see favoritism in what they get for accompaniment. Some people seem to get a lot of memorable music and stuff than others.

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