Ellen Degeneres Joins American Idol
Ok, this is just waaaaaaay out of whack. Obviously AI is over-thinking the absence of Paula and what she added to the show’s lineup. The idea of turning the show into a comedy hour instead of a singing competition is going to test the long term prospects of this franchise.Aside from being a ‘huge fan’ of the show, Ellen has nothing to add in regards to a musical background. Contestants in audition segment are going to be in for a shocker when they enter the room to see a comedian staring them down. The judges remarks will be so broad in their scope it’s hard to imagine. A sample dialog could go like this as they remark about the performance:
Randy: ” Yo, dawg! You’re my man! Bravo! Right on!”
Kara: “Your upper register is very nice, and you’re comfortable with your lower register which provides your power. There were some pitchy moments….blah blah blah blah”
Simon: “You sucked.”
Ellen: “Have you heard the one about the two guys going into the gay bar with a chicken?”
The laughs have always been generated by the contestants themselves. AI has provided the peephole for us to view people at their best, their worst, and lots of times their funniest. All this without any additional fodder from the judges. Adding Ellen changes the whole dynamics of the show since she’ll be throwing out the one-liners and zingers instead of actual professional critique based on music knowledge.
This formula was tried once before, believe it or not, with Monday Night Football when they brought in Dennis Miller as the ‘color man’. It bombed miserably and lasted just the one season. People watching football take it seriously and weren’t interested in the quips from Miller’s impressive collection.
I don’t think this will hurt their ratings at all. But I just see the show going more towards the other ‘formula judge’ formats like Dancing With The Stars and America’s Got Talent.