September 2nd, 2008 4:12 pm

Shame on you Greg!

Going by my previous post you would have noticed that I was happy with Australian Idol so far, the changes they made make the show a bit more interesting and was a step in the right direction. However the producers (mainly Greg Beness) just didn’t cut it this time. Already at the Semi Final stage they have taken a step back and kept going with the same process, this is what annoys me.

As usual they will have 24 contestants, each night 6 sing and 2 get through, then at the end of the week a wild card will take place where the ones who missed out get a second chance and the judges choose 2 more to make the top 12…no, that is not the right way. You would have thought after 5 years they would have realised that this is not the way you do the semi finals. The current format just sends people straight through and who knows, that singer could have just one good performance and be absolutely crap for the rest of the competition.

The better way to do it, and this way will prune out the bad ones is simple, each night have 12 boys and 12 girls sing in a 2 hour show, the night after simply eliminate 2 from the group. Keep doing that until there are 6 boys and 6 girls making the top 12. Yes this could take up to 3 weeks but who cares, it will produce talent and avoid the one hit wonder singers getting through. Now I may be comparing this to American Idol a bit to much, but with what Idol was showing seemed like they were going to do the exact same thing and change it around a little, which was what we were promised, was it not Greg?

More after the break.

Another money making scheme has come once again, now with Big Brother gone, Network Ten have no choice but to bring in the cash once again, this time with Idol. What could they do?

Simple, each Monday night on eliminations, announce the bottom 3 at the beginning of the night; a step in the right direction however it can never be that simple. Those bottom 3 must sing once again and during that hour, the public vote again to save 2 of those 3 from possible elimination. Now this format only allows Eastern states to vote, and before daylight saving kicks in, only NSW and VIC will be able to vote right up to the end, and with a clean slate put on the votes, this format will simply not work, it could work as a once off twist to spice the show up a bit; but every week is just ridiculous and could ruin the show.

Although it is tempting to just stop watching, unfortunately I will be and I am edging to see this new format work and hopefully bombs like Big Brother’s attempt at a new format.

Leave your thoughts on Australian Idol so far.