Lionel, Katy and Luke: The ABC Judges

[MarkHB]

New network, new era, new Judges thread!

[Qoass]

Wow, Lionel Richie's head is simply enormous.

That's all I got.

[Raja]

The last time Lionel Richie got cast on a singing contest show I wonder what happened that John Legend had to replace him?

[MarkHB]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

The last time Lionel Richie got cast on a singing contest show I wonder what happened that John Legend had to replace him?

Was that the Duets one that Kelly Clarkson was on?

[Raja]

7 hours ago, MarkHB said:

Was that the Duets one that Kelly Clarkson was on?

All the way up to the premiere ABC was promoting Lionel Richie when I tuned into the premiere there was John Legend. It must have had almost a live show scheduled production time. No extended audition episodes in the bank

[MarkHB]

Heh... I just looked it up, and ABC announced the change on April 30, citing (of course) "scheduling conflicts," and the premiere was May 24.  I don't think they're running on that sort of lead time with Idol, though :)

[SnarkyTart]

20 hours ago, Raja said:

The last time Lionel Richie got cast on a singing contest show I wonder what happened that John Legend had to replace him?

Doesn't shed a lot of light, but google articles from that time for more info, such as this:

Quote

By Rolling Stone May 1, 2012

John Legend has joined ABC's new singing competition Duets as a mentor, Billboard reports. He will replace Lionel Richie, who had to step down due to "personal scheduling conflicts."

[TimeyWimey52]

Is this on Hulu? I must watch!

[MarkHB]

On 2/7/2018 at 1:46 PM, TimeyWimey52 said:

Is this on Hulu? I must watch!

Duets?  I have no idea.  The main thing I remember from the show is when John Legend said something to a contestant about "I've never had to stand up and be judged for my singing" and Kelly cut in and went full Texas with "Well, I have and it's hard!"

[stcroix]

When does the new Idol start?  I need to set up my DVR!  Thank you :)

[MarkHB]

19 hours ago, stcroix said:

When does the new Idol start?  I need to set up my DVR!  Thank you :)

It's in the Anticipation thread: Sunday, March 11.

[stcroix]

35 minutes ago, MarkHB said:

It's in the Anticipation thread: Sunday, March 11.

Ok, thank you :)

[Wings]

Katie was on Kimmel last night.  She is very full of herself.   ugh  This is going to be the Katy Perry show.  

[TheGreenKnight]

This is probably my favorite cast of judges they've put together, so of course America will hate it. I liked Nicki/Keith and Simon/Paula together, too. I thought JLO, HCJ, and Dioguardi were the show's worst judges.

[Suzysite]

I love this panel. They are smart, funny, and give great feedback.  Idol's back and better than ever.

[Justaguess]

On 3/10/2018 at 4:28 PM, TheGreenKnight said:

This is probably my favorite cast of judges they've put together, so of course America will hate it. I liked Nicki/Keith and Simon/Paula together, too. I thought JLO, HCJ, and Dioguardi were the show's worst judges.

We loved them and enjoyed the humor.  Luke needs to toughen up a bit but I am sure that will come in time.  Was it my imagination that there are more commercials than ever??

[Qoass]

On the other hand, I didn't see any Coke-product-placement cups.

Topic: I was going to list the judges I didn't like but it's easier just to put up the few I did like: Simon Cowell, Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. The new three look to have lots of potential. Katy in particular comes off as committed to the role and Lionel has so very much experience to draw on.

[susannot]

I didn't expect to, but I like the new judges.  Katy is actually hilarious and Lionel and Luke are great music mavens.  My only quibble is that I wish Katy would not wear  5 pounds of makeup.  I hoped more celebs would follow Alicia's lead and not wear makeup.. She is beautiful without it.

 

Kind of creepy about Trevor.  Yes, he's cute, but does Katy have to slobber about him so much?

Edited March 13, 2018 by susannot
another thought

[Ohwell]

I don't hate Katy as much as I thought I would.  I did think the slobbering over that cute guy was too much though. 

[susannot]

Garrett is totally going to win.  6 foot 4, dimples. yes.

[Ohwell]

My problem with Katy is that I'm sure there will be more cute guys, especially ones with guitars, coming up on the show.  I just hope she isn't going to drool and act like a 16 year old with all of them.

Also, I just read about the poor nun who dropped dead in court, fighting the case that allowed Katy to purchase the convent.  Katy won but it just seems to me that she could have just left the nuns alone, and bought another "estate" somewhere else.  At any rate, if I were her, I wouldn't want to live in that convent that she plans to convert into whatever.  Karma is a bitch.

So, previously I said she didn't bother me.  I've changed my mind and now, she does.  

[Blissfool]

The Judgementals.

[Wouldofshouldof]

I heard on the radio today that the kid she sneaked a kiss on is upset about it.  He comes form a conservative family, was hoping his first kiss would be special, and this wasn't.  So how is Katy forcing a kiss on a 19 year old and openly drooling over cute guys OK in today's environment, where men are being called out for it left and right?  I feel like she's playing it up to be a "character," but she should show some self awareness and know better.  Harassment is harassment, regardless of gender.

[Ohwell]

The good thing is, now that the kissing incident has made headlines, she'll probably cease and desist from such antics from now on.  At least I hope so.

[SnarkyTart]

10 hours ago, Ohwell said:

The good thing is, now that the kissing incident has made headlines, she'll probably cease and desist from such antics from now on.  At least I hope so.

I think they've already filmed all the episodes up to and including the final cut to Top 10.  If Katy continued drooling on guys through the rest of the auditions, Hollywood rounds and final cuts, the only thing they could do now is go back and edit all of it out.  I wonder if they'll do that.

[Ohwell]

8 hours ago, SnarkyTart said:

I think they've already filmed all the episodes up to and including the final cut to Top 10.  If Katy continued drooling on guys through the rest of the auditions, Hollywood rounds and final cuts, the only thing they could do now is go back and edit all of it out.  I wonder if they'll do that.

Oops, you're right.  I forgot these episodes have already been filmed.    

At least the guys in the Top 10 will be spared the drooling though.

[twilightzone]

I think the true test for the judges is when they go live - where they will have to do more detail critiques - while the clock is running and there are no do overs. 

Everything up to now is filmed - and edited.  And when a contestant is given a No - the stock feedback seems to be the judges saying they are either not ready or not a good fit for a competition like Idol.

[Wings]

8 hours ago, twilightzone said:

I think the true test for the judges is when they go live - where they will have to do more detail critiques

Oh please keep it short.  HCJs critiques were way too long.  Keith was no slouch either.  Simon +2 kept it brief and the voice coach would work with them on the feedback.  

[marketdoctor]

I wonder if part of Katy's contract is that she'll get the goofball edit.

It's also possible she has blood sugar issues, which would explain the obsession with snacks, and with appearing to have been drinking even when she's sober.  (I know that there's a simpler answer, and that it's edited.  We'll see in the live rounds.)

 

Absolutely agree that the live rounds are the test.  Even the "you're not all going through" fake-out could have been scripted.  Badly.

[ladytenor]

My nominee for worst judge on American Idol would be Ellen Degeneres. She didn't know anything about music, her critiques were not helpful at all, and she treated a lot of things like the setup for her (usually lame) punchlines. I also hated the Nikki/Mariah season. Kara wasn't the best judge, but at least she was music savvy and could give helpful critiques. Seemed like Paula didn't want to hurt the contestants' feelings, so she soft pedaled her comments and critiques.

[endure]

I just don't know what to think, they seem like an odd lot (Lionel, Katy and Luke) to me and several weeks in they still don't seem comfortable or natural.

[mtlchick]

I've only watched in bits and pieces this year and even weeks later, there is something about this line up that I can't get on board with.  I'm assuming the 3 get along fine off screen, but with the last trio (J Lo, Keith and Harry) there was a weird mix of chemistry that seemed to work with their personalities (maybe due to the closeness in their ages.)  I'm feeling there is some kind of disconnect between Lionel and Katy/Luke. 

[proserpina65]

I guess I don't get the point of having judges who don't actually critique any of the performances.

[Mu Shu]

On 4/11/2018 at 4:08 PM, proserpina65 said:

I guess I don't get the point of having judges who don't actually critique any of the performances.

You and me both.  God how I loved Simon, Paula and Randy.  That was just lightning in a bottle, the way they meshed.

Who knew that “I don’t know dog, it was aight, but a little pitchy “ would end up being a good critique.   

I actually didn’t mind J Lo.  But this bunch?

I don’t know, dog. 

[mtlchick]

On 11/04/2018 at 4:08 PM, proserpina65 said:

I guess I don't get the point of having judges who don't actually critique any of the performances.

It feels like a bad rerun of Ellen DeGeneres multiplied by 3.   It's like they are not trying to offend the contestants so they are not being honest outside of a minor critique. 

[Ladyrain]

4 hours ago, Mu Shu said:

You and me both.  God how I loved Simon, Paula and Randy.  That was just lightning in a bottle, the way they meshed.

Who knew that “I don’t know dog, it was aight, but a little pitchy “ would end up being a good critique.   

I actually didn’t mind J Lo.  But this bunch?

I don’t know, dog. 

This post is brilliant.  Who thought those would be the good old days.  And never in a million years did I ever think I'd miss J-Lo.  But here we are.

[holly4755]

OH I minded Jlo, but the class of a person who puts their hands in their pits and then smells them on TV? pure class. are they looking for the 4th grade demographic now 

[tobeannounced]

Did anyone else think it was unfair of Katy to put Luke and Lionel on the spot about immediately putting Ada through to the top 10? Like they were going to say no. Or do you think it was planned that way?

[MarkHB]

I am convinced that there was a producer-driven leaderboard provided to the judges, and they were merely announcing the previously-determined picks.  They might have input, but I'm sure those decisions are all made behind the scenes.

[Gemma Violet]

I don't see a general non-episode discussion thread, so I'm putting this here.  (It's more about the show's budget than about the judges.)  We all know that Katy receives something like $25 million per year to judge, with Luke and Lionel getting either $10 or $12 million.  So that's about $47 million per season just for the judges salaries.  The current viewership of the show is only about 6-7 million people per episode, meaning the advertising dollars are not coming in as expected when they hired the $25 million dollar woman.  So, they try to save money by producing a truncated version of the show, i.e. short season, two contestants booted out per show, etc., when they could have saved a ton of money if they would have done what I wanted in the first place (and it's all about me 😀 ), which is hire three former Idols as judges, pay them a million or so apiece, and you're saving $44 million right there.  There are quite a few former Idols who have the personality and charm to do the job.  (And maybe we'd get one who actually judges as opposed to blowing smoke up contestants' butts.)  Just my two cents.  If only the producers had contacted me when the show moved to ABC. 😀  

[cinsays]

Gemma Violet -

I like your idea a lot.  Even if they took former winners who did not become big stars, I would like it better than watching this unfunny childish girl try to just hog all the attention. 

I like Lionel and Luke better than Katy, but they are not worth that much money to basically just pat everybody on the back and say they are stars.

Hell, I could do that.

[Gemma Violet]

1 hour ago, cinsays said:

Even if they took former winners who did not become big stars, 

Yes, that's what I meant:  the lesser stars--not those like Kelly Clarkson & Carrie Underwood.  More someone like Kellie Pickler, etc.  Cute, funny, charming...and economical.  

[Ilovepie]

15 hours ago, Gemma Violet said:

Yes, that's what I meant:  the lesser stars--not those like Kelly Clarkson & Carrie Underwood.  More someone like Kellie Pickler, etc.  Cute, funny, charming...and economical.  

I so agree - when they had prior idols come back and mentor the last season on Fox they were awesome! I thought David Cook, Chris Daughtry, Fantasia and Lauren Alaina did a really good job. I thought I heard Adam Lambert wanted to do it before this iteration started. What a missed opportunity. Someone on the other thread said the live shows were the most expensive to produce, which I don’t really believe, but I think you are onto the real truth of all the money being spent on the judges being the true problem. You can throw in the useless Bobby Bones in there as well......

I don’t think they did a bad job picking this season, but the actual feedback during the lives is atrocious- it’s completely useless. They are as bad as Ellen was. I actually think Mariah and Nicki gave better feedback than these three. I really think it’s best to have a producer like Simon because they don’t give a shit if they are liked. Jimmy Iovine also gave truthful brutal feedback too. Harry was good too because he wasn’t afraid to say when something was bad. I really think that’s missing.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Why does the overpaid female star feel she needs to hog all the attention and be so silly,   The spider outfit was atrocious....the other two are not into hamming it up but are heavy into buttering up the contestants who deserve honest feedback on what they did well and what needs improvement, sick of the tongue baths!

[MarkHB]

My gut feeling is that the contestants get their meaningful feedback from the various coaches during the week, and the TV judges keep it light because it's a Disney joint and they want to be The Happiest Network on Earth!

[observer]

On 4/23/2019 at 11:22 AM, Foghorn Leghorn said:

Why does the overpaid female star feel she needs to hog all the attention and be so silly,   The spider outfit was atrocious....the other two are not into hamming it up but are heavy into buttering up the contestants who deserve honest feedback on what they did well and what needs improvement, sick of the tongue baths!

Foghorn Leghorn, one of my favorite cartoon characters ever, great choice for a name. 

Plus, agreeing about the female star.

Does the below description remind anyone else of a certain female star?

Quote

Symptoms of Histrionic Personality Disorder

A pervasive pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1.  Is uncomfortable in situations in which he or she is not the center of attention

2.  Interaction with others is often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior

3.  Displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions

4.  Consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to themselves

5.  Has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail

6.  Shows self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion

7.  Is highly suggestible, i.e., easily influenced by others or circumstances

8.  Considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are

Edited April 26, 2019 by observer

[Babalooie]

On 4/23/2019 at 2:22 PM, Foghorn Leghorn said:

On 4/23/2019 at 2:22 PM, Foghorn Leghorn said:

The spider outfit was atrocious...

From one cartoon character to another...the spider was actually Ursula the octopus from yet another animated feature, "The Little Mermaid".

[Sounder]

Well...... Even Simon isn't the Simon we remember from his idol days.   I mean he cried for a dog act on BGT...... Really Simon?   Randy Jackson was always a fave of mine.   

Yeah,. all Ellen ever did was agree with whatever Randy said because he always was first to critique..... If he liked it..... so did she...... If he didn't...... neither did she.    I do like the judges now...... I've always been a Lionel fan and he brings huge credibility...... even though he seems to love something about everybody.......Luke is just the kind of guy I'd like to have a beer with...... and Katy is weird..... but at least she offers constructive criticism from time to time if she's not drooling over the male contestants.    But I think Jennifer Hudson would be great on this show..... cuz she'll speak her mind.

[incandescent]

1 hour ago, Sounder said:

Well...... Even Simon isn't the Simon we remember from his idol days.   I mean he cried for a dog act on BGT...... Really Simon?

Simon's got a soft spot from dog acts:

[InternetToughGuy]

The judges this season suck. I can't recall any actual judging taking place, they just stand up and applaud as if they are audience members obeying a neon sign. Katy is annoying as all hell, Luke is useless and Lionel is like a pull string doll with several quotes ("we're not in the music business, we're in the entertainment business" being one of them). I am guessing American Idol is mostly a family show - I can only really guess, because the crowd that stands near Ryan consisting of teenage girls always makes me think that is the main demographic, but if that is true, I don't know how familiar with former American Idol contestants they would be. I started watching in 2004 and the majority of the contestants stop being memorable a few years after that (2011 was great, though). 

I get that if the shows consisted of much more than just the performances, the audience's attention span would waiver, but I've always hated how from week to week, there is nothing in the way of what goes into the show from one performance to the next (song choice, rehearsals, etc.) The show would seem much more like a competition if you could see the amount of work that goes into it, rather than getting the impression that they didn't do a whole lot during the week. It would be interesting if the judges were also mentors, because then the contestant would actually receive benefit - I don't see how a 30 second critique really offers any help at all, especially when there is no critiquing at all anymore. 

The show's ratings are pretty disappointing, which you could probably somewhat contribute to there being so many other entertainment options, but when a show is structured around something so universally enjoyed (music), the show's format is more to blame. 

Back to the judges, I can understand why Katy would be so desperate for attention - her last album sucked and she's becoming quite irrelevant in the pop scene, not to mention she's rapidly losing her looks. In 2010 she was hugely popular and considered one of the hottest women in the world - I can't imagine how it would feel to lose that.