Thanks to whoever leaked that memo over the weekend, we already had an idea of what changes American Idol—which will premiere on January 13 on Fox—will undertake before the official press conference was held yesterday.  Here goes the recap: first, there will be less audition episodes and more Hollywood episodes; second, there will be 36 semi-finalists; third, the wild card round will return; and fourth, there will be no “Idol Gives Back” episode this season, turning it into an every-other-year affair instead.  Looks like all we really needed is an elaboration as to why these are being done—and what better place to learn them than on, well, the official press conference?

Idol's executive producer Ken Warwick couldn't say it any other way.  “Wherever we can, we want to change things up a little bit,” he told reporters yesterday afternoon.  But the revamps, however, aren't a knee-jerk reaction to the show's falling ratings: although Idol has remained strong in the charts, audiences are slowly slipping away.  “There were no panic changes,” he said.  “This show wouldn't be on the TV for eight years if it wasn't doing it right.  I expect the [audience] figures will probably drop a bit more, but I'm not ashamed because we have eight years of success behind us.”

The press conference basically confirmed all the tweaks that were leaked over the weekend, but with additional details and explanations.  First, Warwick said they wouldn't exactly be leaving its thing for all those untalented contestants behind.  “I would have a pretty boring show on my hands and it wouldn't be honest,” he explained, adding that most of those who auditioned in Puerto Rico earlier this year weren't very good.

Nevertheless, episodes featuring the nationwide auditions will air for only three weeks rather than the usual four.  Plus, the show will be sending more contestants to Hollywood: 36 contestants rather than the original 24.  From there, the final 12 will be selected, nine of which will be chosen by the audience.  The other three—the winners of the returning wild card round—will be selected by the judges: Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and new entry Kara DioGuardi.  “If something goes horrendously awry, the judges could fix it on the wild card show,” Warwick explained.  “By the time we got down to the final eight … if any of them didn't have fantastic characters, it got a bit boring.”

Warwick was also excited to see the entry of DioGuardi, a known singer-songwriter who's penned song for some Idol contestants, as a judge.  Sure, she helps Paula stand up to Simon, Warwick contended, but he also thinks she is “a great singer ... she can—and does—say, ‘You should sing it like this,' and lets rip.”

But DioGuardi's entrance doesn't mean Paula is going on her way out.  “There has never been any discussion that we would want to get rid of Paula,” Warwick said.  “Never have I ever been faced with anyone saying, ‘Paula's gotta go; she's asking too much money' … America loves Paula.  She is an integral part of this program.  She keeps Simon well under control.  She is worth her weight in gold.”  He also reiterated that the show will continue screening the show's contestants, after the events revolving Paula and her alleged stalker, Paula Goodspeed, who auditioned for the show and later committed suicide in front of her house.

Finally, one last tweak to the show: they're bringing back behind-the-scenes footage of its contestants.  “I can't remember the reason we did away with it,” Warwick said.

American Idol will make its return to the airwaves with a two-night, four-hour premiere on January 13-14 from 8-10pm ET on Fox.


-Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Sources: Reuters, AP, Los Angeles Times
(Image courtesy of Fox)