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Simon Says - 'Idol' Judge Talks Season Seven Plus News On A Drastic Change
Now if you have been following the pre-Idol news recently there has already been talk about the changes for this season... less celebrity mentors, more in depth coverage of the Idol's personal lives, contestants being able to use instruments during the Hollywood round. So, I wont bore you with more of the same but I I can reveal that Idol will be getting a new set this year. Simon spilled the beans during a conference call with reporters today but didn't give any details. In the past few years they have typically made tweaks to the set that most viewers would not really notice. However, this year I've learned from a show source that the change will be in fact be "drastic."
Season Seven seems like a good year to really shake things up (and get us past the seven year itch) with something drastically different, but we'll have to wait and see. I do know that, like us here at AccessHollywood.com, their Web site www.americanidol.com, got a face lift too!
Meanwhile, Simon had lots more to say in his conference call with reporters today on topics ranging from Hillary Clinton… to Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis' less than stellar record debuts… to his brutal take on Fantasia's brother auditioning.
On When He Will Leave The Show : "Nothing is going to last forever. I think the exit point to a point is determined by the public, who eventually are going get sick to death of me (if they haven’t already). I’ve always, in my mind, kind of thought I would go up until the end of my contract, which would mean two more seasons after this one, which would have made it nine in total - and nine years is probably enough to inflict on anyone. So, that’s what I have sort of got in my mind. Can the show exist without me? Absolutely. It would probably get better."
On Jordin And Blake's Disappointing Album Sales: "Naturally disappointed that they didn’t sell more copies or that either artist has caught on fire. I mean that’s what you want. It didn’t happen. Am I surprised? Not particularly. The record business is incredibly unpredictable. You literally have to give the public what they want and the public decided this year it wasn’t necessarily what they wanted. So, we have to try and do better this year and I'm confident that we will."
On How The Writer's Strike Will Affect The Ratings: "I don't think its going to have as big an impact as people have said - mainly because people have still got a choice to watch other channels and we have to be making a better show this year than we did this year than last year - and that's the only reason that we are going to either gain or lose viewers."
On Fantasia's Brother, Ricco's, audition - "He was terrible. Absolutely dreadful…. he can't sing. I remember thinking, 'Oh great – Fantasia's brother has come in,' and it was all fantastic until he started singing and then I think we disputed the fact that he really was Fantasia's brother because he hasn't got his sister's talent."
On Dealing With Bad Singers After Seven Years: "It is becoming increasingly like torture. It has got harder over the years. What’s amazing even after seven years - and we have had some shockingly bad people this year - is how they still believe that they are right and I am wrong. And they got more argumentative with me this year and all I'm doing is trying to help them."
On Picking An Early Winner: "I can't call out a winner. At this stage in my mind I think I have an idea of who will make the finals."
On Hillary Clinton Getting Tear Eyed During A New Hampshire Press Conference: "It didn’t do it her any harm did it. I always say tears on 'American Idol' never do the contestants any harm and I don’t think its done her any harm either."
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