After a dip in ratings, ho-hum interest, and a near hijacking of the show by radio jock Howard Stern and boy toy Sanjaya, American Idol is trying to get back on track by returning to the basics – talent. According to American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, the standards have been increased for contestants hoping to find themselves going to Hollywood on the next season of the top-rated competition show. “We’re very, very picky this year,” says Lythgoe, who says the show’s judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul stuck to that rule during a recent a round of auditions in Atlanta. “We’ve cut out an awful lot of the crazies because, in truth, once we’ve got them on tape if we want to use them in montages we’ve got them so it seems silly wasting the real judges time, and we really want talent this year.” So do we, the viewers, but let’s keep in mind that talent comes in all shapes, sizes, and degrees of craziness. How else do you explain one of Idol’s own judges?
