Lythgoe: 'US 'Idol' contestants are better'

Saturday, February 23 2008, 11:47 GMT

 

By Simon Reynolds

 

 

American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe has claimed that contestants on the reality contest are superior to those in the UK.

 

Lythgoe said he thinks the size of the UK and the fact that US contestants are able to enter at 16 gives America the edge.

 

The producer said: "Each year I am surprised and gratified that the talent just keeps coming [to American Idol]. We’re a much smaller country in the UK and there is a smaller talent pool.

 

"Here it is topped up every year because you’re allowed to come at 16, and the sort of David Archuletas and the Alexandrea Lushingtons that have just joined us now, well they were nine when we started here, and ten.

 

"Now they’ve watched this show all the way through their little lives and finally come on it."

 

Lythgoe, who was dubbed 'Nasty Nigel' when he judged the first series of Popstars in the UK, thinks it takes more effort to bring a higher standard of contestant onto the British talent shows.

 

"In the UK we really had to go out there and find it and put notices out there all the time to [say] please come, we’re auditioning. You kept your fingers crossed," he said.

 

"It was the same people auditioning for Popstars as it was auditioning for Pop Idol as it was auditioning for Grease is the Word, or whatever other show was on. It was just the same small amount of people.

 

"Here [in the US] it just goes on and on and that talent pool is incredible. To be frank, they’re much better singers, and I think that’s because of the church upbringing as well.

that is what my husband says - in the UK, it must be the same people keep going for these talent show things - it explains why they have had to extend the age range!

 

The US has 5 times the population of the UK - duh, Nigel.

 

Where is the centre of media success dreams in the whole world - Hollywood,

 

LA, Las Vegas, Nashville, Broadway to name but a few more - they naturally draw talent like magnets.

 

American Idol is still looking for singers not characters to make a good TV show. AI judges singing first! If they can find a good singer who is also an interesting person like Darius, that's a bonus. How many of us have watched the best singers rejected at boot camp or even before?

PI2 seemed to have litle interest in singing ability. We haven't had anything like PI since the first.

I think for the most part Popstars the Rivals was still looking for singers and the girl group GA was also chosen on image. Pete Waterman's boys were good individual singers but they just didn't gel as a group.

The boys would have made two great groups. The public just combined the wrong ones together.

That's what I felt. The 3 most mature would have made a great soul/easy listening group and the boy band pair could've been another Wham. There was an open market for a male duo.

 

 

I certinly preferred the boys. We seemed to have Pete going for how people sang and Louis going by what people looked like.

That's what Pete said way back at the beginning of PI. He said as a judge, he'd probably be looking for something different from the others - firstly he'd be looking for a voice.

 

When Pete got Darius into his studio, he and his engineer both knew he'd found a "great" voice.

 

I think that's why Pete championed Darius and why he exploded when Simon tried to do the dirty on Darius on Big Band night. I think Simon realised that Darius could win the competition when he heard him sing on Big Band night and deliberately torpedoed him.

 

 

I'm just amazed that people didn't realise wha Simon was doing. I've seen him use the same words and actions to get rid of other competitors since. It sounds like preise or concern for the artists and is designed to make people think they aren't good enough. I was quite relieved when darius went, I didn't want him to be tied to Simon. I don't thin Darius was ever under any misconception about his winning chances. I didn't want Gareth to win either as he was too young to deal with it.

 

I felt Will would be OK but, worried like mad later when I thought he may be going under with the pressure. Luckily, all three seem to have come out well.

The really blatant bit on screen was the editing of the recording of the winner's song.

 

We saw Darius asking "In this key?" and Simon saying he could do it while giving the impression Darius wasn't up to it or just lazy, but not Will wanting the arrangement changed too. s

 

How much more suitable was it for Will than Darius's baritone?

 

 

It couldn't be sung by Darus successfully. The remark by Simon ' He's a better singer than he thinks he is' was designed to put it into people's minds that he wasn't. I think he still suffers from that.

 

It was very obvious that there was nothing in place to allow for Darius winning it. I reallt don't think Darius was bothered. He hoped he'd showed people he wasn't the arrogant fool the made him out to be on popstars.

 

Popstars, however, showed me how good he would be at taking direction. That version of 'HMBOMT' was exactly what he'd been directed to procuce over the last couple of show. Movement, complete range and different -and not his own.

That's exactly what I thought about that remark of Simon's.

 

Also I can never forgive him for the timing and nature of his remarks about Live Twice, which IMHO were purely designed to blow Darius out of the competition water for Simon's latest protege Steve Brookstein. Rather ironic that it was Simon himself who later tried to destroy Steve.

 

Maybe it's partly Darius's fault that the same people turn up at all the auditions for UK talent contests. He didn't accept that the door was closed and his personal mantra was never, never to give up.

 

 

I do think, if you have talent, it's worth keep trying. If you are just average, maybe, find something you are good at and push that way instead.

I think that is what Darius tries to tell people, unfortunately a lot of people are under the delusion they are good/brilliant and they are just ordinary or terrible.

 

As for Simon's comment about Darius not realising how good a singer he is.....my thoughts were...

 

Darius thinks he's good....so Simon must see great potential in him.

 

If Simon thinks Darius can sing something Darius is unsure about then he must really be fantastic

 

 

Well, you have an accurate assessment of Darius' talent. I just don't think Simon was being nice or encouraging him to win.

It was always obvious that Simon wanted Gareth to win.

 

It just goes to show how different people interpret things differently

 

...Simon did know Darius was good....just he didn't want him to win.

I'll agree with that.

If Simon realised how talented Darius was, he was still saying in his book that both Korben and Aaron were better singers from which I deduce Darius was at the bottom of the final boys as far as Simon's judgment of their singing went. Why would he have been saying it, if it's not what he thought?

 

He had better things to say about Darius himself.

I dont think Simon wanted Darius to win for the simple reason he knew beforehand D wanted to record his own song/s and he didnt want that. I also think he tried to destroy live twice when it came out because he really did see what trevor nunn saw but he also saw a threat to his artiste/s out at that time.if trevor nunn can see Ds charisma at first glance it is obvious that other people could at the time of pop idol. The person who has hit the nail on the head with their report is the iranian one with the statement class act. That is so right when you look at the Brit awards and im not just talking about the singing.