Self Absorbed

American Idol EP Nigel Lythgoe Doesn’t Sweat The Competition Or The Falling Ratings,

In fact, he laughs in the face of those other “singing” shows!

This morning, during a press conference call, Nigel Lythgoe held nothing back when talking about the current standing of American Idol and defended it with everything he had in him. When the topic of declining ratings came up, he was quick to point out that the show, now in its 11th season, would always be “compared to itself” and while may not perform like the it did, it’s still the “number one show on TV.” Personally, he thinks the problem isn’t AI, but the over-saturation of the market. He explained:

“We’ve got The Voice and X Factor going now, and we’re all feeding from the same talent pool and of course the same ratings pool…We’d always said we would never two Idols in a single year, and this is why. Now we have X Factor sitting there, and it feels just like Fox is doing two Idols a season. Add to that The Voice and of course there’s going to be viewer fatigue, as much you see when you have too many science fiction dramas or too many hospital dramas on television.”

He makes a valid point. We feel like it was just yesterday that Melanie Amaro was auditioning in Simon Cowell’s backyard. Now, we’ve got The Voice and AI on the same time? It’s a little much.

Speaking of the competition, Nigel took a few jabs at both of programs, saying

“[The Voice] is fed by talent that hasn’t quite made it or is trying to come back. X Factor didn’t really know what it wanted to do I think … If what you want is bloody good talent on that stage without gimmicks, then you watch American Idol, because that’s what you’re going to get.”

Oooh! Fighting words!!! We don’t think Xtina and Co. will care too much about what you say, but Simon over at X Factor just might. You might have to watch yourself now, Nigel. Simon is not one to be trifled with!

Just out of curiosity, which is the show for U? American Idol, The Voice or X Factor?

[Image via WENN.]

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