Critic's Notebook: Rearranging 'American Idol' -- and losing Kara DioGuardi's songwriting know-how

In recent days, “American Idol” came to resemble one of those 1970s disaster movies in which half the horror — and, let’s face it, most of the fun — came from betting on which star would be picked off next. The newest singing talent from television’s No. 1 Towering Inferno had already been pushed onto a flaming balcony last month, when Live Nation announced the cancellation of seven American Idols Live tour stops.

Then the furnace exploded under the judges’ table. Ellen DeGeneres confirmed her departure, claiming her incurable niceness made the job too tough. Kara DioGuardi reportedly found herself to be a typical American worker, shocked at her own expendability when her contract was not renewed. Rumors that even the durable dawg Randy Jackson, a music biz survivor if there ever was one, had almost felt the burn caused some to wonder if cancellation might be the best way out of this wreck.

But this is television, a medium that tends to support unlikely survival; to belabor a metaphor, successful programs jump sharks instead of quickly expiring within their bloody maws. A new “Idol” is emerging from this weekend’s debris, with seasoned performers Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez poised to claim the spots vacated by DeGeneres and DioGuardi.

This shift in focus strikes me as more shrewd than desperate; a tacit acknowledgment that the pretense upon which “Idol” was founded has faded to nothingness now that Simon Cowell is gone. Under the savvy Brit’s leadership, the program reconstructed the classic showbiz myth of the unwashed hopeful, discovered and molded into star material by supportive talent scouts. The judges were not stars themselves — Paula Abdul, let’s remember, was a has-been when she found her “Idol” niche — but insiders able to help raw kids like Kelly Clarkson and Fantasia navigate the tricky music industry. Viewers, identifying with the judges, enjoyed the frisson of helping shape the future of pop.

During "Idol’s" reign, however, something huge happened: The music industry fell apart. Kingpins like Cowell may still make stars, but just as often now they seem to emerge of their own volition. Think of Justin Bieber, the prince of YouTube, or Lady Gaga in her homemade Bowie outfits, or Taylor Swift, holding her own in a songwriters’ circle before she could go to prom. These real-life idols all reached their current superstardom with major help from managers and record label heads, but their official stories make them seem fairly self-made.

Within this changing world, the “Idol” microcosm also shifted. Sometime around Season 7, when Carly Smithson emerged as a contender who’d previously been signed (and apparently mishandled) by a major label, it became clear that “Idol’s” kids were not unscrubbed at all — most had some form of serious show business experience, whether it came via “Star Search,” Christian contemporary music, or Bieber-style viral videos. At first, the corruption of the show’s amateur ideal bothered viewers. But by now, few care — partly because technological advances have made us into a nation of pop semi-pros, all busy recording ditties in our bedrooms or restructuring our lives as potential reality shows.

Call it celebritocracy; fame, not free speech or the lost art of privacy, now seems like our inalienable right. That the post-Cowell “Idol” would shift toward performers advising other performers makes sense within this context. Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez couldn’t be more suitable. Tyler’s a classic-rock road dog who adapted to pop by singing crossover ballads; he appeals to both conservative viewers craving authenticity and those who care more about humor and flash. And Lopez was one of this era’s first multi-platform stars, a singer-actress-dancer-fashionista pretty good at many things while not specializing in any of them, adept at the crucial 21st century art of personal branding, which every “Idol” hopeful must learn.

These likely new judges could save “Idol,” if they really focus on helping the contestants improve what remains the center of the show, despite everything: the musical performances. “Idol’s” talent pool may have pop experience, but it’s often not the kind that makes for compelling television. These strivers often don’t know how to fire up a big audience, or court the camera, or create a confident, appealing persona in a live setting. If Lopez, Tyler and Jackson offered meaningful tips on actual stagecraft — and selected contestants with the potential to follow them — “Idol” might find another Kelly Clarkson, or Carrie Underwood, and live on.

What’s lost in this equation? Nothing DeGeneres offered; even she now says her “Idol” time was a mistake. DioGuardi, however, brought real skills to the judges’ table. As a top songwriter, she represented an exciting force in contemporary music: Women songwriters like Keri Hilson, Katy Perry and the one born Stefani Germanotta are first succeeding behind the scenes and then emerging as the decade’s most compelling voices. DioGuardi’s comments on “Idol” read well on paper; they were full of insight and useful historical context. Her biggest problem was that she came off as awkward, either too forceful or too flip. As a judge, she just couldn’t sell herself. And selling yourself is what matters on “Idol” these days, whether you’re also selling advice from the floor or up there sweating, selling a song.

-- Ann Powers

RELATED:

'American Idol' in disarray

 'American Idol's' back-up plan with Jennifer Lopez not ready for delivery 

Why not hire a music critic as an 'American Idol' judge? Ten contestants for the job 

Kara DioGuardi out of tune with 'American Idol' 

Will Jennifer Lopez breathe life into a sinking 'American Idol'?

Top photo: Kara DioGuardi at the Do Something Awards in July. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times. At left:Jennifer Lopez at an AIDS benefit at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Credit: Joel Ryan / Associated Press

Comments

[Joe B.]

Ann, I'm not sure that Kara's value added aspect (her songwriting career and industry cred) was or even would be appreciated by the Idol viewer. The die-hards that tune in live week to week (I only watch the from the top 6 to the finale, I'm not one of them) don't care that there's a judge that can write a pop song, they wanna hear Simon say something controversial and they wanna look at Tim Urban (or whoever is the Tim Urban of the season).

I'm not saying they'll tune in for J.Lo, particularly, but she's a bigger draw than the woman who wrote that horrible No Boundaries song for the 2009 finale.

[Posting Pete]

There's probably nothing that can save Idol. Idol's time has now gone. It's like a mini-skirt in 1980. It's like a Commodore computer in 1995. It's like last week's spaghetti. New judges won't help. Timing is everything and Idol's time has come and gone.

[Kristyn]

Umm you had me until you said Katy Perry has a compelling voice. Seriously? She can't sing at all, and Top40 radio has been taken over by her, Gaga and other copies. There is no variety and it's boring. Exactly what Idol was this year. Variety in contestants will make the show interesting, not the judges or voices like Katy Perry.

[vicki]

read it twice ... what?

[Chicago48]

Kara, from what I know, is a songwriter on the AI record label farm. She writes for Carrie Underwood, Kat McPhee, Kelly Clarkson and others. So it seemed OK that the producers would want her to at the table. I just found her criticism awkward and contradictory. She often told the singers to make the song their own, and when they rearranged it, she (and the others) criticized the singer; case in point Todrick Hall. Or she told them, she didn't know what artist they wanted to be.
Well -- these are amateurs, they don't know themselves what they want to be....that's what they're standing on the stage for...to get guidance.
I thought the producers were sneaky the way they slid Kara in next to Paula, and it became obvious that Kara was going to replace Paula -- since Paula's contract was up and she would be asking for more money. Kara was their trump card, and she knew it too.
Kara got her minutes of fame and went on the Tonight show and other talk shows and became a star, because we never knew who she was before AI.

the producers are reaping what they sow. They're confused and probably getting pressure from Fox to get the ratings up, they're pulling a hail mary with Jlo and Steven Tyler (who is too old to be at the table, and doesn't look well).
Jlo is probably going to negotiate hard, because she's aware of what happened to Paula.
the producers are truly in a bad spot.

Ann is right. The music game has changed radically in the past 3-5 years. Stars are coming from Youtube. They're not going before the judges to be made stars.
The challenge for AI is to produce a "big" star, their biggest to date is Carrie Underwood.
I never understood why the 2nd runner up got the same prize as the 1st winner. If you're the winner you get it all, and the 2nd winner gets the scraps.

[Lisa]

The loss of Simon is the end of American Idol. They can bring in all the familiar pop and rock icons in the world to sit at the judging table, and it will never make up for what ONLY he brought to the table. Paula and Randy were also the only ones who rounded out his court. Idol was about judges becoming superstars; now it's about superstars becoming judges. It's a recipe for certain disaster. Pull the plug now, and let's get psyched for X Factor in September 2011, which will pick up where the REAL Idol left off.

[lisa]

Kara was the worst judge ever!! Her comments were not insightful or helpful. The song she wrote for the 2009 contestants was HORRIBLE!! She sounded like an idiot every time she mentioned "riffs" which was constantly. After she offered the valuable insight (sarcasm)to "make it your own" for the billionth time, she was history.

[S. O'Neil]

I enjoy Ann Powers' prose, but she seems to love to insist that there have been or are about to be these gigantic paradigm shifts, and sometimes she overlooks reality to try and make her case.

Because while the music industry has in fact changed, most people attribute it to the rise of digital music and the availability for purchase of singles, where before this time people used to buy mostly albums. And while the rise of youtube allowed Justin Bieber to short-circuit the reality show process to fame, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, as well as Keri Hilson (the recording artist), and Ke$ha have all been kicking around the industry for years now, paying their dues and trying to make a name for themselves and get ahead.

Which is why this shift in judges from Idol to me seems more desperate than shrewd. I think Idol could be relevant if it wanted to be, but they seem unwilling or unable to grasp the fact that they haven't succeeded in fulfilling their stated mission of crowning a new pop star in over five years. If they focused their turnaround efforts on that, I think Kara would DEFINITELY be gone without question because she was only qualified on paper, but I think they'd be coming up with very different names from Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez.

[AEvangelista]

I've been calling for Kara's firing since the middle of the season. She was cheerleading the under-talented Lee DeWyze while disparaging the vocally gifted Siobhan Magnus. She is extremely narrow-minded. For her it's all about radio, radio, radio, as if nothing else matters. She helped engineer the worst season in Idol history. She is not a good judge of talent, so it's back to songwriting for her. And stay there.

[andyy]

i love you ellen and I think you've made the right decision to step down. You're much too kind to be a cruel, nasty judge on American Idol. I think you should stick to your show because I love it and I love you :) thank you for making me laugh everyday from 12:00 to 1:00 pm here in australia. andy.

[Jack]

I dont think its going to be that hard to replace SImon as people think.
AI created the character Simon, not the other way around. Simon is just a character.
What AI needs to do is bring in another unknown as Simon was back in the day.
He or she cant be an exact copy of Simon but theres need to be a feeling of honesty and knowledge.

The thing that is bringing the show down is the format.
Fix the format.

[Roberta]

When you have a successful commodity, get too cocky and change too many things, people lose interest -- i.e. Deal or No Deal, Millionaire. When will these arrogant studio heads leave well enough alone? This always happens, and the end result is like a bad sequel.

[Noname]

I disagree that the role of the judges is to nurture talent. The fantasy when Idol started was that the viewers were getting to see what happens when a young talent goes for an audition at a record label and receives raw criticism. Whether that singer heard the criticism from a harsh brit exec, an apathetic musician, or a loopy positive performer, in the end it was still a quick thumbs up for talent and thumbs down for no talent. Nurturing them or giving lengthy insightful comments is exactly what one would not get at a record label audition. And it's boring and time consuming for the viewers.

[hijk]

Oh please AEvangelista...
If Siobhan was really that great then she would've made it a lot further in the show! Hell, she would've sold old the concerts on the tour. BUT she only seemed great because the rest of the bunch were THAT BAD!

BTW kara never deserved to be on the show, without paula and now simon that show is nothing.
Either reboot the ENTIRE thing or cancel it and make room for xfactor

[Susan E]

Personally, I thought Degeneres was the ONLY mitigating factor on the judges bench this year. She was genuine, touching and frequently hilarious. So disappointed that she resigned, but I keep being on the verge of not watching the show anyway. DiGuardia started out and continued being awkward, I'll agree with Ann there, but worse DiGuardia's advice stunk, was totally repetitive and contradictory, worse than her slamming of Siobhan was that "running joke" of her being Mrs Robinson in her slimey gushing about Casey. Not only is she married, the remarks were sexual harrassment of a very nice boy and were just not funny. Her "persona" for stage was to act inexperienced and awkward, all she succeeded in doing was being painful. I couldn't believe they kept her on after the first year. Randy is burnt out and says the things that formerly seemed "fresh" and now seem mechanical. Little is done to really develop the competitor's individual style and as Simon acknowledged when the try to follow judge's advice they are frequently trashed. I was at least hoping they'd pick skillful guest hosts like Harry Connick Jr, he's probably too jazz not enough pop. Tyler and J'Lo are not a draw to me at all and will help me decide not to waste my time at all.

[Pam]

I can't wait to see Jennifer Lopez judge Idol but really can't wait to see Steven Tyler (who knows music talent better than him)? THE MAN'S A MUSIC LEGEND!!!!!

[Pam]

Steven Tyler is just the boost Idol needs (if they need a boost) The man is a music legend.
Jennifer Lopez knows her stuff too.I can't wait till it starts,I won't miss one night

[mplsmom]

DioGuardi may have brought skills to the table but she never demonstrated them. No one ever listened to any one but Simon. Everyone fast forwarded through the rest of the judges. Now Randy needs to go. His "dawg" bit has to go. He is every bit as useless as Ellen.

[Brad Edwards]

As I wrote yesterday Kara opened her mouth and the air went out of the room. Her comments were not insightful as someone here wrote. She sounded dumb or that she was trying too hard. Simon for all I dislike the man he was a good bad guy that as in pro wrestling people want a dark negative force he was it. Or he could climb out from under his rock and be nice or smile when it suited the situation. Simon played everyone. Ellen was a mistake. All she needed was a Harpo Max jacket and horn. But it did not play well. She was out of her element and her depth with the stye of panel. She was a camel when you needed a goat. Steven Tyler will not bring a fresh anything except more viewers jumping ship. Perhaps as already said by someone Idle is past and now truly running in idle past it's prime and lost some of the " gold dust " needed for views to feel involved.

[LAME]

Jennifer Lopez is annoying. I won't support this nonsense.