NIGEL LYTHGOE: AMERICAN IDOL is an old woman…She doesn’t need botox, just a feather duster

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE judge Nigel Lythgoe confirmed this week that he will, in fact, be returning to AMERICAN IDOL as a producer next season after a two year break from the show.

So what does he think about all the rumors regarding who will replace Simon Cowell on the judging panel? Is he interested in taking the spot? Would he want Paula Abdul back? Does he think Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler — the apparent frontrunners — are right for the job?

In the video interview below, Lythgoe answers these specific questions and puts the importance of a collective chemistry above each individual candidate’s merits.

Lythgoe, however, seems to think that the intense focus on who will be in that judging collective is foolish, given that AMERICAN IDOL is ultimately about finding the next entertainment superstar.

“Where is the next Michael Jackson?,” he asks.

Still, the show overall will certainly need some tweeking and Lythgoe knows it: “Don’t forget now, it’s going to be happy birthday [IDOL], it’s ten years old, this is an old woman that you’re dealing with now, you’ve got to take great care of her…She doesn’t need to, you know, have botox or anything like that. She just needs a bit of a feather duster…”

So what does Lythgoe have in mind?

He says the middle round, which is after Hollywood Week and before Top 10, really needs to be evaluated. Also, once the show does get into the Top 10, perhaps the contestants should be supported by dancers and pyrotechnics and a whole production number behind them, just as other big name entertainers are.

Watch the video to hear more from Lythgoe on the subject — starting around the 4 minute mark — plus his thoughts on Adechike’s elimination from SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE this week and the Top 3 dancers (Lauren, Kent and Robert) who will compete in next Wednesday’s finale.

Also, we’re getting an update on Alex Wong’s condition. Listen in…

Any thoughts?

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