Oprah Takes Us Behind the Scenes at ‘American Idol’

I was sitting down to write my recap of the Survivor: The Amazon finale after getting back from the finale of that show when my wife came in to let me know that Oprah was having a behind-the-scenes look at American Idol. Obviously, I couldn’t miss that! But I knew that some fans might – especially if they are like me and normally don’t watch the show. So here I bring you the important info that was discussed on Oprah.

First, we saw some of what the AI contestants do every week. Obviously, on Wednesday one is given the boot. Immediately thereafter, on Thursday, they have to pick their songs for the next week; or, more specifically, to pick a list that they’d like to work on.

On Friday they meet with the vocal coach and head music guy (sorry, I missed his official title) to go over the songs. The coaches are not to pick the songs for the contestants, but can help them make decisions (which just makes me wonder why nobody stopped a couple of the contestants – most notably Carmen and Joshua – from some of their really bad song choices). Once the songs are chosen, they go over the musical layout – for example, a number of times Clay has used a different arrangement than we are used to hearing with songs.

The contestants don’t get weekends off. On Saturday, they go into the studio to lay down a track for their songs so the music can be planned around it. They also record the all-important soundtrack for the weekly Ford commercial.

On Sunday, they have to start dealing with the following week’s show even before this week is done, thinking ahead to song choice and the like. The only downtime they get is waiting for the others to rehearse.

On Monday, they learn the songs they will be singing on Wednesday’s Results Show. And they perform in the Ford commercial, which takes several hours, at least.

Tuesday brings the performance day. This is the first time they can practice on stage for that week’s show and the last chance to work out problems. And hour before they are on the air, after having done their hair and makeup, they do a full rehearsal with the host, judges, and performances. Then the live show starts. This means the judges get a sneak peek at the performances, so they can have a little time to think about their witty responses, but in a TV Guide article (out this week), Randy Jackson said he, at least, tries not to listen to the singers so it will be fresh for him.

Wednesday is elimination day. The pressure of facing the judges is behind them but knowing somebody will go provides plenty of agonizing stress. Before that show goes on the air, they have to sharpen their medley and for first time learn the dance moves that go along with it.

Phew. That’s one hell of a schedule!

After last week’s Results Show (when Josh was booted), Oprah was welcomed to the stage to film parts for this show of hers. She brings out the judges and asks what they think of the vote to get rid of Josh. Simon starts to talk but then says he has to be careful because Josh’s wife is in the audience and he calls her “laser eyes” – whenever he said anything bad about Josh, he could feel her eyes boring into his head). Still, he says it was the right vote. Paula says it’s hard, it gets down to… And then Oprah kind of interrupts to talk about how Paula was holding Simon’s hand before the result was announced. Paula tries to pretend it didn’t happen, but Simon acknowledges that it did. He says Paula has become nice because she has a boyfriend. And he and Randy were saying how nice it is to see her smile. Awww.

Oprah moves on to discuss Ryan Seacrest. She says he’s been something of an overnight success but has actually been doing this for a while. He says yes, he’s done other shows, but people didn’t really watch them. And he does a radio show four hours a day. Regarding his hair, he says he told Dean, his hair guy, to have fun with it. So he did. It looked cool and he went with it. (Don’t worry, there’s more about his hair later.)

Getting back to the judges, Oprah points out the they often disagree. So what is it they are looking for? Simon says it’s fundamentally a show about a recording artist. He’s looking for someone who will make a good long-term recording artist. That’s all he’s looking at. Indeed, he says that they look at tens of thousands of people, but only about three are good normally. He continues through the usual Paula and Randy interruptions and says hey, there’s nothing wrong with working on a cruise ship. Paula just says that she and Randy say whatever. Er. Okay. As usual, they get out of answering a real question.

Oprah wonders if you can create a lasting American Idol because the are instant celebrities. Randy says if you have the talent, no matter what you’ll make it. Simon disagrees. Paula says it allows a platform as a blueprint for rest of career. Simon says it’s not just if they have talent, but it’s more important that they remember who made them successful – the audience.

Next is a whole taped segment about Ryan getting his hair done. Ooooh. How exciting.

Then we move into Paula’s Hollywood hideaway, her house that she has stocked with stuff she bought at flea markets. Ooh. Aah. She has three dogs and apparently brings one to rehearsals. Sheesh. The doggie door has a ramp and curtain. Double-sheesh. And the dog she brings to rehearsals has its own little leather bomber jacket that says, “Simon Sucks,” on the back. How cute. Triple-sheesh.