‘American Idol’s Reboot Will Not Have ‘Bad Auditions’
Richard Shotwell/Invision/The Associated Press One of the most popular features of the old American Idol was its bad auditions. This is when the network would broadcast people who either couldn’t sing or were mentally ill auditioning for the judges. Invariably, they would be mocked and Simon Cowell would say something horrible. The producers of the reboot of American Idol says that will not be part of the new incarnation of the show.
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Executive producer Trish Kinane said,
“It doesn’t feel comfortable to put borderline unstable people up on stage and laugh at them. I think that people once thought that the judges saw everyone, and now you know there’s a line of producers who screen before them. We want the humor, but we don’t want the exploitation.”
I’ll admit that I was ambivalent about this aspect of the show back in the day. I would find myself laughing and then feeling bad that I did because, honestly, some of the people who came into the room seemed genuinely mentally ill and the producers of the show and Simon Cowell were exploiting them for cheap laughs. I’m glad they aren’t going to go this route and instead will concentrate on bringing us good talent.
