'American Idol' Reboot Makes a Big Change, Removes Bad Auditions; William Hung Speaks Out
ABC's "American Idol" reboot will have a few major changes. Viewers used to watching bad auditions won't see it in this new installment.
Executive Producer and showrunner Trish Kinane confirmed the change while speaking at the Televisions Critics Association panel. She cited that the mean-spirited process had to go because it bordered on exploitation.
"It doesn't feel comfortable to put borderline unstable people up on stage and laugh at them," Kinane said. "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," she added and said, "We want the humor, but we don't want the exploitation."
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"American Idol" judge Katy Perry also said that the show shouldn't waste time with finding a potential star. Fellow judge Luke Bryan also supported the choice to scrap the bad auditions since people will mostly not remember them.
Former "American Idol" contestant, William Hung, however thinks it's not good to do away with the bad auditions. Hung actually became famous for this when he went on the show in 2004 and sang an off-key version of Ricky Martin's "She Bang."
He told TMZ that his bad audition made him standout among thousands of hopefuls. He also believed that his appearance helped "American Idol" win the ratings war.
Host Ryan Seacrest, who has been with the show since its beginnings in another network, stated that the new "American Idol" wouldn't drastically change its format. It's going to be a different show because there are new judges in the panel with Perry, Bryan and Lionel Richie, but most things will be the same.
"The format works in practice. We go out, we look for young talented people, they see the judges, they come back to Hollywood, and they'll have to step up," he said.
The "American Idol" reboot will debut on Sunday, March 11, at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC. New episodes will also air on Monday nights in the same time schedule.
