American Idol Needs to Make Significant Changes in the Rules in Its Early Rounds

After watching the March 8th airing of American Idol, it is very clear something is wrong with the show. There is something broken with Fox's pride and joy. Tonight showed that to anyone watching. Simon's explanation of why Sundance was sent home clear showed his frustration. When asked how this could have happened he looked puzzled and said "they listened with the volume all the way down?". This is a true sign that something is wrong with the show. Keep in mind Simon is not someone who usually keeps his opinion to himself. That explanation he gave seemed to be one out of either total confusion, or one where he didn't know what to say due to being so infuriated with the results.

My guess is that it's more likely to be the second of those two situations. On this episode of the show, not only one but two contestants were sent home before making the final twelve that shocked all the judges visibly. Sundance being sent home received the reaction described above, but Sabrina's resulted in a reaction almost as dramatic. It was clear after the judges comments on Tuesday and Wednesday nights that they felt Sanjaya had performed at a lower level than Sundance, and that Haley had performed at a lower level than Sabrina.

In the end, this is a contest that is judged by the American Idol audience, so it would be wrong to take all control away from that voting process. Still in recent years there have been disturbing developments including favorites falling out of the contest several weeks before the finals. I am thinking that the voting process can be improved. Maybe not to fix the problem of what happened to Chris last season, but to at least make sure the top twelve have a better shot at reaching the final 12.