NEWS'American Idol' Exec Nigel Lythgoe on 'The Voice': "It's Gimmicky and They Need Stronger Talent"
Feb. 7 2012, Published 9:11 a.m. ET
Only two episodes of the new season of The Voice have aired so far, and the claws are already coming out!
American Idol's Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe must be nervous with his reality going up against The Voice for the first time. And with The Voice's ratings up, and Idol's down, could he be worried? According to Nigel, it doesn't concern him because they have better talent on Idol!
OK! NEWS: CHRISTINA AGUILERA FAILS TO RECOGNIZE FORMER MICKEY MOUSE CLUB PAL TONY LUCCA ON THE VOICE
On a conference call today, Nigel said, "My thoughts on The Voice at the moment are I think it's a fun format. It's very gimmicky, which is interesting at this moment. I particularly like the relationship between Blake Shelton and Adam Levine. Other than that, I think they need stronger talent. We'll see."
But does the fact The Voice has gone up in the ratings while Idol has not be a concern? Not to Nigel. "After 11 years, I am thrilled with these ratings. We're constantly compared against ourselves and against our own ratings. Of course, there's going to be some kind of deterioration in the ratings. We've now got two major programs in The Voice and The X Factor against us. Whether people like them or dislike them, they're still feeding from the same talent and it's still going to dilute our audience."
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
As for Smash, the new musical drama that premiered last night starring former Idol finalist Katharine McPhee, Nigel admits, "Katharine McPhee is the star of it and Kelly Clarkson is being brought in to mentor on The Voice. I feel like we're turning stars out."
OK! NEWS: AMERICAN IDOL WINNER KELLY CLARKSON SET TO MENTOR CONTESTANTS ON THE VOICE
Another star on the Idol bill is host Ryan Seacrest. Is there any truth to the rumors of his possible departure after this season? "Ryan is probably the best host in the business. Why he hasn't received an Emmy yet, I'm not sure. I hate to think of him leaving American Idol. I think he is the glue that sticks it all together and moves it along. I don't have anything bad to say about Ryan, apart from he's too good-looking and he's got too much money. I just hope he doesn't leave."
Do you think Ryan will leave? Do you think The Voice will kill the success of American Idol? Will you keep watching Smash? Weigh in!
