Are there going to be changes in "American Idol" when the show returns for its 14th season on Jan. 7? If Jennifer Lopez has her way, the show will be less cruel.
When Lopez was asked recently about the Season 13 "innovations" that were tagged as cruel by many "Idol" viewers--like only letting 20 of the Top 30 vocalists take the stage during the live semifinals, and forcing the Top 5 to vote on the fly whether or not to eliminate the lowest vote-getter--she declared emphatically, "I didn't love it."
The "Rush Week" semifinal twist, Lopez explained, put too much pressure on the contestants too quickly.
"I was like, 'First of all they need extra time on [a smaller] stage before they get to this point!'" Lopez said. "Last year, the contestants were thrown into the fire, and I felt like it wasn't even at Top 12, but maybe three or four weeks after that, before they settled."
She added: "I want to have the middle rounds, I want them to have their time to adjust to this craziness. It's like putting the first 10 years of my career in four weeks. I wouldn't want that."
