Idol ratings drop -- Did they shoot themselves in the foot in shooting down Haley?

[John Brown]

The judges need to stop criticizing the contestant’s song choices and judge them strictly only on performances because it influences the audiences.

I'm surprised to the extent this happens. Haley's detractors point to her "inconsistent performances" when she was criticized for her inconsistent song choices. Perhaps because of the manner in which the criticism is delivered, "I'm sorry baby..."

I generally agree with the comments in the post, but for now I will just speak to this one. It is surprising how often the words of Randy (and to a lessor extent, J-Lo and to a greater lessor extent, Steven) are repeated in the media. Not just by internet bloggers and the like, but by reviewers working for well known magazines, papers, websites, and other outlets. And then these reports get repeated, until it becomes conventional wisdom meme. More than once I've grimaced when reading a passing comment that parrots the prevailing memes is made about a Haley performance, when it is obvious the writer never saw it or at least had never developed an independent opinion about it. These comments influence overall opinions of contestant, as well as AI votes and the popularity of a specific song.

I think the judges need to be trained a bit and perhaps given some structure in how they give feedback. But Nigel probably likes it freewheeling since it gives more opportunity to manipulate things.

There are also issues regarding the way votes are counted. The current unlimited voting approach might change if the overall voting numbers go down. I imagine Nigel has been hoping to top 100 million so he could tout the number. If numbers are down this year they might instead play up some of the changes being made for 2013.

If the judges criticize the contestant's song choices, to me they are just trying to unduly influence or bias the viewing audience against a particular contestant, as many people just automatically discount or even dismiss the performances instead of judging them on their merits, and the merits of each performance should be the sole criteria for judging the contestants. Let the audience decide if it is the wrong song choice without the influence of the judges.