Some American Idol fans are taking to Twitter to express their qualms with the show’s current season, and an apparent “lack” of constructive criticism from its current judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.
As seen on social media, some devotees of the musical competition are even calling for Simon Cowell to return as a judge, since he garnered a reputation as a sarcastic, often comically rude figure. He served as a judge on the then-Fox show from 2002 to 2010, before ABC re-booted it.
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Some Fans Want More 'Harsh' Or 'Constructive' Criticism From Current Judges— And More Simon Cowell
This all started after American Idol's April 30th episode, when contestants Lucy Love and Nutsa were eliminated from the the top 12. Many viewers, as The Daily Mail notes, then headed to Twitter soon after to "decry the lack of constructive criticism" being offered by judges Perry, Bryan and Richie.
Adam Lambert, who, as fans know was the runner-up of the eighth season, returned to the show to serve as a mentor for that night's performances. Many Twitter users felt he did a better job of "helping" and "critiquing" than the three main judges did.
One viewer tweeted, "I am so tired of these judges being cheerleaders and not honest judges bc there’s no way this version of dancing queen was as good as they made it seem #AmericanIdol," regarding contestant MaryBeth Byrd's rendition of the 1976 ABBA hit.
Someone else wasn't as much of a fan of Haven Madison's performance of Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer," as the judges were, tweeting, "I don’t think Haven was as good as the judges are making her out to be. Thoughts?"
Another chimed in, "'The judges give effusive praise to everyone," as one other viewer agreed, "I think it was ridiculous and the judges are getting more obnoxious. This show has gotten hard to watch."
More began explaining why they missed Cowell, who is currently a judge on America's Got Talent, which will begin airing its eighteenth season on May 30th via NBC. "Anyone else miss Simon on American Idol? These judges don't wanna hurt anyone's feelings," someone tweeted as another fan concurred, writing, "I miss Simon - he could be harsh but at least he was honest and tried to push them to be better. Katy, Luke, and Lionel tell everyone they are great no matter what."
Some fans have been particularly displeased with Perry as a judge this season, deeming her a "bully" and "wannabe" Cowell, but one who is "mean rather than helpful," as someone wrote on Twitter.
When it comes to the feedback fans really want the judges to give to the contestants, another Twitter user explained, "The judges fear the boos and backlash to giving more straightforward and honest comments, but the contestants need to hear it to learn and grow and improve."
American Idol airs new episodes every Sunday and Monday night, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
