THE REALITY OF COVID-19
American Idol live from ... a backyard? Television’s talent shows adjust to the new quarantined world
In the opening minutes of American Idol Sunday night, judge Luke Bryan settled into a cosy-looking chair in his Tennessee barn and expressed amazement that the show had the technological capability to film an episode while everyone was in quarantine.
“I’m so thankful for everybody at Idol that we could still pull this show off,” Bryan said, as he was filmed by two iPhones on tripods while a TV monitor nearby sat delicately on a barrel.
“Well,” host Ryan Seacrest interrupted from another screen, sitting nearly 3,200 kilometres away at a desk in his California home, “We haven’t pulled it off just yet.”
With television one of the many industries in upheaval because of the COVID-19 pandemic, American Idol became the first reality competition show to air a completely remote episode.
NBC’s America’s Got Talent briefly filmed auditions without an audience and then stopped, though those episodes will air at the end of May as producers figure out how to go forward. CBS’s Survivor shut down before production started. The Amazing Race, which has another season filmed in advance that debuts next month, sent everyone home. Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance was suspended.
Even more challenges arose for two of the country’s most popular series, Idol and The Voice; the singing competitions switch from pre-recorded episodes to live shows about this time of year. On Idol, in its third season on ABC after 14 years on Fox, the contestants were in Los Angeles in midMarch working with vocal coaches in preparation for the Top 20 episode. When it became apparent that the spread of the coronavirus was starting to disrupt travel, producers sent the contestants home and mulled next steps.
They had many ideas: If things improved, maybe they could bring back the singers and film without an audience. Then as the pandemic worsened, they thought about postponing the season indefinitely.
“This crisis is obviously unprecedented — it could be months, it could be next year, or maybe we could never pick up the live shows. And that didn’t seem fair to these kids who worked really hard,” said Trish Kinane, Idol showrunner and production company Fremantle’s president of entertainment programming. “We felt, for their sake, we should continue and crown the next American Idol.’”
So producers started wading through a complex logistical web as they decided to film the rest of the season remotely. They sanitized and shipped identical boxes of recording equipment to each contestant, including iPhones and a ring light. Singers worked closely with the musical director and band.
“This is a competition, so everyone needs to have a level playing field, and everyone needs to sound high quality,” said Idol executive producer Megan Michaels
Wolflick. With the singers scattered across North America and producers and crew members with control stations set up in their homes, the show was put together from 25 locations.
Over two hours on Sunday’s episode, the 20 finalists showed off their vocal skills amid a variety of setups, including dens, backyards and garages.
Lauren Spencer-Smith, 16, boasted the most envy-inducing background, as she belted out Jessie J’s Momma Knows Best in front of a stunning lake and mountain view on Vancouver Island.
Contestants and the judges — Bryan, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry — found there were unexpected advantages. As Bryan noted with Spencer-Smith, without extensive production, they could suddenly hear more nuance in her voice.
Meanwhile, The Voice also had to quickly change gears midseason. The show aired a Road to the Live Shows special Monday night, with another new episode scheduled to air May 4. Coach Blake Shelton said this month on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that the rest of the season “is going to be nuts.”
“We’re going to have to do The Voice in some fashion like this, because obviously, you know, the live shows are coming up here in just a matter of weeks,” Shelton said, speaking via webcam. “It’s going to be crazy. We’re going to have to coach like this.”
Both Idol and The Voice will have to alter the way singers are eliminated, too. The issue with that, Idol’s Kinane said, is that for the season finale on May 17, viewers will vote in real time and Seacrest will share the final results live from his home at the end of the episode.
“That’s going to be interesting,” Kinane said. “Let’s hope the internet gods are with us.”
The Washington Post
This is a competition, so everyone needs to have a level playing field, and everyone needs to sound high quality.