A bunch of the kids have been unable to decide between two songs which more often than not ends badly. When Chris changed his song to ''Every Little Thing She Does is Magic'' late in the game, he got voted out. Do you encourage them to stick with a song?
You know what? We did something on Access Hollywood with Chris with just the piano after he got voted off and he was so great. Sometimes the big band and the lights and the pressure just gets to them. When we did it I was like, ''Oh my god. Why didn't you sing it like that?''
Do the contestants have the option to ditch the band entirely and just have a piano on stage?
Absolutely. I remember when Bo Bice did an a cappella song. It was so daring. We've done stuff with just a guitar. They can request whatever they want.
Are there ever moments when someone just can't seem to find a song?
Everyone has a struggle with different themes for different reasons. A lot of them will be great for country week [April 17]. But sometimes you struggle because you've found five songs you like. I'll make the contestants sing through each one of them. We tell them to get on the phone with their mother, father, boyfriend, girlfriend, and ask them what to sing. And when somebody is really struggling, [executive producers] Ken [Warwick] and Nigel [Lythgoe] will sit there with their laptops and play song after song after song. That's what's so special about the show. They are so hands on from the top down.
Don't you ever want to say ''Nooo! Don't sing that!''
Of course. A contestant might pick a song and I'm cringing on the inside but you gotta let them do what they gotta do.
I wish someone had told Gina not to sing ''Smile'' this week because I think going all sentimental was what got the rocker girl voted out.
That is a gorgeous song. But remember the contestants come in and go, ''Oh my god. Do you know what the judges said to me last week?'' and ''Last week I did up tempo so this week I want to sit down.'' They second guess themselves and try to figure out what the judges or the audience wants to hear.
How do you cope with having to work with some singers who are so far superior to others?
That definitely happens every year. Bo Bice and Taylor and Chris Daughtry would come in every week and say, ''This is what I want to sing,'' and those are people that make it easy. They also had a great work ethic. That's what makes the difference between someone really good and really great. But yes, some people need more help than others. It makes it fun, actually.
How are you feeling about the judges' criticism this year? Harsher or pretty much right?
I'm shocked and appalled by some of the judges' criticism. Take Phil Stacey. I wish they had seen his dress rehearsal this week because it was better and Phil has a tendency to doubt that what he sings is enough so he keeps adding to it, but he has got such a great voice. Then they just started slamming him. You just never know what the judges are hearing and what they're in the mood for.
Give me some hint what Latin week is going to be like because in the past, it's proven to be somewhat traumatic for the John Stephens types.
It's going to be really fun. They all can't wait to meet Jennifer Lopez. This year it's going to be so different. Everyone really made sure their music sounded really Latin. I'm only working with four of them this week so I'm excited to see how it goes.
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