The most notorious tie-in must surely be Prince, who was scheduled for a performance at the end of last season. Conflict came into play when it seemed that interacting with the remaining contestants was not something he was willing to do and the producers planned to go on without him. Prince did show up at the very last possible moment. He did a quick tune and left even faster. It was a double-edged sword - great for ratings and Prince's record sales, but a bit of a slap in the face for all the aspiring singers on the show who'd gotten a chance to work with the other guest performers.
Despite the Prince brouhaha, A.I. continues to soldier on. Superstar Diana Ross told late night talk show host David Letterman that she'll be appearing on the show in season six as well as touring to promote a new album. Other big-time artists are in the works also and two of the names being bandied about are Sir Paul McCartney and Mariah Carey.
Add on that the American Idol head honchos are actively seeking to make the show even more audience-interactive than before. From the official website, you can post your own rehash on the Message Boards and if selected, that recap will be the official show post of the site. There's been talk about a songwriting contest too, the winning tune to be sung by the two finalists.
Fox Broadcasting is also doing their part to shake up how they market the show. College Viewing Parties have been set up in selected audition towns through January 23. While not much is being said about those on the website yet, you can be sure that plenty of marketing novelties will be handed out.
We may not have the fancy viewing parties and whatnot at our house, but we have a great time watching the show and spewing out our own two-cents worth along the way. Nobody else's opinion has been able to change that. They never will.
Up for tomorrow, a recap of the Season Six premiere week auditions.
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