Some Scoop On Those Themes

So, how hard is it going to be for the contestants to pick a song this week for Lennon/McCartney week?

I would say pretty hard since there were only 25 to choose from.

Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe and Vocal Coach Debra Byrd revealed that tidbit and several more in an interview with “Entertainment Weekly”…

Debra told Asia’h Epperson before her performance that two other semifinalists were voted off after singing “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” However, as Debra said, “it’s their choice” and Asia’h went on with it.

If two top 12 contestants pick the same song, they flip a coin or do something else to figure it out because two contestants are not allowed to sing the same song.

Nigel said they did themes in the semifinals to force contestants to sing songs with melodies and songs the public might know—not just songs that they like. He also argues that the themes still give the audience a chance to see what kind of artist they are because they can still pick good songs from their genre.

Nigel said that for this year’s themes there are “a lot of good tricks that we’ve used before.” One of those is music from the year the contestants were born, because he likes to show their baby photos and introduce the families. There will also be four themes centered around the season’s four mentors. No word on who those mentors will be. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see country week with Travis Tritt since he and Randy have done so much together lately.