"There's a big surprise coming..."

In an exclusive interview with “TV Week,” Mike Darnell, FOX’s president of alternative programming (you know, the guy I call the evil genius) revealed that there will be some changes when “Idol” hits the top 12.

However, he did not reveal what those changes are…

Here’s an excerpt:

TVWeek: Can we expect surprises as the season goes along?

Mr. Darnell: Yeah. There’s a big surprise coming when we get to the top 12, but I can’t reveal it right now.

TVWeek: Will it change the way we think of “American Idol?”

Mr. Darnell: Well, it’s not going to change what you think of “American Idol” and we don’t want to do that. This show is, you know, a phenomenon. It’s American, it’s apple pie. We’re not changing the core of the show, but it is something that will be talked about and is something I think that has some element of controversy surrounding it.

TVWeek: Do the contestants know?

Mr. Darnell: No. No one knows.

TVWeek: Is that part of it? You want to keep the contestants guessing?

Mr. Darnell: Part of it. But I also think it’s more that it’s a long season and you want to keep as many surprises for the audience, for the press, for everybody, as you go along. Some controversies will pop out. But this is something that we sort of felt like, here’s one set of things we’re doing, we’re going to wait and give you the other set when we get to the final 12.

Hmmm…Now you know why this guy worries me…

Darnell also revealed that we might be seeing Kelly Clarkson in the next couple of weeks and that artists will have to be “ridiculously big” for them to be mentors this season…

Photo Credit: FOX