Something is coming...

Something is coming, my friends. But I have NO idea what it is…

You may remember that last month I told you about Mike Darnell, FOX’s president of alternative programming, promising “a big surprise coming when we get to the top 12.” Well, “The Hollywood Reporter” says that big surprise is coming tonight and FOX is trying VERY hard to keep a lid on it until show time.

I’ve scoured all of my usual sources and I’ve got nothing…

To remind you, here’s the excerpt of the “TV Week” interview I posted in January:

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.

I told you tonight would be interesting. So hold on tight, kids…

I’ll be back later with the comments from the newest members of the Top 12…