"Idol" Exec Producer on the Voting: "It's something we're going to have a long discussion about"

An hour ago, “Idol” executive producer Ken Warwick talked to reporters about the state of the show, including the problem with voting, the deal with Pia and whether this season’s winner will be a star…

One of the biggest theories about why the men are dominating the show is because the voting is dominated by young women who do more texting and online voting. Warwick completely agreed. “That’s exactly it. Most reality shows are female driven. It’s something we’re going to have a long discussion about.” Warwick said the voting process will remain the same this season and however it goes, he’ll “just have to swallow it.” Warwick said they would maybe tweak the voting next year, stressing the word maybe.

The other big theory is that the judges are not being critical enough. But Warwick said he wouldn’t do anything to influence the judges into saying something they don’t feel. “The truth of the matter is these kids are really good. [The judges] are trying to keep things on the straight and narrow.”

Pia was a major topic of conversation on the conference call and Warwick said she went too soon for him. He also agreed that the record company should release something from her sooner than later. But doesn’t he think that could cast a shadow over the winner? “We used to in the old days. It was a concern. But we’ve realized the biggest star doesn’t always come from the winner. It’s unfair to hold someone’s career back. [The winner’s album] will very likely be different than the big power ballads Pia sings. It’s slightly different markets.”

Pia will be performing on “Dancing With the Stars” next week and Warwick couldn’t have been happier for her. “Why really shouldn’t she be? We had a little conversation and said yes.” Warwick said Pia would be on “Idol” this week.

Warwick admitted that the whole Pia issue had been a boom for the show. “Anything that makes people talk about the show is good for the show.”

Here are some of the other thoughts Warwick shared:

On Steven Tyler: “It was a risk for both of us. It works because he’s a lovely man.”

On the lack of success by recent “Idol” winners: “At the end of the show I hopefully give the record company someone who could have a following of 10-20 million people. After that, it has absolutely nothing to do with me. Have there been mistakes by record companies in the past? Yes.” Warwick admitted that the best person doesn’t always win and cited Season 8 winner Kris Allen as an example. “You may say he hasn’t really broken, but there’s always a helluva lot of buzz around Adam Lambert.”

On what will happen this season: “Whoever wins this season is going to break. I’m really, really confident.”