In a surprising development, this season’s “American Idol” will see a rule change which involved providing the show’s judges a right to veto.

The “Judges’ Save” rule was announced this weeks thus giving the show’s four judges (Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi)the power to save one contender from elimination by the public. However, this can only be done once during this season and that it won’t be applied when the contestants are already narrowed into five.

Another condition that must be followed is that the judges must be unanimous in their decision to save that contestant.

This move was deemed unexpected considering that the show depends mostly on the votes made by the public. This garnered mixed reviews from critics and fans.

One critic stated that the judges can be trusted in terms of using this one-time veto power considering that they have the musical expertise. However, another critic lambasted the move, saying that it is “un-American (Idol).”

The producers behind the show reasoned that this rule was made to avoid situations in the past where viewers have eliminated contestants such as Chris Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson who went on to launch successful careers.

Daughtry finished fourth in 2006 while Hudson did not make it to the final five. One fan pointed out that the rule could not have saved Daughtry anyway since it doesn’t apply within the top five.

• Share
• Tweet
• "&title=""">