TVSquad

14 is too young for American Idol. They should make it 17 minimum and 30 max. If i start looking at 14 year olds auditioning i'm not watching anymore

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If they're going to make some changes, why don't they change the way we vote? Why not vote for who should go home, not who should stay. This would foil the plans of votefortheworst.com and make it a bit harder to have another "Sanjaya situation".

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I would absolutely hate it if they lowered the age requirement. I already feel that 16 is too young. Raise it to 18. As beautiful as Archie's voice is, his lack of maturity is quite obvious in the interview spots. Annoys the crap outta me.

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I know the reason.

If they enter the contest at 14 they could win just in time to do nude pictures in Vanity Fair after their next birthday.

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I thought the top age limit was 28.

The age limit should be 18-30. They need to RAISE it and not lower it.

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"That would be fantastic television, having fetuses go up against 25 year-olds"

Hilarious :D Well, if they want to lower the age limit, it is just so they guilt us into voting for the youngest one, like they've forced viewers to do this year.

But seriously, Jordin Sparks was a young winner, and honestly, her debut CD is good. It may be bubblegummy, but I swear, I was surprised by it.

This year has just had me disheartened, with the lack of enthusiasm by contestants (Including leaving words out of songs, restarting them, and performing them for the judges while backstage getting extracurricular alone time with them...), the overall singing abilities of those remaining, and the worn out show setup.

Things have to drastically change next year. Lowering the age is a start, but again, you can't have Paula sucking contestants backstage and selling them blow.

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Does David A. have a chaperone?

I can't believe they would put him in a room with an over 18 without another adult present. That wouldn't be smart. And he can't be left alone at 16 or 17.

I still want them all in one big house with more personal footage of them.

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they are looking for the next miley cyrus type. seems all the money is the pre-teen / tweenie category. they probably buy more music and most dont download illegally (well the girls anyway).

older people (ie older teenagers / 20 somethings) would never buy a jordin sparks album, ever!

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Instead of lowering or raising the age requirements, why not just do away with age requirements altogether. If someone is 35, and looks young and hip enough to be "American Idol", why should they be kicked out? Or if they are 14 and are mature enough, why should they be sent home? Personally, I think only focusing on bringing in younger contestants will turn the show into American Juniors. There are some new good ideas to spice up the show here:http://jviz.blogspot.com/2008/04/save-american-idol.html

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Thats just silly. How can you tell if a fetus is crying?

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They need to go up to 18, not down to 14. They need to get rid of the guardian factor.

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This is not a solution...unless they change the concept of the show to America's Next Teen Pop Star (ala Britney a few years back etc).

Idol needs a shakeup - it needs to get out of its cycle of being lazy. The judges need to step it up on commentary. Randy needs to stop with his cliched remarks and then sipping his soda. Paula - well, sometimes it is comic relief - yet, I rarely understand what it is she is trying to say or why she feels the need to try and find something nice to say. Simon is often still on the mark - yet, for the most part I've felt he has been watching the clock. The judges are the key to how the show falls into place.

While I didn't watch the early seasons, the judges were on tv often enough as well as the show being critiqued. It seems the buzz came from disagreeing with Simon (at times) or what the audience felt than what the judges did.

After thinking about it, I realized what is missing is enthusiasm and real criticism from the judges. To a certain measure, from the audienced, it will come to a popularity contest - yet, with the routine becoming mechanical - dullness and boredom set in - and viewers who want to hear the "professional critics" vs. their own opinions etc. will find the show lacklastering and boring. This in turn becomes reflected on the contestants.

If they lower the age requirements, I sense they will lose more than they will gain... unless they revamp the entire show in a more youthful manner - then, it will no longer be American Idol or American Idol as we knew it.

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It's sad to see that Simon will do anything for money. He was initially the person who was most strongly opposed to anyone younger than 18 and gave them a hard time, now that he's seeing talent, he's ready to drop the age to 14!! That would be a mistake for many reasons especially because of their lack of maturity. I love David Archuletta's voice, presentation, talent, etc., but as someone pointed out he is terrible in the interviews. This week was probably the worst I've seen with him unable to answer a simple question. It was probably just nerves but that just proves the point. Anything under 16 is way too young to thrust into that sort of limelight and expose to the intense pressure of American Idol.

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