American Idol Exeutive Producer Gives The Scoop On the Remaining Finalists

Entertainment Tonight spoke with the executive producer of American Idol, Ken Warwick, after the dismissal of Sanjaya Malakar.














ET: Do you think your numbers will suffer now that Sanjaya Malakar was voted out? Do you think people tuned in for the train wreck?

KEN WARWICK: To be honest, touch wood, we are big enough that the ratings don't actually bother us that much at this stage. We know that we are bigger than anybody else. We know we are up over last year. That is not likely to change. If [the ratings] dropped considerably, there would be a reason for us to agonize over them. If we got bogged down in the ratings, then we would be chasing ourselves around a tree, so we don't pay that much attention to it.

ET: Did Sanjaya cheapen the show?

KEN: Irrespective of what effect he [had] on the show, he was there because people at home voted for him.

ET: Because of the Sanjaya effect, would you ever considering splitting the vote like they do on "Dancing with the Stars," where the judges vote counts 50 percent?

KEN: No. I will never consider that. That is not a part of our format. As far as we are concerned, it is the public at home that picks the Idol. There has never been a case where they have never been able to skew the vote one way or another. We had 38 million votes this week. Even the biggest radio shows are a drop in the ocean and will not be able to sway the votes.

ET: What is your reaction to Ryan Seacrest supporting the contestants more this year?

KEN: I love it. One of the attractions, if you like, people say to me, "Why is this show so popular?" A very relevant point is that there is quite curt banter between the judges and Ryan. Ryan is always there to support the contestants no matter what the situation. He is not a judge. He is there to champion their song and the way that they sing it. If he feels they are being bullied by any of the judges, it is part of his mandate, "You step in there and you defend them, if you think it is right."

ET: Do you feel that the judges are steering voters toward Jordin Sparks?

KEN: I have to say, when they can, they always tell the truth. They have also been pretty supportive of Melinda Doolittle every week. I don't think it is any more than anybody else who is good. They call it the way they see it. Had they had any kind of agenda of making Jordin one of the frontrunners, they would have started earlier. In the past few weeks, she has impressed them. With all these shows, you find generally, it is the person who grows throughout the series that usually wins the benefit in the end of it. I think they realized the one contestant who has consistently grown -- Melinda has been good every week, Lakisha has been pretty good every week, but Jordin has grown. It gives them something to talk about. Jordin is someone who they can hook into it. It gives them more credibility.

ET: Do you think that Melinda is too mature to win the competition?

KEN: She is more mature, to be honest with you, but the fact of the matter is, it isn't my decision, it is the publics. If they think she is fine and they want to see her again and they vote for her, then she is going to be there. I long ago gave up worrying what my personal favorites were. Last year, I loved Kat McPhee. She was just a really, really talented all-arounder. I would have loved her to win, but it wasn't to be. There was somebody there that was a bit quirky and he was the winner. End of story. What I think is immaterial, really.