American Idol Judges Have New Power

American Idol is in for some big changes!
On Tuesday, Simon Cowell announced that the show had decided to do “something slightly different.”
What is that????
On Wednesday night, the judges revealed that they now have the power to veto the public’s votes, addressing “a problem that├óΓé¼Γäós been around actually, since Season 1.”
Now the judges have a bigger role than simply offering their inane commentary, they can actually save a contestant voted off by the public.

The new rule allows the judges to save one person from elimination once during the season, up until the final five are announced. Their decision must be unanimous, and then two singers will be booted off the show the next week. So even if the judges save someone for seven days, he or she could still go home the very next week if the viewers continue to dislike him or her.

They tried the alteration on for size on the French version of AI, and it worked, so now they’re bringing it to the States.
We can’t wait to see what Paula Abdrool is going to do with this one.
[Image via WENN.]