New “American Idol” Changes May Not Satisfy Sarah Palin

Change is coming to “American Idol” but it may not be enough for Sarah Palin to vote for with her remote.

Returning “ Idol” exec Nigel Lythgoe said on Thursday he’s planning to introduce more than J. Lo and Steven Tyler when the series returns in January.

“Idol” wannabes will now have to compete on making a music video, executing an awards show-style performance and promoting themselves off the air, Lythgoe told TVGuide.com.

Lythgoe also said he’s nixed the round of 24 for the new season because he’s usually “bored with [contestants] by the time they got there.”

Speaking of changes, turns out Alaska gov turned breakout reality star Sarah Palin may want to bend Lythgoe’s ear with a few ideas of her own.

In her new book "America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag" Palin dedicates a few grafs to, you-guessed-it, “American Idol.”

According to leaked passage of the book posted on the blog Palingates and Gawker days before its release, Palin criticizes the rise of “talent-deprived” contestants who’ve "embarrassed themselves for the benefit of [Idol’s] producers.”

"No one they have encountered in their lives — from their parents to their teachers to their president — wanted them to feel bad by hearing the truth," she writes. "So they grew up convinced that they could become big pop stars like Michael Jackson."

Because there’s no way someone who starts out with “no experience dancing or performing at all” should compete on a hit reality TV competition, right?

Selected Reading: AP, TV Guide, Gawker

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