Pop Stand

It's been a busy couple of days for "American Idol" news. Yesterday journalists got to participate in a conference call with Idol executive producer Ken Warwick, and today Simon Cowell was taking questions in a conference call.

And here's what's funny: Before last year's season started, and in the early shows, we heard again and again that this was the most talented group ever. Ever! Now both Warwick and Cowell, left, admit that it was ... kind of a flop! In fact, the word "boring" was used.

Warwick said the structure of the early rounds has been changed up because last year "By the time we got down to the final 8, if any of them didn't have fantastic characters, it got a bit boring."

Asked to compare this year's contestants with last year's, Cowell said: "My feeling at having done the Hollywood Round was that we've got an interesting bunch. Last year it was a bit like a Battle of the Blonds, and they all looked the same, I couldn't differentiate one from the other. This year there seems to be more personality, they're definitely standing up for themselves more, which I like, and they're different from people we've had before. I'm happy, and I'm optimistic about this year."

[The Blonds in that Battle were Brooke White, Kristy Lee Cook, Alaina Whitaker, Kady Malloy .. and Colton Berry?]

Both Warwick and Cowell answered several questions about Paula Goodspeed, the troubled Season 5 contestant who killed herself in her car near judge Paula Abdul's house. Cowell defended the show's producers, whom Abdul claimed she had told that Goodpeed was a mentally unbalanced stalker.

"I can't point fingers at them (producers) and say they knew everything about this person, because I don't think that was the case," said Cowell. He added that he had no memory of the audition until he saw the clip on television after the suicide, bu then he remembered Goodspeed. Later he said, "You're talking about a human tragedy and it hit us like an express train. ... It upset me a lot."

On Barbara Walters' radio show, Abdul seemed to complain that Simon whispers in her ear and tries to distract her before she makes her comments. Cowell said, "Well, guilty. That's part of the relationship I've had with Paula. I've looked on it in kind of a fun way. It was never done with any maliciousness, she's never really had an issue with me about it, if I thought I've gone too far I've apologized, but we've been really I think good friends through the process. And I thought she took most of this with a sense of humor. ... And by the way, it's not just Paula. I've done it with all the judges I've worked with all over the world."

How did Simon react during auditions to being overruled by the other three judges, Abdul, Randy Jackson and newcomer Kara DioGuardi? "Simon? React?" asked Warwick archly. "Well, he didn't like it, he sometimes had to go ... it was a good dynamic for the show, the fact that he always had the casting vote, occasionally it was good when he met a bit of resistance and he couldn't steamroller people into going his way."

About having Abdul and DioGuardi agree with each other and oppose him, Cowell said, "Well, what guy would like that, come on. You've got two girls ganging up on you. One is hard enough, two is unbearable. But they've both got personalities, they're both forceful .. I've got Randy by my side, so it's not that bad."

About celebrity mentors, Cowell said, "We try every year to get Paul McCartney on, and for whatever reason he won't come on." Cowell's British show, "X Factor," featured guest stars Beyonce and Britney Spears this year, and he said both would be more than welcome on "American Idol" in any role. Cowell also lauded Lionel Ritchie and Quentin Tarentino as "brilliant fun" in their roles as a mentor and a guest judge, respectively.

On audition sites, Warwick said that the contestants in Puerto Rico weren't very good, while Cowell said with a surprised tone that he had most enjoyed his time in Salt Lake City, a place he'd never visited before.

-- Anne Neville