'American Idol' Judges Weigh Pros and Cons of First-Ever Remote Show

ABC's TV singing competition, "American Idol," is not letting the worldwide pandemic stop them from bringing the show to their fans remotely. The judges share their opinions on the development.

ABC's "American Idol" took an unexpected turn when it was revealed that contestants, judges, and viewers would all tune in for episodes from the comforts of their homes. The first episode aired on Sunday, April 26, and Katy Perry, a host shared her thoughts:

"American Idol is all about fairness, so we sent everyone a kit that had the same mics, the same set, the same lights. It was up to the talent."

The 35-year-old mom-to-be added that the singing hopefuls had been given the option to perform with their instruments or utilize the set's music director via satellite.

Perry also said that the only disadvantage they saw was the contestants not getting the opportunity to play to a live audience and having to look into a camera lens and pretend that it was their thrilled audience.

Lionel Richie, another judge, said that he missed the realness of the contestants' comportment on the stage. Luke Bryan, the show's third host, chipped in that the at-home performances let judges pick up every bit of the singer's vocal qualities, which could have been both good and bad for them.

The excited outstanding contestant of the night thanked the judges and said his choice to perform the song was to give hope to people who were watching him.

Despite treading in uncharted terrain, the contestants did their very best to sing their hearts out and convince the judges and audience that they could make the most of the circumstances.

Excellent, ear-rewarding renditions of the songs of famous music bigwigs like Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato were performed but one contestant, Johnny West's fantastic take on Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" stood out. Bryan said:

"I heard ten deviations of a music career right there. You can take your career wherever you want to take it."

West's performance had Luke pleading with him never to stop his music journey no matter what he encountered on his path to success.

Perry added that if the show continued to film from home for the rest of the season, West could be at an advantage as he could work on playing up the subtle qualities in his voice.

The excited outstanding contestant of the night thanked the judges and said his choice to perform the song was to give hope to people who were watching him, his way of saying "a wonderful world awaits after the global health crisis."

The show's executive producer, Trish Kinane, had revealed beforehand how she and the rest of her team intended to keep the production aspect afloat and not end up having a 2-hour acapella show.

The 20 contestants who were featured on the April 26 episode would soon be narrowed down to 10 by the voters, and the show would go on, bringing a little happiness into the homes of viewers.