At one point, Ryan was taping an intro right next to where I was sitting. The ladies around me started wigging out, but it didn’t phase him a bit. “Hi, I’m Ryan,” the mega star said humbly, shaking each of their hands. How cool (and surprisingly down-to-earth) is that?
Plus, during commercial breaks, instead of prepping himself or saving his energy, Ryan loved pumping up the crowd by poking fun at executive producer Nigel Lythgoe and the stage manager. He had the audience in stitches.
Here are some other observations from the taping you might have missed on the small screen:
- Before the girls started performing, Nigel had the audience pre-tape five standing ovations, which means some of the audience reaction shots you saw weren’t actually happening at that moment!
- When the Top 12 girls were announced, Thia Megia and Lauren Alaina received the loudest cheers out of everyone.
- The new set has a spot for the audience to overlook the stage. The only problem? Those poor people can’t see anything that’s actually happening. The producers and warm up guy like to build them up by promising lots of “camera time” and calling the seats “luxury boxes.”
- We re-shot the cute bit where Karen Rodriguez speaks in Spanish to Jacob THREE times. At one point Randy Jackson said, “What is this? Spanish class?”
Who are your favorites on Idol this season? If you’re curious about any happenings behind-the-scenes, let me know. I’ll watch out for them during the tapings and get back to you with the inside scoop!
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