‘American Idol’ season 13 looks to Sweden for Nigel Lythgoe replacement

Has “American Idol” found itself the ideal replacement for Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick? It’s possible, and while their work may not be done yet when it comes to finding people to run the show behind the scenes, they have clearly found one key piece to the puzzle, and it is from someone who has been working for some time on the Swedish version of the show.

In a statement today, Fremantle North America (who produces the show for Fox) announced that Per Blankens, who has produced the Swedish version of the show for some time, is taking over the reigns here for the 13th season. In a statement, the new executive producer had the following to say:

“The Idol franchise is a worldwide phenomenon and I’m honored to be a part of the most popular of the franchises, AMERICAN IDOL. I can’t wait to get started as auditions for the new season are just a few weeks away.”

We don’t really know a lot about the Swedish version of the show (titled just “Idol”), but from our research they seem to focus less on the audition process or more on a small pool of contestants hoping to make it to the live rounds. It will be interesting to see if Blankens brings any ideas from that version of the show over here, but we hope that he will be able to develop some new ideas that include different theme weeks, getting rid of manipulative editing and making sure the judges are all on the same page.

Do you have any opinion about this hire, or do you almost wish that “American Idol” went outside of their franchise in trying to find the right candidate? If you want to read some more news about what some former contestants are up to, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: Fox