The Deadbolt Interview - Getting Jingle with Nigel Lythgoe for Carrie Underwood Holiday Special

Getting Jingle with Nigel Lythgoe for Carrie Underwood Holiday Special
by Troy Rogers

Although fans know Nigel Lythgoe as the judge on So You Think You Can Dance?, prior to the popular TV dance competition Lythgoe was one of the producers on the gargantuan talent hit, American Idol. Now Nigel Lythgoe goes back behind the scenes as executive producer and co-director of Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special, which airs December 7 on Fox at 8pm. Heading up the Fox holiday special, Nigel Lythgoe oversees country star Carrie Underwood as she welcomes such guests as Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, American Idol David Cook and more to the Fox All-Star stage as Underwood also performs songs from her upcoming album.

Ahead of Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special, we hopped on the line for a quick conference call with Nigel Lythgoe to find out what it was like to work with both Carrie Underwood and David Cook and who he thinks has the advantage these days in TV talent competitions.

THE DEADBOLT: What was it like to have former Idol contestants Carrie Underwood and David Cook together on the same special?

NIGEL LYTHGOE: You’re always so proud. I went to the AMAs and Carrie Underwood was on that and Kelly Clarkson and Adam Lambert and Kris Allen. You’re always so proud. You think without American Idol these kids wouldn’t be here; they wouldn’t be selling millions of records. So there’s this constant feeling of sort of being the father.

THE DEADBOLT: With So You Think You Can Dance?, what do the 18 year-old and 19 year-old dancers have over the ones in their 20s.

LYTHGOE: I don’t think they do, to be frank with you. I think they’re a little lacking because they don’t have life experience; with a dancer so much is about sexuality and sensuality. Without life experience it becomes much more of a performance rather than a living, breathing entity from the soul. The passion that dance demands of you requires that, I think. Although they are obviously physically younger specimens I think that especially for something like a television program that’s selling dance you have to be a great performer as well as a great technician. I think that the 18 year-olds, 19 year-olds, actually miss something.

Other Conference Call Highlights:

Nigel, you’ve had a really good close-up view of Carrie her whole career. Could you tell us two things? Tell us your very first impression you remember of her on Idol and then tell us what surprised you about what she’s evolved into at this point.

LYTHGOE: My first impression was she nearly got my son killed because they were filming out in a field. My son was a producer on American Idol at that time and they were filming out in a field on Carrie Underwood’s parent’s farm and evidently a bull chased him. He dropped his camera and ran for the hills, I think. So it’s always been a bit of a joke between us. That was my first impression of this young lady. We used to call her Farm Girl. We always had titles for people so we’d remember them. She was called Farm Girl.

What she’s developed into is an out-and-out true star. As you’ll see on this special, it’s not just about her singing; it’s about her comedy timing and everything else. She just handles herself as though she’s been in the business for 20 years and not the 4 or 5 that she’s been in now. This truly is watching somebody’s journey grow in the public spotlight.

Are you happy with So You think You Can Dance being on in the fall?

LYTHGOE: To be frank, I’m delighted whenever it’s on, just the very fact that it’s on. It’s a great pleasure to sit there and watch the talent every week. Am I delighted with the schedule and the bouncing around with baseball? No, of course not. You like to be in a specific spot and you like everybody to know where you are and when you’re on. I think the early part of this season was very difficult for us, but as I say, at the end of the day, just the very fact that we’re on air I am absolutely delighted.

Who’s the biggest surprise for you of the season so far?

LYTHGOE: I think the biggest surprise for me, there’s a number of them this season. We always knew that this was a diverse bunch, but I think Russell, the Krumper from Boston, is an enormous surprise. I don’t know where he’s getting his lines from and he does a pas de deux, which is just tremendous and doing pressage lifts and everything else. He really is a huge surprise.

Legacy has grown far more than I thought he would. I didn’t think that the boy had any musicality; when I first saw him he was just a tricker. He, too, has grown enormously. As I’ve said previously, the two ballroom kids are just tremendous.

This part of it is always a pleasure to see them be like sponges and try and soak up everything that they can from the choreographers and from the dancers that they’re working with. They truly do, unlike most other programs like this, help each other tremendously with learning and with providing knowledge.

When are we going to see Paula Abdul?

LYTHGOE: I’ve got the same question for everybody else, I’m afraid. Every time I see her it’s a question of, "Talk to me people. Get your people to talk to my people." I haven’t got any people so I keep calling and trying to find out. No we don’t hear anything. I think we’ve sold the chair now.

How did the Carrie special come about?

LYTHGOE: I think it’s something that FOX always wanted. Mike Darnell is a big country fan and of course we’re all Carrie Underwood fans. They were looking for something for Christmas, I guess, and he and Simon Fuller were talking and it was suggested. We picked it up very quickly. I was delighted. I grabbed hold of Adam Shankman and said, "Adam, would you like to do the comedy and bring in some great writers that you know and come and assist me with it?" He agreed so we worked together on it.

The whole show, I think, it’s back to the old variety days, but with a modern spin. It’s delightful, I must say, for the holiday period, absolutely delightful.

Any specifics about it you can talk about?

LYTHGOE: I can talk about a lot of it. We’re including Carrie’s family in it and characters on the side of stage so as she walks offstage she goes into another situation. Her dog, Ace, is involved. I’m not allowed to tell you who voiced Ace, but Ace takes us through a day in his life. It’s just a lot of fun. Add to that Carrie’s new album tracks, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, David Cook, Kristin Chenoweth and Christina Applegate and you’ve got a variety show.

Now that more than a year and a half has passed since American Idol, anything you miss at this point about it or is it just behind you now effectively?

LYTHGOE: Something like that is never behind you. It’s changed my life; it gave us permission, in truth, to do So You Think You Can Dance. Without American Idol I don’t think anyone would have ever listened to us about a dance program. I miss it madly, always have done. You’re just leaving your family. I miss Idol Gives Back and I know they’re going to do it again, I think this coming season. It’s very, very special in my life. I will always miss it.

However I left it so that I wouldn’t have to work quite as hard. I found this season I’ve worked just as hard on So You Think You Can Dance, and of course, we’re doing it in the U.K. now as well so I’m flying backwards and forwards to London doing rehearsals and auditions there; flying here to do So You Think You Can Dance and the sort of Dizzy Feet Foundation. I’m absolutely exhausted. I should have stayed on American Idol.

-- Troy Rogers