Las Vegas Weekly

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The new “sudden death” eliminations in last week’s “American Idol” shows recorded at “The Beatles’ Love” theater at The Mirage had viewers -- and the judges -- in disbelief. Two more episodes will be taped at the Cirque du Soleil stage tonight and Wednesday for broadcast Wednesday and Thursday.

Next week, the three shows are live, with the last one back in L.A. Executive Producer and Las Vegas regular Nigel Lythgoe said he chose the Mirage theater for the trip away from L.A. because he fell in love with it. “There is a unique production value added when a show is done in the round. It requires the contestants to raise their level of performance because there is no place to hide.”

Ken Warwick, the other executive producer, told our local Fox 5 affiliate and “More” host Sean McAllister: “Any show that’s been on the air for 12 years needs changes to stay fresh. The new three-week elimination round in Las Vegas stays true to ‘Idol’s’ identity while bringing something new to viewers. The new structure also allows judges to more closely examine the Top 40 contestants and compare the boys against the girls.”

Sean told me: “There was a lot of indecision with the judges. They seem not to be seeing or hearing the same performances. But Keith Urban said they were all memorable. By the way, there’s no evidence of any ongoing feud between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey. They are cordial toward each other and, contrary to rumors and reports, they are able to be in the same room with each other.”

Incidentally, ahead of tonight’s taping, host Ryan Seacrest visited Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage, where he took off his socks and shoes and got in the water to meet bottlenose dolphin Duchess.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

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