A monitor shows American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe and in-house mentor Jimmy Iovine reviewing playback of performances from the night before. "I shoot with Jimmy all morning before we do the results show," says Lythgoe. "Like Simon Cowell, things are cut and dry for Jimmy. There's no script, it's how he feels."
"The show for me is about rhythm and pace," says Lythgoe (seen in background: American Idol associate music director Michael Orland and season 11 finalist Erika Van Pelt). "Whether it’s movement or dialog, [executive producer] Ken [Warwick] and I get a flow that we like."
Lythgoe and American Idol's associate music director Michael Orland rehearse musical selections. "Being so old and being involved as choreographers, we've been doing music and routines from when we first started in the business," says Lythgoe. "So we'll try different vocals arrangements with the contestants, but we're offering ideas, not direction."
When asked about the huge stack of papers in his hand, Lythgoe said "they're all songs that have been cleared." Although Idol doesn't make selections for its contestants, Lythgoe says he and fellow EP Ken Warwick often draw attention to the original versions of certain classic songs.
"I'm always a judge first," says Lythgoe, seen here with Interscope's Jimmy Iovine and 19 Entertainment's Joe Willis. "Whether I'm judging by being in front of the camera or I'm judging from being a producer. It has to be a gut feeling, it has to be fresh."
Nigel Lythgoe takes a seat at the judges' table on the set of Idol. "I'm very happy where we are right now after 11 seasons," he says. "I've always said: it isn't about the judges, it's about the kids."
Nigel Lythgoe surrounded by So You Think You Can Dance Season 9 hopefuls. What advice does Lythgoe has for this season's contestants? "The reality of the situation is rejection is a dancer's middle name, if you can't be rejected don't even come in to dance because you have to literally audition for every job that you do. That's just the nature of the business."
"It's passion, really," says Lythgoe, seen here conversing with production crew on the set of So You Think You Can Dance, of his tireless work ethic. "I enjoy what I do, so it doesn’t feel like work."
Nigel Lythgoe and fellow judge Mary Murphy on the set of So You Think You Can Dance. "I always say, 'Know when to stop talking,'" Lythgoe explains. "The hardest thing as a judge is to know when to stop — to come to the end of a sentence and not worry about the silence."
Lythgoe tells THR his approach to judging, "I don't feel like I put on an act when I go there, I'm always looking for an angle but I'm not putting on an act, it’s me, the same with Simon [Cowell]."
Nigel Lythgoe admits to THR that when it comes to So You Think You Can Dance, "There are certain rules and so many things to spot, where in singing, they either chose the wrong song, are in tune or out of tune, you like the quality of their voice or you don't."
"I’m vampiric in a sense," says Lythgoe, seen here on the set of So You Think You Can Dance. "I'm watching other peoples talent and admiring that. If they’re bad, then I get no energy from them and then I’m tired. But if they’re good, then I’m sucking energy from them."