Former Pop Idol contestant dies

By Charles Otieno and BBC

The death of former American Idols contestant Paula Goodspeed has sent shock waves to the highly rated talent reality show. The aspiring singer died of overdose outside idols judge Paula Abdul’s home.

The tragic incident is not comparable to the Tusker Project Fame 2 withdrawal of a contestant from the academy. In May, Tanzanian contestant Asha Ramadhani left the academy because she could not cope with the stress. Throughout her third week of stay she was constantly in tears and was overwhelmed with a sense of nervousness. Luckily, the paramedics (who were always on standby at the academy) were called to rush her to hospital. Once in the hospital the 24-year-old musician made a decision to withdraw from the competition.

But it seems that Paula Goodspeed was stressed but did not get such an attention. American Idol producers have confirmed changes to the US hit talent show when it returns in January.

Apparently the show’s harsh judge Simon Cowell had laughed at Goodspeed, 30, when she had an audition in 2005. She had braces on her teeth and the judges asked how she could sing while her mouth had ‘that much metal’. Those auditioned for the programme are said to face blunt assessments from the judges.

American Idols judges say they will keep criticising contestants despite the apparent suicide although the death hit them hard. Simon said: "It hit us like an express train," adding it had upset him a lot.

"What happened was awful," he told reporters. "My regret is that we didn’t know how troubled this person was." But after thinking long and hard he decided not to alter the show’s format. Goodspeed’s death sparked a debate over the judges’ harsh remarks.

Abdul has claimed she warned producers not to let Goodspeed audition for the show but her fears were dismissed for the sake of making an entertaining programme.

The updated format will include cutting the number of weeks featuring auditions from four to three and more contestants will be picked to compete in Hollywood.

Executive producer Ken Warwick said ‘wild card’ finalists, who are picked by the judges, are being reintroduced.

American Idols eighth series will be shown on US television network Fox from January 13. It is broadcast by ITV2 in the UK.