The Story Behind Idol's Lucky 13 Decision

The tension was palpable last night in the final moments of Idol’s wildcard show in which eight of the remaining contestants chosen by the judges on Wednesday’s show, performed and three would be chosen by the judges to join the 9 finalists already chosen by voters. The 12^th spot came down to Anoop Desai, who song a crowd pleasing “My Prerogative “ and Matt Giraud, the bluesy crooner and judge favorite. When Matt was chosen as the 12^th finalist, Simon Cowell abruptly interrupted Matt’s celebration and Anoop’s reserved disappointment to announce that the show would be having its first ever Top 13. Tension gone.

Now American Idol is down to 13 finalists who will compete in the coming weeks for the coveted title of American Idol, but the decision to expand the group of finalists to a baker’s dozen was made on the fly. According to Idol producer Ken Warwick they had been discussing the possibility of adding a 13^th finalist in the weeks before the wild card round. The general consensus (among producers) was that they would do it if they thought that it would be unfair to a contestant if “they’re really, really great.” Anoop Desai’s wild card performance and past history on the show motivated the producers and Simon Cowell to exercise this option literally during the final commercial break of the show. According to USA Today, Warwick told Simon during the break,  “Lets go with the 13 and worry about it afterwards.”