Idol American

How to Play

A parody of American Idol: one team plays the judges, while the other team performs as the current musical act.

The host gets an audience suggestion for a new song title, using a standard story- or song-title prompt. For example, ask for the title of a song that has never been written.

The musical act improvises only the song's big finish: a strong final lyric delivered as though they have just performed the whole song.

The judges then give their critiques one at a time, each choosing whatever judge character they like. Through their comments, they endow each member of the act with something that player supposedly did during the performance, such as singing in a particular style, performing a dance, or incorporating whale sounds. Continue until every member of the musical act has received an endowment.

The host announces, “Now let's see that performance again!” The act improvises the whole song, incorporating everything the judges described. Typically, each member takes a verse that showcases their endowment. The song ends with the same big finish the act improvised at the start.

The teams switch roles and play another round. After both teams have performed, the audience votes for the team with the best song.

Examples

For the suggested title “My Umbrella Has Abandoned Me,” the act first sings its grand final line:

“Now I'm dancing in the rain—alone!”

The judges might then tell three performers:

“Your operatic verse made that umbrella's betrayal feel enormous.”

“I loved the tap dance you did through the puddles.”

“Those whale sounds really captured your loneliness.”

The act now sings the full song, giving those choices room in the verses before returning to the original final line and finish.

Player Tips

• Make the initial finish clear and memorable so everyone can reproduce it later.
• As a judge, describe a specific, playable choice in the past tense, as though you witnessed it. Give the singer something they can show the audience.
• Listen to all the critiques and support each other's verses with backing vocals, movement, or space for a solo.
• Build your endowment into the song rather than pausing to explain it. Keep the title and shared finish in mind.

Host Tips

• Explain that the audience will hear the ending first, then critiques of a performance that has not happened yet, then the full song.
• Track the endowments so every performer gets one before cueing the full performance.
• Keep the critiques moving so the singers and audience can remember the offers.
• After both teams have had a turn as the musical act, invite the audience to vote for the best song.