Now they’re singing a different tune.
Producers of the television show “American Idol” have called off their legal eagles and said that the beloved Bay Ridge oldster talent show “Brooklyn Senior Idol” can keep its name.
The television show’s lawyers sent show sponsor state Sen. Martin Golden a letter in June threatening legal action if he didn’t change the name of the eight-years-running talent show and Xaverian High School fund-raiser. But the Hollywood hotshots saw the folly of their ways after some bad press, a Golden staffer said.
“I guess they saw some of the publicity,” said Golden spokesman John Quaglione. “I think they came to their senses to a degree.”
Now they’re letting the Ridge show use the name gratis, he said. Representatives from “American Idol” contacted Golden’s office in early July, offering to let him use the moniker so long as the show wasn’t aired live — a stipulation the senator’s office had no problem agreeing to, Quaglione said.
“I’m sure CBS is gonna hold the 8 o’clock slot on Friday night to run Senior Idol,” he said, tongue firmly in cheek.
But that doesn’t mean folks who can’t make it to the show will miss out entirely. The agreement allows for local news outlets to tape the show and air it afterward, Quaglione said.
Organizers will have to re-up their permission every year, he said. And they better hope the show doesn’t run long because — like Cinderella’s carriage — the lawyers’ permission for the Oct. 1 Ridge talent show turns into a pumpkin at midnight.
“At midnight on Oct. 3, we’re not allowed to use ‘Idol’ without permission,” Quaglione said.
Registration and auditions will be held at the Xaverian Auditorium [7100 Shore Rd. between 71st and 72nd streets in Bay Ridge, (718) 238–6044]. Sept. 14 at 4 pm.
