American Idol 6 will include a songwriting competition; the winner’s song will be performed by the finalists

American Idol 6 will include a songwriting competition, and that parallel contest winner’s song will be performed by the two finalists.

Other “top songs may also be performed in a Fox special by former ‘Idols’ and finalists,” according to the Los Angeles Times, which reveals the news in a profile of the show’s creator, Simon Fuller. This new “twist that not only will add an intriguing element to the series competition, but also help solve a problem that has plagued the competition since its 2002 debut,” according to the paper.

Fuller says finding the song is “a thankless task,” so now they’ll just let America write the song. In other words, deflect the blame onto the people. At least it probably can’t get any worse than the two awful songs performed by the American Idol 5 finalists.

There are no details about the specifics of the contest yet, but the LA Times reports that “[a]nyone can compete to write a tune that will be sung by the two finalists.”