Unfortunately this prospect seems to be waning for a couple of reasons:

1. It could be just too much. According to producer Ken Warwick, “There is talk of us doing a songwriting competition, where people will submit songs, the record company will pick them, and Idol contestants will sing them. But we would need two more hours of broadcast time—it would be two specials. But Fox might not want it. We are already on 45 hours. They might say that is enough.” (Link)
2. Simple math. The logistics of receiving thousands of songs (possibly tens of thousands) would deem a legitimate consideration of every entry almost impossible. Perhaps they will make submission requirements so stringent only serious songwriters and demos will be submitted? Even then, it would still be an arduous task.
3. Not really an open field. Based on the hints and tips we have been hearing, it appears that some of 19 Entertainment’s stable of songwriters will submit songs and THESE are the songs will be picked from by voters. This means we may end up voting on the same mediocre pablum we suffered through in seasons past. We could be wrong on this one, but for some reason we aren’t surprised by this possibility.

Personally, I would like to see them use their American Idol Underground system, which they already have in place, as the clearinghouse for great songs and work from there.

Can you imagine the cool success stories that would come out of a program like that?