An anonymous ex-contestant of American Idol has written a piece about what he (or she) believes could help pull Idol back in to the mix after these alarming numbers so far this season.

THR posted the piece, but doesn’t mention who the contestant is. The anonymous idol made it far enough to have more than a couple of critiques from Simon.

The ex-contestant gives many suggestions, one of which is that the show needs to return to being mean, a la the Simon Cowell days:

Mean sells, which is why Cowell remains among the most popular figures on television. And there’s also that mentality of “us versus them”; how dare some British bloke go on television and be nasty to our young dreamers? Idol is quintessential American television, and as Americans, we like to fight a common enemy, so maybe it’s just a matter of the show finding another mean Brit?

Why do you think Idol has lost 50% of its viewers since 2005?