It's been a hard day's night for American Idol, but the show finally has a ticket to ride.
The music publisher that controls the Beatles' John Lennon-Paul McCartney composed hits has given Idol the go-ahead to let its contestants have their way with the likes of "Yesterday," "Let It Be" and, should someone be so brave, "I Am the Walrus."
The scoop was served up Wednesday on Idol host Ryan Seacrest's morning radio show in Los Angeles.
"It's something we've waited for for seven seasons now," Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told Seacrest. "Sony has agreed to release the Lennon and McCartney songbook to us."
The announcement seems unrelated to current Idol favorite David Archuleta belting "Imagine" on Tuesday night's show. "Imagine" was written by Lennon, sans McCartney, at the start of his solo career, and was performed last season by Blake Lewis.
The songs that Idol has come into belong to Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company formed by Industry giant Sony and pop legend Michael Jackson. (Lennon, who died in 1980, and McCartney long ago lost control of their own Fab Four-era hits.)
On the Sony/ATV website, there are more than 180 songs listed that are credited to either: Lennon-McCartney; McCartney, minus Lennon; Lennon-McCartney with Starkey (aka Ringo Starr); and Lennon-McCartney with Starkey and Harrison (as in George).
It was not immediately known if Idol has dibs on all of those songs.
Last year, when it was reported that Idol was planning a Beatles night, Ken Warwick, another executive producer, told USA Today that "certain songs are still off-limits." As things turned out, the whole deal fell through, and Idol ended up with a curiously Beatle-free British Invasion night.
The Sony/ATV Beatles songs run from A, as in "A Day in the Life," to Y, as in "Your Mother Should Know." They do not include standards penned solely by Harrison, including "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun."
Still, from "Oh, Darling" to "In My Life," there's plenty of material for Idol hopefuls to soar with or butcher, whichever the case may be.