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Sunday, May 17, 2015

American Idle: Decline and Fall

Amazing, is it not, that only three years ago (2012) winning American Idol or even being a finalist was cause for celebration.  Yet, since Philip Phillips won and arguably became the third most successful Idol winner after Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood; the past three seasons have been at best tepid shadows of its former glory.  At worst, the populace has realized that the emperor is not wearing any clothes.  As I type this, The 2015 Billboard Music Awards are on; nowhere in the MGM Grand are to be found the last three Idol winners.  That is because at this time none of them has had a hit record or album on the charts. 

So what happened to a series that was once such a juggernaut that now few people give the time of day to?  What has made American Idol a series that has now a stop date next year?  I can think of a number of reasons this has come to be this way.  Much of them appear obvious when all is said and done.

First and foremost, the need for a fledgling singer to go on American Idol to make it big became a bit redundant.  As I mentioned yesterday, Kanye West, Arcade Fire and LCD Sound system broke through when Idol began; and I can certainly tell you not one of those artists would have even made the semi-finalist round of any season.  Do you know who else would not have worked well on Idol?

Lady Gaga
Rihanna
The National
Lorde
Animal Collective
Blake Shelton
Pharrell Williams
Hozier
Florence Welch
Katy Perry
Iggy Azalea
John Legend
Sam Smith
Paramore
Nicki Minaj
MGMT
The Black Keys
Ray LaMontagne
Charli XCX
Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis

All of these artists have become substantial figures in the music scene these last 12-13 years.  And not one of them also needed an Idol or like minded singing reality show to get famous.  The music buying public are, I think, more in tune with authenticity and uniqueness as listed above.  You rarely find it nowadays on a show where getting a recording contract is considered entertainment.

Here is another thing that made the show lose its credibility.  As the years went on, it seemed to me that Ryan Seacrest wanted American Idol to be more like American Bandstand.  In particular, the results show and the Idol Gives Back show would be more interested in established artists performing live than promoting the results of the votes for who would stay and who would be kicked out.  In a roundabout matter, the introduction of the judges' save and the occasional weeks in which no one left I think cheapened the voting process and altered the idea of the best singer winning.   You might remember the idea floating a few years ago to vote for the worst.  I was totally against that idea, and still am. 

What else has made American Idol lose it all?  So darn much.

The Voice; not exactly a success in finding the great new artists; but the more honest and reasonable approach to finding a winner.
The X Factor; did not do too well in America; yet it has completely supplanted the Idol format in most other countries. 
Got Talent; much more varied and interesting, due in large part to not discriminating upon age.
Simon Cowell leaving Idol.
Paula Abdul leaving Idol.
Randy Jackson leaving Idol.
That one season where it seemed more people cared about the animosity between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj than who was auditioning.
19 Entertainment and Fremantle Media altering the show noticeably every year after Simon left.
Not one celebrity judge willing to go negative on a contestant.
The proliferation of country music artists getting more votes than most other genres; not a bad thing in and of itself.  Yet not everyone likes modern country.
Walt Disney World ending The American Idol Experience some two years ago.
Ryan Seacrest effectively phoning it in these last couple of seasons. 
The Coca-Cola Company ending its sponsorship; not to mention PepsiCo neglecting to pick up the contract. 
The rejects weeks effectively ending; replaced with showcasing every Idol contestant that came from hardship and doing what it took to go to Hollywood. 
Many past Idol winners and finalists not even bothering to mention American Idol as their springboard to superstardom. 

And my personal pet peeve: not once did Idol ever utilize Pink Floyd!  Yes, it pisses me off that Pink Floyd has not had one of their songs covered by a singer on the show.  Not even something more accessible like Wish You Were Here.  By the way, it is the same feeling I have regarding the Songwriters Hall Of Fame: where the heck is Roger Waters, David Gilmour and Richard Wright at least in their hallowed halls? 

Honestly three straight seasons  of American Idol being the patron saint of mediocrities is enough to negate the first 11 seasons as mere flukes. I guess in the end, it mattered and yet it did not matter.  There is one more season to go; we shall see if Nigel Lythgoe, Simon Fuller, Ryan Seacrest and others will be willing to go out on top and not on a languishing whimper.  A word of caution though: do not hold your breath for that to happen. 

Talk to you all later with more interesting observations,

Robert

PS.  Dick Whitman is Don Draper is DB Cooper.  We will find out if this theory holds in a few minutes from now.

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