Bye Bye, Miss American Idol?

We all remember planning our entire week of nighttime television around the latest season of American Idol. We laughed at the terrible auditions, cried at the heart wrenching stories, and crossed our fingers that one of our favorites would make it all way to the final. But in a sea of vocal talent shows, the days of relying so heavily of American Idol to provide us with the latest singing sensation are long gone. The talent show, now in its twelfth season, has been completely revamped and is hardly recognizable by those of us who watched season two. Despite the effort to stay current, it’s becoming clear that American Idol should probably leave the stage and head to the pages of television history.

For the last several years the show has been struggling to stay afloat. Since the departure of original judges Paula Abdul in season 9 and Simon Cowell in season 10 things just haven’t been the same. Filling in on the panel over the years have been Kara DioGuardi, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler, all for two seasons, and randomly comedienne and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres (did anyone even actually watch that season?) for one. The number of judges has fluctuated throughout the years, this season culminating in a panel of four. Randy Jackson has stayed with the show since its inception, as has super-host Ryan Seacrest.  Both returned to accompany new faces Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaji, and Keith Urban. The talent has been just as good in recent seasons, but the winners have failed to achieve the mega-success of alums Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, and Katharine McPhee (only two of whom actually won their seasons). But how exactly did the beloved talent show go from entertaining to unbearable?

I personally have only watched two or three episodes this go-round, mainly because I barely understand the concept anymore. Things became complicated with addition of sudden death rounds in which the judges eliminated sometimes half of the night’s groups immediately following the conclusion of all the performances. But then viewers could vote to keep their favorites around…well, at least I think that’s how it worked. That confusion has made things increasingly complicated for viewers from the past.  There is no longer a top 24 or top 12, just straight from the random sudden death rounds to a top 10. The switch of venues from Hollywood to Las Vegas just made things even more abnormal.  And to make matters worse, the judging has gone from good to average to weird and worse.

Now I absolutely adore Keith Urban. Not only is he a musical genius with an impeccable guitar talent, he’s total eye candy. I mean, what girl can resist that accent?! Plus he provides the contestants with real constructive criticism regarding their performances. Sadly my kind remarks about the group of judges stops there. Nicki Minaji made a big show of being late on a recent episode, and has rarely given actual advice to those artists she clearly doesn’t favor. Mariah Carey dresses like she belongs on a pole, not behind a judging table, and hardly mutters anything other than “Sensational” and “I didn’t like it”. Randy is the same as always, overusing the word “dawg” and offering some sort of substantial advice. Even jack-of-all-trades Ryan seems to have lost some of his hosting spark.

The music hasn’t changed, the artists haven’t become any less talented (except for maybe Janelle who is a carbon copy of Taylor Swift, and Lord knows we don’t need any more of her), but all of the changes made to the production have really hinder its core. We’ve all moved on from the nostalgia of repeatedly voting for Carrie to beat Bo Bice and being outraged when Katharine lost to silver-haired Taylor Hicks. Last season’s winner Philip Phillips dominated charts with his single “Home”, but other than that many of the winners and former contestants have failed to stay afloat in the increasingly competitive music industry. American Idol may have once reigned as the top reality singing competition but those days are behind us. With the concept and gorgeous men of The Voice  (who would you rather watch, Randy Jackson or Usher? Let’s not even get started on the sex appeal of Adam Levine) to the megastars produced by trusted authority Simon Cowell  and the UK and US version’s The X Factor (One Direction, Cher Lloyd, up-and-comers Little Mix, Emblem 3, and recent winner Tate Stevens),  viewers have turned their focus from the past to the present. And for that reason, it may be time for American Idol to turn off the lights and close the stage curtains for good. 

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