American Idol taking its final bow
Once top-rated show lost its spark with departure of Simon Cowell
Many say American Idol died the day Simon Cowell left. A giant piece of it certainly did. But Fox’s sing-songing reality TV beast stood surprisingly tall for another five years. That was until Monday, when the 13-year-old show finally eliminated itself.
The show will dig its grave after its 15th season, which begins airing in January 2016. Its current season wraps up on Wednesday, when one of three remaining contestants — Jax, Nick Fradiani or Clark Beckham — will take home the show’s second-last grand prize.
Even before Cowell left, Idol had fallen victim to lower ratings, awkward judging lineups and gimmicky format changes.
It hit a new low in its past few seasons, which have also been hindered by sponsorship drops (absent this season is Coca-Cola).
While Idol was once a mega-celebrity in itself, its 2000s heyday is a distant memory.
Thankfully, unlike too many superstars, Idol didn’t allow itself to become washed up. Cowell and fellow original judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul may have left long ago, but Idol has kept its panel fairly high profile (current judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr. will see it off next year).
The 11 million U.S. fans the Season 14 première pulled in was still enough to keep it in the Top 10. Its viewers have since nearly been cut in half. (In Canada, CTV stopped airing American Idol at the end of last season. It was picked up by Yes TV for some Canadian cities, and now doesn’t crack the Top 30).
As Idol diehards brace for the final goodbye — which is still a year away — there’s no denying the show that brought us Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, among other household names, has had a spectacular run. Here are just five memories that stand out as it heads toward the end: 1. Kelly Clarkson’s win (2002): Idol was clearly onto something good when the pop singer from Fort Worth, Texas, topped the Billboard 100 with her debut single A Moment Like This. 2. The William Hung audition (2004): Hung — known for his bon-bon-shaking rendition of Ricky Martin’s She Bangs — is the biggest Idol celebrity not to make it past the first audition. 3. Paula Abdul’s stuttering and slurring (2002-2009): You never knew what was going to come out of judge Paula’s mouth — or if you would be able to understand it. Abdul once critiqued two of 2008 contestant Jason Castro’s songs after he had only performed one. Cowell dubbed it “the strangest show we have ever done.” 4. Every Adam Lambert performance (2009): No Idol ever brought it like “Glambert” did. From Mad World to Ring of Fire, the only consistent thing about the Season 8 runner-up’s performances was that they were epic. 5. Jennifer Hudson’s shocking elimination (2004): Millions of jaws dropped when the obviously talented Hudson was ousted from the Top seven. But it turned out as the best thing that ever happened to this Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy-winning success story.