American Idol is almost gone: Here’s why its decline matters
How a summer fling 14 years ago became a craze and created some household names in the bargain
Well, this is it. This is the end of an era, the end of a ride, the end of an obsession and not just the end of a mere show, unless you understand that this particular show was the most successful and influential one of the 21st century. This is American Idol. Or was. How a summer fling 14 years ago turned into a national craze, saved Fox and created some household names in the bargain will someday be the subtext of a deep treatise on mass media and shifting cultural tastes. No one will read it, of course. We’ll have all moved on. We already have moved on. We tend to do that.
But as we watch Idol recede in our rearview mirror, let’s pause to remember why this once mattered so much and why its decline mattered even more.
First, perspective: As Idol ends Thursday, the franchise ends with a certain degree of pride intact. The days of “superstar” creation are long gone, but not necessarily the audience.
About eight million still tune in — a vastly diminished figure, but a respectable one. In fact, Idol was sunk by “fixed” expenses that were established back when 30 million watched. Those lofty costs — like stratospheric judge salaries for superstars such as Jennifer Lopez — simply can’t be supported by a “boutique” talent search show, especially now that The Voice commands this particular genre.
Idol had to end. The miracle is that Idol ever even began.
Created by British impresario Simon Fuller, Idol was initially expected to be named Pop Idol, same as the British hit, and last no more than three months. The tone was to be brittle and acerbic, after the British style of the day in shows like The Weakest Link.
After seeing the rough cuts, some Fox executives, including reality boss Mike Darnell and scheduling chief Preston Beckman, decided another tone should be emphasized: “Aspirational.”
“I always come back to Sept.11,” says Beckman, now retired. “In September of 2001, we all know what happened, and the following summer this show comes on the air and it’s called American Idol. It’s a show that says to the country that had just suffered a major tragedy, ‘Join us in finding a superstar. You are in control of this. It’s your vote that’s going to catapult someone from obscurity to fame.’ ”
Idol launched June 11, 2002, to an underwhelmed public. That would change. Foremost, there was something about these judges. Paula Abdul was a star, or a former one; Randy Jackson a respected session musician and then . . . there was that other one.
Simon Cowell would quickly establish himself as Idol’s selling proposition. Viewers at first recoiled from the barbs. Then they embraced them, as some sort of crowdsourced schadenfreude unloaded on the head of a talentless lounge singer.
There were two hosts the first season. One of them, Brian Dunkleman, is now a show business legend — for the wrong reason. The other rode the Idol wave all the way to the beach. Ryan Seacrest became the New Dick Clark.
In one sense, Seacrest was the biggest star minted by Idol.
Idol then got lucky and luckier still. Twenty-three million watched Kelly Clarkson become the first Idol. The next three seasons would yield two successful stars, one of the “super” variety: Carrie Underwood in Season 4.
Then that luck, like a cold wind from the north, shifted. The fifth season picked the wrong winner (Taylor Hicks instead of Chris Daughtry). The sixth season brought out the trolls. Howard Stern launched a vote-for-the-worst campaign and a vote-for-the-worst website became a major hit, too. By 2007, viewership (37 million) had peaked. The ride was all downhill from there.
Idol’s downward trajectory was also shaped by a revolution.
Rushfield, now the editor of Hitfix.com, a popular entertainment website, explains: “Think about how much the world has changed since Idol came on. There were certainly no blogs, no Snapchat. The term ‘social media’ didn’t exist when Idol was born. In its time, it really pushed the limits of audience participation in a way that no other show had ever done, then technology moved past it. That it survived 15 years is amazing.”
Facebook arrived in 2004, YouTube in 2005. Hulu signalled the advent of streaming TV in 2007. Netflix supercharged that revolution in 2010.
The most significant launch oc- curred Oct. 7, 2008. That was the day the music really died at Idol. Spotify allowed listeners to find their own superstars, ones who began their careers without the blessing of Simon Cowell.
Nevertheless, as we come to these final hours, let us remember the good stuff, like Fantasia Barrino singing “Summertime,” or Melinda Doolittle singing “Home” from The Wiz.
“On just a personal level, I was kind of in awe to be part of something that meant so much to so many people,” says Beckman.
On a personal level, so were we all. American Idol’s final episodes air April 5, 6 and 7 at 8 p.m. on Yes TV and Fox.