‘Help wanted’ signs abound for ‘Idol’
Retooling could follow big exits
The judging has begun. American Idol is scouting for replacements after Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez bolted late last week after two-year runs on TV’s top-rated talent show.
Singer Mariah Carey is on a short list of candidates in talks with the show, says an executive familiar with the discussions who isn’t authorized to speak publicly. Carey could replace her manager, Randy Jackson, who isn’t guaranteed to return to the judges’ table and might take on a new role as a mentor. Other names being floated include Celine Dion, Mary J. Blige and even Season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert, who told a U.K. radio station that “if they were to approach me ... I would jump at the chance.”
Some observers urge Fox and Idol’s producers to look for younger judges to combat the show’s aging viewership, much as The X Factor, featuring former Idol judge Simon Cowell, has done for its upcoming second season.
“If Simon Cowell can get Britney Spears and Demi Lovato, this show should be able to get talent that’s going to attract college-age (or) people in their 20s to make it more relevant,” says Brad Adgate of the ad-buying firm Horizon Media. He’d like to see someone like Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Adele or Selena Gomez.
But others say it’s the contestants who should shine.
“The whole stunt casting of pop stars is going to reach its apex with Britney and Demi, so it’s pointless for Idol to go chasing the others on that,” says Richard Rushfield, author of American Idol: The Untold Story.
“It’s better to bring in someone who can simply be a great judge than someone who confers their stardom on the show,” he says, mentioning Idol’s Jimmy Iovine and X
Factor’s L.A. Reid as models. “No one in the U.S. had ever heard of Simon Cowell before he came on Idol.”
There’s a lot riding on Idol’s future: The show has been key to the network’s No. 1 ranking in recent years among the young-adult viewers many advertisers seek, but after 11 seasons, it’s beginning to show signs of wearing out. Ratings were down 23% last season, to 20 million viewers for Wednesday performance shows, a decline hastened by the addition of new competitors including NBC’s The Voice.
In recent seasons, Idol has weathered a revolving door of talent: Paula Abdul left in 2009 (and then joined and left X Factor), Ellen DeGeneres had a one-year stint, and Kara DioGuardi lasted two years before Tyler and Lopez came on board for 2011. Though auditions already have begun for Idol’s 12th season, the judges don’t begin screening would-be contestants until September.