‘Idol’ originals celebrate the end of a sensation
Cowell, Abdul, Seacrest and creator Fuller share memories before the final coronation
Ask Simon Cowell about his favorite American Idol performance and, true to form, the judge famed for withering takes on bad singers provides a surprising answer.
“Probably William Hung, actually. To this day, it still makes me laugh,” the original panelist says of the viral, much-maligned performance of She Bangs. (Cowell then offers a more uplifting answer for Idol aficionados to debate: Tamyra Gray’s Season 1 rendition of A House Is Not a Home.)
Cowell, fellow judge Paula Abdul, host Ryan Seacrest and creator Simon Fuller reminisced about Fox’s ratings and cultural phenomenon that ends its run this week with a three-night finale featuring a 90-minute retrospective, the last performance competition, and a Thursday finale (8 ET/PT) packed with singers from 15 seasons, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson.
Idol reinvented a TV staple, the talent show, for the modern age, Fuller says.
It added “the interactive element, teaching America to text and vote; the back stories, (so) you fall in love with and care about the contestants; those live shows, with the tension of a sporting event; and dream fulfill- ment. Some of those dreams are misplaced, but others — Wow!”
Personalities mattered, too. Inaugural Idol Kelly Clarkson embodied the ideal of a talented singer rising from small-town anonymity to international stardom, Cowell says.
“Without Kelly, maybe we’re not having this conversation today,” he says. “She defined the show, the fact that there were people out there with huge talent who hadn’t (received) a recording contract. She validated the show.”
The original judging panel, which included bickering friends Cowell, Abdul and Randy Jackson, grabbed America’s attention when Idol premiered in 2002 and rode the show into the ratings stratosphere as the audience grew to more than 30 million viewers. (A sharp ratings decline in recent seasons is a main reason for its departure.)
“Simon was awesome as a judge. That sort of honesty was unusual on TV,” says Fuller, who hopes to develop a new competition that could differ in structure and platform.
“In Season 1, some of the contestants weren’t too happy” with his brutal frankness, Cowell says. “The public, however, has been amazing.”
Abdul, who countered Cowell with nurturing empathy, says Idol arrived when the country needed a family bonding experience.
“We were still recovering from months of unbearable sadness with 9/11. It had taken the wind out of our sails. We wanted anything that could make us smile,” she says. “Then this show comes along, and it’s about music and it’s built on the (idea) that together we would be able to find and make someone into a superstar.” Seacrest, who has hosted Idol from the beginning, started to feel the impending conclusion during last Thursday’s show, the last at CBS Television City before
Idol moves to Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, home of the first finale, for the last coronation.
“When I talked to crew members and producers during commercial breaks, I was getting a little emotional,” he says. “It’s starting to sink in that this has been part of our lives every year for 15 years. I found that (emotion) to be challenging. I have no doubt it will be similar” Thursday when Trent Harmon, Dalton Rapattoni or La’Porsha Renae becomes the final Idol.
“It’s a more poignant, personal approach to the finale this year,” Fuller says. “We wanted to celebrate all that’s happened for 15 seasons. You’ll see all of our wonderful artists on the same stage. It will be an amazing trip down memory lane.”
“It’s starting to sink in that this has been part of our lives every year for 15 years.”
Host Ryan Seacrest