Can American Idol revive itself?

[MSradio]

I think it can... but for that to happen the following needs to come into fruition:

1. A girl MUST win.
2. No More Themes (Already taken care of)
3. New Judge Panel (Already Taken care of)
4. No more white guys with guitars.
5. Girl must be commercial and have a big voice a la Carrie/ Kelly/ Jordin.
7. Must be connected to either Country/ PopRock/ or R&B genre. No folk singers.

Your thoughts?

[🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾]

At this point in time, I don't think that is possible. The damage is already done. The show has dropped off considerably in the last few years. I think this season will probably be the last one despite all the contracts and other stuff. Ratingswise, Idol has still done well for its timeslot, but it has seen drops that many would describe as significant.

Now to hit on some of the points you mentioned,

They do need some type of theme. They cannot just sing whatever they want. Although, doing themes like Movie Night, Disco Week, Broadway Week, etc. need to go. As fun as some of those sound, they usually end up being a big mess.

I do think that a female does need to win, but they cannot just simply tip the votes in favor of one just because you want one to win.

I do think that the instruments need to be stopped. Idol is a singing competition.

Choosing someone who will be a big commercial artist sounds good on paper but can often end up being horrible in practice. Especially with the way the winners get signed to that label and then they are practically handed an album to record. There are some exceptions to that happening. A big voice isn't necessarily what sells. It has worked really well for the first two, not so much for the third one you mentioned. But someone who can sing pretty well is absolutely necessary, regardless of big voice or not.

Agreed for the most part on the genres. That aspect can be worked out as they go.

Now some other stuff.

While putting some awesomely bad contestants into the mix of finalists like Sanjaya Malakar or Amanda Overmeyer all those seasons ago might have been helpful for ratings and did add some drama to the show, it was painful to watch the show sometimes. They need contestants who can actually sing. Not these people who are pleasant to look at. How many of us actually buy an album or single based on the way the artist looks without taking into account the quality of that artist's music, especially in terms of their singing ability. Now depending on who you ask, everyone is going to have their idea of who on Idol was absolutely horrible, and who was really great.

With the change in record labels to Interscope from Sony, I cannot see things improving all that much. I would love to be proven wrong.

[Deleted]

In these days of Britney, Kesha, Rihanna and Katy, is it really that important that the winner of American Idol be able to sing that well?

Just a question.

[Deleted]

American Idol needs to change its name to the X Factor and bring in Simon Cowell then it has a chance

As a brand name 'American Idol' has run its course

[tinawina]

The show's going nowhere. Its still the number 1 show on TV and it sis still number 1 with the main advertising demo. It charges some of the highest ad rates in television. Even if it lost 40% of its viewers it would still be a top 10 show. Even if X factor hits big, it will take a few years to kill off Idol for good IMO.

But I think it will be like Survivor. That show is still on the air way past the time when it was a pop culture buzz fest and everyone knew the names of the winners whether they watched the show or not. Now it still pulls viewers but no one talks about it and people who don't watch it have no idea what's going on with it. I think Idol is heading there.

Now, they definitely do not need another rock leaning male to win. But it could be a guy... a teen sensation, country star or R&B star would not be an issue I think. It could get some of its selling power back with the right winner, but I don't think it will ever be like the glory days again.

[Lockheart]

AI has been dying a slow painful death. Contracts is what's keeping it alive. I'm just waiting for someone to pull the plug. I agree with 2m, the brand "American Idol" has run it's course. It's been here for almost a decade. I still believe that many will continue to audition, but AI is not the juggernaut it once was.

[NLP Is an Aphrodite]

Dec 1, 2010 10:26:00 GMT -5 @2m said:

American Idol needs to change its name to the X Factor and bring in Simon Cowell then it has a chance

As a brand name 'American Idol' has run its course

[lolhey]

Eh I can assure you that at least with the new season coming up the winner will at least outsell Lee Dewyze.... lmao I mean really? First week debute at 19? (39k sold?) and then plummets to 93 on the charts with 15k sales for week 2? An all time low for the worst winner ever, so at least there could potentially be an improvement from terrible numbers like that. ugh If I could find that thread where I said he would bomb and one of his stans tried to put me in place I would just to do some mad loling, smdh. Anyways, I think there is potential for the new season to get some tread and also agree that a girl needs to win too again... long overdue.

[Jack]

Pulse's hysterical rendering of Idol's 'rapid decent' and 'impending cancellation' is so woefully overstated.

[Rurry]

How many threads are we going to have about this? lol

The answer is no. It's a TV show, and they simply just don't last forever (except for like, Saturday Night Live and Sesame Street). American Idol, like past hit TV shows, had it's time in the sun and is now old news. Glee took its place, I'd say. And then in a few years, Glee will be old news and a new show will move in. It's just how it works. People forget that American Idol is a TV show, not a music industry staple. Y'all can debate all you want about why it declined, if it will come back, ect, but the #1 reason is that it's been on for almost a decade now and it just got old. The most talented person in the world could win Season 10 and it still wouldn't make as much of an impact as it did in its glory days.

[kpasa]

Dec 1, 2010 14:52:57 GMT -5 Jack said:

Pulse's hysterical rendering of Idol's 'rapid decent' and 'impending cancellation' is so woefully overstated.

I agree, but of course it's going to continually go down. It's still a cable network powerhouse, but every television show has eventually got to meet it's end. This season is going to be a disaster in comparison to past seasons, no doubt. It's painfully evident that the talent is weaker, and without any of the original judges, the flair that made American Idol what it was is gone. Yeah, the core show's still there, but the hook (per se) is gone.

[Rurry]

I predict a large ratings drop this year. I think they will slip well below 15 million, maybe moreso. When you factor in the average season-by-season losses they've been having with the inevitable ratings drop because of Simon's departure, I think it could definitely fall out of the top spot this year.

To me Idol started losing it after Season 7, when they added Kara and changed the format. By that point it was obvious that things were only going downhill. Luckily Season 8 was pretty talented so there was still a pretty big level of interest but when the horrible Season 9 rolled around, you knew it was pretty much over. Now, I don't think it's on cancellation watch or anything - it's just not anything close to the pop culture force it was at one time.

[shawnshamrock]

Is American Idol really trying another season? J-Lo as a judge for real?. I mean once X Factor hits the states everyone will forget about IDOL.

Least seems that some of the XFactor winners have been able to hold up their careers a bit longer over in the uk. Even though the music scene is a bit different over there.

Just the point Alexandra Burke, Shayne Ward, Leona Lewis, (too early to call on Joe, and Leon has to release another album yet.) Have all had pretty decent careers after winning.

[atlantaboy]

Dec 1, 2010 1:34:58 GMT -5 MSradio said:

I think it can... but for that to happen the following needs to come into fruition:

1. A girl MUST win.
4. No more white guys with guitars.
5. Girl must be commercial and have a big voice a la Carrie/ Kelly/ Jordin.
7. Must be connected to either Country/ PopRock/ or R&B genre. No folk singers.

Don't really see how A. I. has any control over this - there were plenty of females with big voices last season, and they lost

Personally, I think the biggest problem is that for the last 2-3 years the winners (and runners up) have had 1-2 big hits and then disappeared, so it kinda gives the winner a loss of cred. IMO - that and the fact that the show's been on for so long and it's starting to run its course

[Jack]

Dec 2, 2010 1:37:05 GMT -5 shawnshamrock said:

Just the point Alexandra Burke, Shayne Ward, Leona Lewis, (too early to call on Joe, and Leon has to release another album yet.) Have all had pretty decent careers after winning.

Defo. Who needs Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson or Kelly Clarkson when you've got Shayne Ward and all his successes? Wigs snatched, am I right? (Not too early to call Joe - dead in the water, Leon too).

Up until the last year or two, the American Idols have generally been far more successful. Rewriting history isn't going to help anybody.

[franklin]

Yes. Have Kelly Clarkson sing on every week.

[tinawina]

Dec 1, 2010 18:35:27 GMT -5 Rurry said:

I predict a large ratings drop this year. I think they will slip well below 15 million, maybe moreso. When you factor in the average season-by-season losses they've been having with the inevitable ratings drop because of Simon's departure, I think it could definitely fall out of the top spot this year.

Now, I don't think it's on cancellation watch or anything - it's just not anything close to the pop culture force it was at one time.

That's it in a nutshell.

Up until last season, the ratings dips were on par with the overall drop in network TV viewership. Idol was losing viewers, but so was everyone else.

Last year was the first REAL dip. And it was Simon's final season.

I think the 2 combined will make it hard for the show to bounce back, and it might struggle to stay number 1 for the first time ever.

But that TV show makes serious money. It remains by far the most popular show with 35-45 year old women, and advertisers love them since they tend to control the purse strings for their families. PLUS, Idol generates revenue not only from the commercials, but for the show sponsors product placements from Ford, Coke, etc and the ITunes downloads, and the AT&T voting.

The TV show is a ridiculous cash cow and would still be if it was the number 8 show.

But the pup culture buzz may never come back. They might get a winner that sells better to their audience next year, but beyond that I don't know if anyone other than the viewing audience will ever care again.

[Feelin'.$$$hady]

Of course it can - the solution is called X-factor . Bring it on - i'm very excited. Loooove the UK-version.

[carrieidol1]

American Idol is done. They've failed to launch a real superstar since 2006 when Daughtry became big, and Chris didn't even win. A large part in what fueled the show was the popularity and success of the most recent "graduating class". Even if the success didn't last long for the previous winners/finalists, they still had enough hype to keep the show relevant year round. Now, the winner can't even sell 50,000. The objective of the show was to launch superstars, they have four at the most; Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Daughtry... J.Hud, Fantasia, Clay, etc are arguable. Idol is done and has been in terms of objective since season 6, really. Of course they are a ratings monster, until that changes, they'll milk the show for every penny it could possibly be worth.

[malwaredie]

American Idol died when bland and mediocre or worse vocalists and performers like Kris Allen and Lee DeWyze won. It can be revived, but the chances aren't looking very good.

[Deleted]

It may still bring in viewers (comparing it to something like Survivor) but whats the point if successful careers are no longer coming out of the show? Its a total waste to even be signing and promoting contestants at this point who arent even having any success

[MSradio]

Dec 2, 2010 5:55:15 GMT -5 atlantaboy said:

Dec 1, 2010 1:34:58 GMT -5 MSradio said:

I think it can... but for that to happen the following needs to come into fruition:

1. A girl MUST win.
4. No more white guys with guitars.
5. Girl must be commercial and have a big voice a la Carrie/ Kelly/ Jordin.
7. Must be connected to either Country/ PopRock/ or R&B genre. No folk singers.

Don't really see how A. I. has any control over this - there were plenty of females with big voices last season, and they lost

Personally, I think the biggest problem is that for the last 2-3 years the winners (and runners up) have had 1-2 big hits and then disappeared, so it kinda gives the winner a loss of cred. IMO - that and the fact that the show's been on for so long and it's starting to run its course

Not really, only Katie and she was very cookie cutter.

The only female that could have been successful last season was Katelyn, maybe Crystal... though neither had a big voice.

Lilly? No
Ashley? No
Katelyn? No
Crystal? No

I guess Siobhan had a big voice but she was just too out there, and not commercial.

[MSradio]

Dec 2, 2010 19:29:40 GMT -5 @jazzysoul47 said:

It may still bring in viewers (comparing it to something like Survivor) but whats the point if successful careers are no longer coming out of the show? Its a total waste to even be signing and promoting contestants at this point who arent even having any success

Produce good talent on the show and not faux not off Chad Kroeger wanna - be's and maybe we'll a difference in sales.

The promotion is there, the audience is there, the last two winner's have been horrible.

[Janhova's Witness]

Who still watches Idol, though? Nobody important. Soon enough the advertisers will realize this and Fox will pull the plug.

[shawnshamrock]

Jennifer Hudson and Daughtry are fine, my overall point was about winners.

Out of 9 seasons they have had only...
Kelly and Carrie holding solid careers.. Jordin has yet to do much with her newest album..

The other winners.
Ruben, Fantasia, Taylor Hicks,
David Cook and Kris Allen I forgot who sings what they are too similar imo.

It just seems they can't get it right with an actual winner..

Makes me wonder what difference it would have made if say Adam Lambert, or Daughtry had won. Would their careers be on the same path?

[Deleted]

Excuse me but Fantasia has held a solid career. Im tired of people writing her off. She has sold millions of albums and has had several huge R&B hits the latest being only a couple months ago. She has been one of the most successful contestants. She may not have had the same level of success as Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood because she has never even attempted crossover success but she is going on 6 and a half years since she won American Idol and still selling well and scoring major R&B hits

[Jack]

Dec 2, 2010 21:01:56 GMT -5 @jazzysoul47 said:

Excuse me but Fantasia has held a solid career. Im tired of people writing her off. She has sold millions of albums and has had several huge R&B hits the latest being only a couple months ago. She has been one of the most successful contestants. She may not have had the same level of success as Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood because she has never even attempted crossover success but she is going on 6 and a half years since she won American Idol and still selling well and scoring major R&B hits

Exactly. Huge number ones on R&B radio, three million albums sold, Grammy nominations, number one tv movies, number one books, $50 million worth of tickets sales generated on Broadway. People writing of R&B artists cause they don't listen to or involve themselves with R&B is kind of irritating.

[Mack]

Dec 1, 2010 10:13:38 GMT -5 @peigan68 said:

In these days of Britney, Kesha, Rihanna and Katy, is it really that important that the winner of American Idol be able to sing that well?

Just a question.

Do you ever stop talking about Britney?

Just a question.

[Rurry]

The purpose of Idol was not to 'launch superstars'. It was to make money. The making stars thing was a nice side effect.

[carrieidol1]

Dec 2, 2010 21:08:09 GMT -5 Jack said:

Dec 2, 2010 21:01:56 GMT -5 @jazzysoul47 said:

Excuse me but Fantasia has held a solid career. Im tired of people writing her off. She has sold millions of albums and has had several huge R&B hits the latest being only a couple months ago. She has been one of the most successful contestants. She may not have had the same level of success as Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood because she has never even attempted crossover success but she is going on 6 and a half years since she won American Idol and still selling well and scoring major R&B hits

Exactly. Huge number ones on R&B radio, three million albums sold, Grammy nominations, number one tv movies, number one books, $50 million worth of tickets sales generated on Broadway. People writing of R&B artists cause they don't listen to or involve themselves with R&B is kind of irritating.

You're right, in her own right she's a superstar. Compare her success to Kelly or Carrie, however, and Fantasia's career isn't much. I love Fantasia, but it's highly arguable that she can be considered one of the show's top superstars. In my opinion, Fantasia has always been underrated partly because of her associated genre, that doesn't change the fact that she isn't as big as Kelly or Carrie though.