American Idol's Final Season...

[JACKIE]

As we all know by now... next season will be the last for American Idol.  And it got me thinking....what do you think the final season will be like?

I hope they go back to doing a results show bc it just doesnt feel the same without a results show!

I would love for Paula, Simon and Randy to be the judges the final season (not sure this will happen bc the current three are appartently coming back).

I would love for the last season to be an "all star" kinda theme.   Taking all hollywood, semi finalists from all past seasons compete.  Maybe include other people who made it far but never had post idol sucess (like Laytoya London, Vonzell Soloman, etc).

I'm excited.  I bet we will see Kelly singing AMLT for the finale.

thoughts?

[BDGeek]

The season finale would be the perfect opportunity for Carrie and Kelly to finally duet.

[Air Jordin]

All of the winners on stage at the same time (preferably on a day that Caleb has a prior commitment)

[carrieidol1]

Hoping they go all out.

All the Idols together, Kelly and Carrie duet, maybe have some of the most notable performances re-performed by Idols; Kelly's "Stuff Like That There", Carrie's "Alone", etc... Pull out ALL the stops!

Expecting all previous judges to make appearances throughout the season, as well as winners and notable finalists. I'm sure producers are already booking as many people as possible. Should be pretty epic!

The promo will probably be pretty epic, too.

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

Even though it is the final season, I could seem them being cheap in light of the plummeting ratings and relegating the legacy aspect of the show to either a series of montages or a single episode containing clips in a documentary style program with the various contestants, producers, judges, etc. talking about it.

[The Upper Hand]

May 25, 2015 1:03:12 GMT -5 JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME said:

Even though it is the final season, I could seem the being cheap in light of the plummeting ratings and relegating the legacy aspect of the show to either a series of montages or a single episode containing clips in a documentary style program with the various contestants, producers, judges, etc. talking about it.

True :/

[mkarns]

May 23, 2015 21:41:13 GMT -5 carrieidol1 said:

Hoping they go all out.

All the Idols together, Kelly and Carrie duet, maybe have some of the most notable performances re-performed by Idols; Kelly's "Stuff Like That There", Carrie's "Alone", etc... Pull out ALL the stops!

Expecting all previous judges to make appearances throughout the season, as well as winners and notable finalists. I'm sure producers are already booking as many people as possible. Should be pretty epic!

The promo will probably be pretty epic, too.

Don't know about ALL previous judges. We can probably scratch Mariah off the list, as she calls AI "the worst experience of [her] life". (Even worse than struggling to get a record deal or the Glitter breakdown?)

[toomuchboy]

Somehow I doubt Nicki would want to be involved either. Not sure about Paula--didn't she leave because she felt insulted that she was paid less the other three (including Randy)?

[14887fan]

I think the season itself will be nostalgic and reflective of the show's success. They'll plug and milk the impact they've made in pop culture and how they've changed the landscaping of the music industry, and rightfully so. Without this show, things would be so, so much different. It's crazy to think that we may not have ever gotten some of the biggest hits of this century had this show not existed. Imagine not having the cultural impact of "Since U Been Gone", "Before He Cheats", "Jesus Take the Wheel" and the endless memes and Vines it's inspired, "Home", "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", and to other extents, the absolute hysteria that the likes of Clay Aiken, David Archuleta, Justin Guarini, and Adam Lambert spawned within the gay and female fanbase of this show (so, 80% of this show's fanbase, historically, lol). There'd be eleven Grammys that would've gone to other winners and a freakin' Oscar would've gone to someone else. It's just crazy to think how significant the impact this show has made in the entertainment world, and the modern day culture in general. So this final season will likely pimp all of that out + more for all that they can, and I doubt Fox will spare much of an expense. What the hell do they have to lose? The ratings are already in the gutter, its core fanbase is gone, and it hasn't produced a real star that's made a genuine impact since Phillip Phillips in 2012. The finale will probably be a large, massive event that'll be promoted for months upon months, and the star power they will likely draw in is going to be incredible. They'll go back to the finales of the show's heydays in the first ten seasons where it was a television event, like the Grammys or a primetime special, for people to watch. Will it draw the same size of a crowd that it did during those years? Absolutely not, but it'll draw a crowd significant enough to end on a nice note.

May 29, 2015 15:03:53 GMT -5 toomuchboy said:

Somehow I doubt Nicki would want to be involved either. Not sure about Paula--didn't she leave because she felt insulted that she was paid less the other three (including Randy)?

Nicki's had nothing but kind things to say about the show and has even reached out to contestants of her season to help them out. Pretty sure she even had Burnell Taylor (6th or 7th place of the season she was a judge) as a backup vocalist for a show of hers? I can't remember exactly, but yeah. With Mariah undoubtedly not going back (and understandably so, as Season 12 was an absolute atrocity due to the since-fired executive producers that turned it into a celebrity judge death match -- a real shame considering the level of talent the top five girls had) and Nicki never once indicating that she didn't enjoy the show, she'd likely be at the finale. 

Same with Paula, and she's even returned several times since. She showed up at Simon Cowell's farewell ditty during the finale of the ninth season, and she even came back during Season 12 to surprise Candice during one week when she did one of Paula's songs. (I think it was Candice, at least...?)

So yeah, I think all of the judges will be back minus Mariah, and her absence really won't matter since all people really want to see is Simon Cowell & Paula Abdul on the same stage again. If Randy hadn't overstayed (extensively overstayed...) his welcome on the show, I think everyone would be interested in seeing the original three together, but with this past season being the only season he hasn't been on, I doubt people miss him that much. I sure don't, at least, lol.

[ant]

May 23, 2015 15:12:57 GMT -5 JACKIE said:

As we all know by now... next season will be the last for American Idol.  And it got me thinking....what do you think the final season will be like?

I hope they go back to doing a results show bc it just doesnt feel the same without a results show!

I would love for Paula, Simon and Randy to be the judges the final season (not sure this will happen bc the current three are appartently coming back).

I would love for the last season to be an "all star" kinda theme.   Taking all hollywood, semi finalists from all past seasons compete.  Maybe include other people who made it far but never had post idol sucess (like Laytoya London, Vonzell Soloman, etc).

I'm excited.  I bet we will see Kelly singing AMLT for the finale.

thoughts?

This is actually a cool idea, but I don't see it happening.  They'll likely want a new crop of talent and new face (as usual) for the final season.  

Although it would be cool if they allowed past contestants who made it to the Top 24/36/etc but not the Top 12/13/10/etc to audition and compete again.  I'm still pissed that Alaina Whitaker from Season 7 didn't make it into the Top 12.  :(

[toomuchboy]

May 29, 2015 17:06:00 GMT -5 14887fan said:

Nicki's had nothing but kind things to say about the show and has even reached out to contestants of her season to help them out. Pretty sure she even had Burnell Taylor (6th or 7th place of the season she was a judge) as a backup vocalist for a show of hers?

I remember her having Burnell perform with her, but I hadn't heard her say anything about the show although she's said nice things about the contestants from her year. I'm surprised if she did, especially since they wouldn't even let her perform while she was a judge.

It'll be strange to see the new winners since season 9 standing alongside the older ones.

May 29, 2015 17:26:57 GMT -5 ant said:

I'm still pissed that Alaina Whitaker from Season 7 didn't make it into the Top 12.

Me, too.

[Future Captain]

The only thing I want from the final season of AI is a Kelly/Carrie duet, period.

[ant]

Isn't Kelly supposedly going to do a country album next? I'd love for her album to include a duet with Carrie and for it be a single right around the time of the AI finale. Then on the finale, Carrie can sing "Alone" and Kelly can do "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (probably considered their best performances while they were contestants) and then they can break out into their duet together. It would be great promo for the single/Kelly's country album. But I'm not sure if her album would even be out by next year...

[Deleted]

May 25, 2015 1:03:12 GMT -5 JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME said:

Even though it is the final season, I could seem them being cheap in light of the plummeting ratings and relegating the legacy aspect of the show to either a series of montages or a single episode containing clips in a documentary style program with the various contestants, producers, judges, etc. talking about it.

Unfortunately, I think things will be closer to this than a proper ending, for two reasons:

1) crap ratings, which don't give Fox or the show much incentive to spend a lot of money
2) almost no one connected with the show now is an 'original' judge, producer, or staff member. With the slate wiped virtually clean of anyone who has a true nostalgic tie toward the show, I don't expect them to go all out in a way that would be satisfying to long-time/former viewers. Even if they wanted to, they just wouldn't be capable of it. They won't know all of the history and I'm sure they don't keep up with whatever Idol message boards are still around to see what people would want.

With that said, an attempt will be made. I think they will start by trying to get Nick Fradiani a hit (well, they're already working on that) so that they can say 'look, we're in our last year and we're STILL producing stars!' It will feel hollow since the two winners before him were left to eat dust, but w/e. There will be clips and flashbacks throughout the season. They'll bring back previous contestants or maybe do some 'where are they now' segments, and Paula, Simon, and Randy will come back for the finale. Kelly will perform AMLT; that is not even up for debate. Overall, it will be cute but fall far short of what is proper.

Things that SHOULD happen but I'll be shocked if they get it right or even do it at all:

- for one episode, the original 3 judges should come back to judge. I don't even care if they just ham it up and play to their cliches the whole time, I just think that would be so much fun and the audience would eat it up. Would likely bring back some old viewers, too, so this would be a good idea for the top 4 or top 5 episode to hopefully get people to stick around for the last few weeks to see which of the remaining contestants will win.

- Bringing back some of the more memorable 'bad' contestants - William Hung, Pants on the Ground dude, that guy who sang I Am Your Brother, etc. If not possible to get them all there, flashbacks to their auditions is acceptable

- Bringing back some of the most memorable/beloved non-winners. Great excuse to locate the likes of Bo Bice, Elliott Yamin, Melinda Doolittle, and Haley Reinhart; brag about the acting successes of JHud and Kat McPhee; and placate the Glamberts who think that the entire world is tuning in just for Adam and will make every corner of the internet an unbearable hell for the following week or ten if he isn't highlighted. And Clay, of course. Speaking of, I would love a joke skit lampshading all of the crazy fanbases the show has attracted over the years.

- Just before announcing the 15th and final winner, all 14 previous winners should be lined up on stage. Super dramatic 'LIGHTS, PLEASE' as all but one spotlight beams down on Ryan, the two finalists, and that final winners' spot at the end of the line. Winner is announced and he or she is welcomed to the club by the previous 14. There has never been any season where all the winners up to that time were there at the same time; the closest they came was season 9 when everyone showed up to say goodbye to Simon, but the show waited so late to try to get them all together that David Cook was already committed to a charity event and couldn't make it. The former Idol stan in me NEEDS that one epic shot of all 14 on stage at the same time, but I really think we aren't going to get it because Idol likes to ignore its fails and Phillip Phillips probably still thinks he's above it/is still looking at everybody like #BBHMM. So we'll probably just get shots of Kris Allen sitting in the audience while Lee/Candice/Caleb are lucky to have their faces flashed on screen during a quick montage, and the only ones who even get to perform will probably be Kelly and Carrie aka the two winners that most validated this show's entire existence.

- If they have even a modicum of cleverness in their bones, they'll make sure the closing song is not the 15th winner, but Kelly singing AMLT and raining confetti down on her head in the final moments...bonus points if they drag out the entire Season 1 top 10 and have them come out to perform that last line with her. Even a merely occasional viewer of the show would recognize the sentimentality in that. Knowing Kelly she will insist on performing earlier, as not to take away attention from the final winner even though I can already tell you now that no one really cares about the 15th season winner enough to be upset if he or she doesn't get the last song.

[Robert J]

^ Actually you're highlighting my fear about what they might do with the final season. What used to set AI apart from the other shows was, post-auditions, it focused on the contestant. An all-season celebration ending with Kelly singing AMLT after the winner has already been crowned would completely subvert what the show is/was about.