Coming up on its 15th season, Fox’s once-powerhouse reality/talent show, is calling it quits. Fox has confirmed that that same judges from last season, Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick, Jr. and Keith Urban will return for the final season. Ryan Seacrest, who has been the show’s host for the entire run, will return for the last season as well.
At the height of the show, American Idol drew in more than 30 million viewers for its season finale and was televised twice a year. But those days are long gone and the ratings have fallen almost every season since Idol’s height.
Since the departure of the series’ most distinctive judge, Simon Cowell, (to launch his own reality talent competition, X-Factor), the ratings have been struggling. Some speculate that although X-Factor only lasted 3 seasons, it bit away a large chuck of Idol’s viewership that they were never able to get back. Although American Idol still brings in more viewers (11 million) than a lot of shows, producing the show is very costly. Also, there haven’t been too many noteworthy stars produced in the last few years. We did get a few great entertainers, most notably Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia Barrino, Adam Lambert and Jordin Sparks.
While American Idol is going away, it leaves behind a host of other shows that may not have been as popular today had it not been for Idol. Shows like Dancing with the Stars, America’s Got Talent and The Voice, follow similar formats in a reality-based talent competition. The Voice is currently doing exceptionally well.
Fox has stated that this last season will “pay tribute” to the previous seasons. That will probably mean lots of flashbacks and appearances by past guest judges. The one thing that really stood out with Idol was the audience getting to know the contestants and the viewers’ ability to vote on the show’s winner. Week after week, you looked forward to seeing how well your favorites were going to do and who was going to be eliminated.
It’s been a good run for American Idol. Hopefully the final season will provide lots of entertainment for it’s dedicated fans.
If you are feeling especially nostalgic, check out American Idol - The Best & Worst of American Idol ( Limited Edition )
on Amazon.