What's Wrong With 'American Idol' This Year?. When current 'American Idol' frontrunners Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox stepped up to the mics last night to deliver their version of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová's Academy Award winning song 'Falling Slowly,' fans around the country held their breath in anticipation. And the two didn't disappoint, knocking the duet out of the park with a rendition that was already being talked and tweeted about before it even ended.
It's about time. Because unfortunately, as nice as the duet was, most people weren't talking about the performance itself. Instead, they were asking this question: Why has it taken so long for the show to provide a moment worth discussing? Why, in other words, has 'American Idol' been so bad?
What's Wrong With 'American Idol' This Year?
Of course, complaining about a perceived decline in quality on 'American Idol' has been a favorite pastime for pundits almost from the moment 'Idol' hit the airwaves. Season 5's final showdown between Kat McPhee and Taylor Hicks still has fans scratching their heads, while season 6's Sanjaya-heavy lineup was widely panned at the time as the worst ever. Yet this season it's not just the press complaining about a decline in quality; regular fans and 'American Idol' viewers clearly feel the same, as proven by the one vote that never lies -- the ratings.
Yes, for the first time in a half decade, 'American Idol' has been losing the ratings wars, first to the Winter Olympics and then to 'Dancing With the Stars.' And with the dip in viewers has come a corresponding dip in cultural relevance, as Fox's fellow song-and-dance show 'Glee' has seized the hip buzz that 'Idol' once owned. It's gotten to the point where, like many fans, we're considering skipping season 10 of 'Idol' after years of devoted viewing. Which leads us to add our voice to the chorus: What's wrong with 'American Idol' this year?
Well, there are a lot of factors, but after staying up all night crunching numbers and parsing footage from this season, we've identified five key ingredients that 'American Idol' is missing this season:
• Talent It's not as though the lack of talent comes as any surprise. After all, this is the ninth season for the show, meaning that by this point, most of the nation's undiscovered stars have already been discovered. And 'American Idol' has done its best to address this, first by raising the maximum age and then by allowing contestants to play instruments and take a more active role in song selection and arrangement. Despite these efforts by the producers, though, this season's batch of singers has to rank as the weakest in the show's history. Which leads us to the next thing missing from the show:
• Drama Last night's episode might have finally given the show its first taste of real drama, as Lee DeWyze has emerged as a clear challenger to presumed favorite Crystal Bowersox. Which is nice, but we're 38 episodes into the season. When there are only two standout performers on the show, it's hard to get worked up over who's going to come in 11th; it's all pretty much treading water until the finale, and the ratings have reflected this viewer indifference.
• Personality And of course, the other problem with Lee and Crystal, as much as we love their voices, is that neither of them exactly has the most engaging or charismatic personality. And that goes double for fellow remaining contestants Big Mike Lynch and Casey James. Indeed, Siobhan Magnus was the only interesting character on the show this year, not only for her window-shattering banshee shrieking but also for her glassblowing antics and sartorial confusion. But one weirdo isn't quite enough to keep the entire show afloat. Unless, of course, that weirdo is ...
• Paula Let's face it: Nobody expected to actually miss Paula Abdul when she left the show. But while replacement Ellen DeGeneres has been okay, she doesn't have that certain je ne sais quois that Paula used to bring to the show. Nor can Kara DioGuardi's staged banter with Simon come close to taking the place of the authentic, off-the-cuff craziness that used to ensue on the judging panel. Paula may not have always made much sense ("The moth who finds the melon finds the corn flake," anyone?), but at this point we'd trade both Kara and Ellen to get her back.
• Simon ... That is, of course, as long as Simon would still be around to talk to her. Which highlights the biggest thing missing this year: Simon Cowell's attention. Frankly, the entire production seems to have been mailing it in this season, something that we chalk up to Simon having mentally checked out as he gets ready to launch his American version of 'X-Factor.' As Simon goes, so goes 'American Idol,' and if he's not interested in what's going on, then the viewers won't be either.
And that's perhaps the worst news of all for fans of 'American Idol.' Because if this is how bad it gets when Simon is still in the building, there's no limit to how far the show might fall when he's gone. Season 9 might be the worst season ever, but we have a bad feeling that it won't hold that title for long. ( aol.com )
It's about time. Because unfortunately, as nice as the duet was, most people weren't talking about the performance itself. Instead, they were asking this question: Why has it taken so long for the show to provide a moment worth discussing? Why, in other words, has 'American Idol' been so bad?
What's Wrong With 'American Idol' This Year?
Of course, complaining about a perceived decline in quality on 'American Idol' has been a favorite pastime for pundits almost from the moment 'Idol' hit the airwaves. Season 5's final showdown between Kat McPhee and Taylor Hicks still has fans scratching their heads, while season 6's Sanjaya-heavy lineup was widely panned at the time as the worst ever. Yet this season it's not just the press complaining about a decline in quality; regular fans and 'American Idol' viewers clearly feel the same, as proven by the one vote that never lies -- the ratings.
Yes, for the first time in a half decade, 'American Idol' has been losing the ratings wars, first to the Winter Olympics and then to 'Dancing With the Stars.' And with the dip in viewers has come a corresponding dip in cultural relevance, as Fox's fellow song-and-dance show 'Glee' has seized the hip buzz that 'Idol' once owned. It's gotten to the point where, like many fans, we're considering skipping season 10 of 'Idol' after years of devoted viewing. Which leads us to add our voice to the chorus: What's wrong with 'American Idol' this year?
Well, there are a lot of factors, but after staying up all night crunching numbers and parsing footage from this season, we've identified five key ingredients that 'American Idol' is missing this season:
• Talent It's not as though the lack of talent comes as any surprise. After all, this is the ninth season for the show, meaning that by this point, most of the nation's undiscovered stars have already been discovered. And 'American Idol' has done its best to address this, first by raising the maximum age and then by allowing contestants to play instruments and take a more active role in song selection and arrangement. Despite these efforts by the producers, though, this season's batch of singers has to rank as the weakest in the show's history. Which leads us to the next thing missing from the show:
• Drama Last night's episode might have finally given the show its first taste of real drama, as Lee DeWyze has emerged as a clear challenger to presumed favorite Crystal Bowersox. Which is nice, but we're 38 episodes into the season. When there are only two standout performers on the show, it's hard to get worked up over who's going to come in 11th; it's all pretty much treading water until the finale, and the ratings have reflected this viewer indifference.
• Personality And of course, the other problem with Lee and Crystal, as much as we love their voices, is that neither of them exactly has the most engaging or charismatic personality. And that goes double for fellow remaining contestants Big Mike Lynch and Casey James. Indeed, Siobhan Magnus was the only interesting character on the show this year, not only for her window-shattering banshee shrieking but also for her glassblowing antics and sartorial confusion. But one weirdo isn't quite enough to keep the entire show afloat. Unless, of course, that weirdo is ...
• Paula Let's face it: Nobody expected to actually miss Paula Abdul when she left the show. But while replacement Ellen DeGeneres has been okay, she doesn't have that certain je ne sais quois that Paula used to bring to the show. Nor can Kara DioGuardi's staged banter with Simon come close to taking the place of the authentic, off-the-cuff craziness that used to ensue on the judging panel. Paula may not have always made much sense ("The moth who finds the melon finds the corn flake," anyone?), but at this point we'd trade both Kara and Ellen to get her back.
• Simon ... That is, of course, as long as Simon would still be around to talk to her. Which highlights the biggest thing missing this year: Simon Cowell's attention. Frankly, the entire production seems to have been mailing it in this season, something that we chalk up to Simon having mentally checked out as he gets ready to launch his American version of 'X-Factor.' As Simon goes, so goes 'American Idol,' and if he's not interested in what's going on, then the viewers won't be either.
And that's perhaps the worst news of all for fans of 'American Idol.' Because if this is how bad it gets when Simon is still in the building, there's no limit to how far the show might fall when he's gone. Season 9 might be the worst season ever, but we have a bad feeling that it won't hold that title for long. ( aol.com )
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