American Idol is in a state of flux

Entertainment, Featured — By ken on August 8, 2010 at 2:04 pm

American Idol is in the process of revamping its line-up of judges and its format to combat slipping viewership and ratings.

From Wikipedia

American Idol is a reality television competition to find new solo singing talent. Part of the Idol franchise, it was created by Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show Pop Idol, of which two series were broadcast between 2001 and 2003. Debuting on June 11, 2002, as American Idol: The Search for a Superstar on the Fox network, the show has since become one of the most popular in the history of American television. It is currently the #1 program in the Nielsen ratings and is the only program to have been #1 for six consecutive seasons, surpassing All in the Family and The Cosby Show, which were both #1 for five consecutive seasons. 60 Minutes was also the #1 program for five seasons, but not in consecutive years.

Briton Simon Fuller is credited with being the creator of the Idol franchise, which has spread to a variety of countries and been instrumental in many other entertainment hits, such as ‘So You Think You Can Dance’. He’s also been responsible for managing numerous performers and entertainers from the Spice Girls and Annie Lennox to a stable of lucrative Idol artists.

Simon Fuller, Nigel Lythgoe and

Simon Cowell

Fuller’s company has been behind some of the biggest name in international music, sports and fashion thanks to his keen knack for capitalising on the demands of a young generation of consumers.

Fuller focuses on building fame, celebrity and capturing a demographic by giving customers what they want, rather than cultivating talent. Then as audience and customer interests changed, he has reinvent his services to cater.

His limitless enthusiasm for his business that kept him going through the occasion road hump such as being fired as manager of the Spice Girls. The Spice Girls might have found him to be too controlling a manager, but six months after rejecting Fuller’s guidance, the group ran out of steam and disbanded.

One criticism is that most of his Idol winners have a short-life span in the industry after their initial CD offering. So is Fuller’s philosophy to focused on the short-term surges of cash flow rather than artists with long-term sales potential? If this is so, then will the audience wise up to it?

A minority are becoming vocal as witnessed by the creation of protest sites such as Votefortheworst.com which hope to influence or infact skittle the Idol outcomes.

http://www.votefortheworst.com/page/1/about-us

Votefortheworst.com was started in 2004 to support voting for the entertaining contestants who the producers would hate to see win on American Idol. We vote en masse for the contestant that we feel provides the most entertaining performances that go against what the producers want in a winner and that annoy the viewing public. We don’t necessarily vote for the worst technical singer; we take into account many factors like the contestant’s personality, how well they dance and move around the stage, if they talk back to the judges or have an attitude, and how likely they are to annoy everyone when they stick around. We vote for the most entertaining contestant using our own criteria, but bad vocals are usually standard.

Another Briton on Fuller’s team is Nigel Lythgoe a television and film director and producer, and former dancer and choreographer. Lythgoe joined Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment group as President of 19 Television. He developed and produced a new show created by Fuller, called Pop Idol. This then became the global Idol franchise. In 2008, Lythgoe left American Idol and moved onto So You Think You Can Dance. Now Nigel Lythgoe has been named an executive producer of American Idol for its 10th season, starting in January 2011.

Meanwhile, the British music executive, television producer and entrepreneur Simon Cowell, is known in the United Kingdom and in the United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, and American Idol. Cowell has been much more than a judge on American Idol, he has also generated a perverse, yet entertaining element, in the manner by which he treats the contestants. For Cowell’s role on American Idol has been one of a love/hate relationship for viewers and contestants alike, with his wisecracks about the hopeful and their abilities. This has been an important ingredient to attract viewers to the show, for much depend on the contrived drama, delight or despair that is generated by the manipulation of aspiring contestants, who often have ambitions far beyond their talent. This Briton has a rare quality and knack for playing this role to perfection. Something others can imitate, but not all can truly emulate.

The success of the show not only depends on the singing skills and personality of the aspiring artists, but also their ability to cope in what can be perceived as a harsh environment. There’s a lot of disappointments in the entertainment industry with everything from negotiating the audition process onwards. Not to mention acquiring the skills and having real talent in the first place. All manner of obstacles may be in their path from manipulating agents, managers and employers to the hazards and pitfalls associated with being famous.

As blunt as Cowell often appears, it seemed he adheres to the philosophy that one must be cruel to be kind. For he gives them an honest glimpse of what they’ll encounter in the real world of entertainment. Its most unlikely anyone will do them any favours if they are lacking talent and even less so if no devious advantage can be taken of their good looks and figure, such as the infamous casting couch.

The arts communicate directly to our soul through our senses. Not everyone has that ability to influence us and not all tastes are the same. Tastes also vary over time and an artist may become unfashionable, or otherwise run their course. The likes of Madonna and Kylie Montague keep reinventing themselves to maintain their marketability. Idol has not produced much in the way of superstars, though a number of credible performers have gained fame in this way.

For Idol to remain significant, it like any artist must remain fashionable for the audience to keep the high ratings and remain a cash cow for the producers and the network. With the recent upheaval with judges, the show too will need to reinvent itself to remain relevant.

Ryan Seacrest talks…

AssociatedPress
‘American Idol’ host Ryan Seacrest shares his thoughts on the 10th season of the show, the judges panel, missing Simon Cowell and his girlfriend Julianne Hough. It could be weeks before we learn who the new “American Idol” judge is, according to host Ryan Seacrest.

Ellen DeGeneres Out As ‘American Idol’ Judge

Ellen DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedian, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season. She replaced Paula Abdul as a judge, but recently told the network and producers of her situation, “…my work schedule became more than I bargained for.”

DeGeneres is married to Australian actress Portia de Rossi.

AssociatedPress
Ellen DeGeneres is dancing off ‘American Idol’ after one season. If Fox’s hit show intends to revamp itself to stem a ratings slide, it has the opportunity to bring in two new faces for season 10 in January.

More rumours: Justin Timberlake to replace Simon Cowell?

ITN The Showbiz 411
Justin Timberlake is apparently in the frame to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol. Nigel Lythgoe, the English television and film director, producer and former dancer is also rumoured to become involved with the show once again. He is a judge on and Executive Produce of So You Think You Can Dance.

While a select number of American Idol participants have enjoyed success on the music charts, more recent acts have struggled to match the popularity of the early winners. It therefore appears that not only is the show losing viewers, but much of the retail gloss is disappearing too, even though the winners were the result of a so-called popularity vote. It has been argued that the mass of young girl voters give more attention to the cute young guys rather than the musically superior contestants. It may be argued that the voting system is more open to generating funds than generating an accurate result. For example, the same people voting many times may stack the votes in favour of a particular lobby?

Could it therefore be that American Idol has lost much of its relevance? Is this now the beginning of the end for the show… or can it reinvent itself?