American Idol is in a very precarious position. If it doesn’t have a great season, the show is in danger of ending. It was once the show everyone was dying to see. It rocked the ratings and demolished competition. Musicians from across the country were auditioning for their shot at stardom, even if it was only five minutes in the audition episodes. Now, it features two new judges: Steven Tyler from Aerosmith and Jennifer Lopez. The problem is that people are starting to move on.
People are saying Idol should try to lose the tough judge image and survive without Simon Cowell, a man who at times was hated by viewers. Let’s face it though, he was one of the best parts of the show. He was brutally honest and didn’t care about the singers’ feelings. Many times he gave them the exact motivation that they needed to prove themselves.
The fact is that he was real. He said what was on his mind. The music industry is a vicious business. It’s not a feel-good atmosphere where people who give their best shot get signed to record deals. I’m sorry, that’s not how it works.
Now that Idol has less of an edge judge-wise, we might not have the artists pushing their limits as much. Think about it. If someone says to you “Yeah, it was good, but it’s not quite there,” you’ll probably work a little harder on it, but if someone tells you point blank “That was awful, there was no passion and I didn’t like it,” you’re going to go home furious and come back with an energy to prove yourself like no one knew you could.
The music industry already has a number of people who are good but not great. Don’t get me wrong, I respect anyone who has the courage to write his or her own music and put it out there because that takes an amazing amount of guts. No matter what, they should be applauded. That doesn’t, however, mean the song itself should be praised. I’m sure Christina Aguilera put a ton of work into Bionic, but it was a bad album with bad songs.
We shouldn’t feel bad for contestants who get bad comments from judges, because the show isn’t about how hard they worked, but rather who is good enough to become an “idol.”
The show needs to get another Carrie Underwood. If you think about it, she’s the only contestant who has really been a blowout success. Kelly Clarkson has done great as well, but the difference is when I think of Carrie Underwood I don’t think American Idol.
The show needs to produce another star whose career overshadows anything they ever did on Idol. You can’t sustain a show over years and years if the contestants who win aren’t dynamic enough to hold people’s attention for more than a year or two. Sure, some people can rattle off every winner from each year, but then again, a lot of people probably have to think for a second about a couple of them. You aren’t an idol if people can’t remember your name off the top of their head.
American Idol is no longer the new show. It no longer has the young audience’s attention. It doesn’t have the one judge who everyone loves to hate but hates to admit is right a lot of the time. It has lost its edge. If judges don’t push the contestants and it doesn’t showcase an amazing breakout star this season, its days are numbered. Even Jenny from the block can’t help that.