Pop Culture Junkies Anonymous

American Idol: Past, Present… Future?

Eleven seasons ago, American Idol was the show that brought former pop-star Paula Abdul back into the spotlight and introduced us to musician/record producer Randy Jackson and UK A&R Simon Cowell. We grew to love the combination of Cowell’s blunt, sometimes too blunt (often seen as tool-worthy) criticism with Abdul playing the nice character while coming across as dazed and Jackson’s usage of the word “Dawg.” While viewers were there to cheer on the likes of Kelly Clarkson (who is now a judge on another singing competition show, ABC’s “Duets”) Carrie Underwood, Fantasia Barrino, Taylor Hicks, and Jordin Sparks to name a few, people enjoyed the on-air antics of Abdul and Cowell’s sharp tongue, tuning in to hear what Abdul and Cowell had to say about the new batch of stars on the rise.

Around the 7th season, the novelty of the show started to wear off, and with the exceptions of the adorable David Archuleta and the glam-rock style of Adam Lambert, the talent presented didn’t stand out like it did in previous seasons. Let’s be honest, the talent got boring, so people stopped watching. I, too lost interest in the 7th season. In the 8th season, the show attempted to make things interesting by adding a 4th judge, songwriter Kara DioGuardi. Abdul was ousted in the 9th season, and her replacement was comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, which, although DeGeneres has a likeable personality, left viewers wondering “Why is she judging a singing competition?” DeGeneres, DioGuardi (she wasn’t received well by the audiance) and show veteran Cowell were out at the end of the 9th season. Cowell went on to host the next UK originated competition show brought to America, “The X Factor” and brought back everyone’s favorite nice judge Abdul leaving Jackson on the American Idol island all by himself, dawg.

There also was a new wave of competition shows on the rise boasting star power. With ”The X-Factor” having judges Cowell, L.A. Reid, Britney Spears, and Demi Lovato (Lovato and Spears are replacing Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger,) CBS’s “The Voice” having Christina Aguilera, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, Cee-Lo Green and Blake Shelton, and “Duets” with Clarkson, Robin Thicke, John Legend, and Jennifer Nettles, Idol began to face stiff competition.

The 10th season brought Jackson back with two new judges, rock legend and Aerosmith front-man Steven Tyler and singer, actress, dancer, designer, and entrepreneur Jennifer Lopez. On paper, the addition of Tyler and Lopez sounded like rating gold, but the reality was, while the show saw a minor spike in ratings in the beginning of the 10th season, the show lost 23% of its views by the end of the 11th season, according to USA Today. This week, Tyler announced his departure from Idol, with Lopez doing the same the following day, and rumors have begun to surface that Jackson is also ready to leave the show after 11 seasons. So, what is next for American Idol?

Initial reports by People Magazine and other news outlets stated that Mariah Carey is in serious talks to be a judge on the show. Carey was originally in talks to be a judge on “The X Factor” with Cowell and Reid confirming her involvement with the show, but season one came and passed, with no Carey in sight. There have also been reports from various news outlets including Rolling Stone Magazine that the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin has expressed interest in being a judge for the singing competition. Canadian-born singing superstar Celine Dion and the reigning Queen of Hip-Hip Soul Mary J. Blige’s names have also been shopped around for the opportunity.

Carey would serve as a necessity to the show. Aside from bringing her legions of unwavering fans to the TV sets every week, Carey is an accomplished and well known SINGER, something the judges table has been missing in all 11 seasons. Plus, we all know Carey will bring some personality to the table, and anyone who has watched her in an interview knows this. She has a larger-than-life diva mentality with bird tendencies, (example: ”Them chickens is ash & I’m lotion”) a grade A shade thrower, still acts and dresses like she’s 18-years-old, and can talk for days with her New Yorker/I’m a Diva, dah-ling accent. Carey can bring back ratings and breath new life into the show.

Franklin, renowned as one of the greatest vocalists of all time, too will fill that void of having a true vocalist on the judges panel that Idol lacks. I also see Franklin being 100% honest will each and every contestant like Cowell was but not as mean, yet giving words of encouragement to all of the newcomers (listen to Trey Songz’s debut album “Just Gotta Make It” to see what I mean.) Being the music legend that she is, Franklin will also bring her loyal fans to the show, opening the door for the show to win older viewers.

The show should go back to the format of 4 judges like it was in the 8th and 9th seasons and the formula that their competitors are using, with two vocalists (I’m over here rooting for Carey and Franklin) a musician/producer judge to provide the point of view as a musician writing and working with vocalists and an A&R to give the real deal as to what music industry executives are looking for in signing and working with a singer. The A&R and musician elements of American Idol are what made the show more realistic in the beginning, because we all know that singers do not only work with other singers in the bsuiness of music. While I highly doubt that Clive Davis (who served as a guest judge on season 3 and picked the songs for the top 3 finalists for a few more) will want do the job, I would’t mind seeing him judge the new batch of talent, since he is the man behind many music legends. Although he is not as seen publicly as Davis and Reid, Barry Weiss of Island Def Jam and Universal Music Group could fill this void, or the show can have Motown legend Berry Gordy serve as the needed A&R judge. As far as musicians/producer go, there are many worthy to sit at the Idol table. I would personally petition for Quincy Jones and/or Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black”) for this position, with Jones being a legend in music and Ronson being successful and acclaimed in recent years. And, of course, Ryan Seacrest isn’t going anywhere.

In all, American Idol is going to have to pull out the big guns (and MILLIONS of dollars) in order to be #1 again and compete with the other singing competition shows on TV.