The End of Idol?

So American Idol has concluded another season with yet another surprise. After Tuesday’s performance, the general consensus online, in print, and talking with fans was that Crystal Bowersox ran away with the competition. Lee fell flat at the finish line. The judges knew it. He knew it. We knew it. Crystal had been consistent throughout the season. Her final performance was perhaps her best. As one journalist wrote, in their critique of Lee it was as if the judges were giving him a sweet goodbye. So what happened between Tuesday night and Wednesday night when Crystal, graciously, acknowledged that she had lost to someone that many would struggle to even call a “performer.”

AI has become (and probably always was) a popularity contest, not a singing competition. The viewership increasingly skews young and female, an audience that is more apt to text and call and vote for a young male, regardless of their musical talent. Ann Powers in the LA Times summed it up fairly well. “Lee DeWyze, a perfectly charming and seemingly overwhelmed kid who apparently has no idea how to forge a new pop style.” In comments, one reader observed “males just have a built-in advantage among majority of voters (if the majority is "tweener" girls).” Like last year’s runner up, Adam Lambert, Crystal will likely go on to reach more fame and commercial success than Lee, though the spotlight at least momentarily has been deflected from her.

The show last night also lacked the energy of previous AI finales, particularly last year’s. Perhaps that is, in part, because much of the program evolved around the departure of the true star of the show, Simon Cowell. It felt more like a series finale as compared to a season finale. On Facebook this morning, a smattering of comments include “Simon’s last season is my last season,” “jumped the shark,” “what the f*%# was that?” This season, the show never seemed to get fully in gear. And now it faces even greater challenges. Primarily, they need to find not only an adequate replacement for Simon, but someone who can take charge of the show and insert an acerbic wit that only Simon was capable of. They must be harsh, perhaps a bit nasty, but good hearted as well. And they must be able to control the panel. Halfway through this season, Simon seemed to check out, leaving the show flat (it also didn’t help that his side-kick Paula was absent … Ellen was no replacement). The producers must also freshen up the show. The format, after nearly a decade, is stale. And perhaps most important, they need to find a better crop of talent.

OK, so it’s only a TV … granted, the most watched TV show in America. Perhaps that is why there is such passion among its viewers. But as the show declines in quality, popularity (as it has this year), and in believability, we may be getting to the point where we will be hearing American Idol singing its own swan song.