DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Is American Idol Melting?
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©FOX, Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, Ryan Seacrest, Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban

Is American Idol melting?

The preliminary ratings, showing a 19% drop from last season’s premiere, would imply, “Yes”.

But FOX is still celebrating. Why?
Because though it lost 4.1 million viewers, 17.8 million still tuned in; pushing FOX to a ratings win over ABC, NBC, CBS and CW.

In other words, hold that fire Moses. Folks are still partying!
Just kidding. Just kidding!

Who are these 17.8 million?

Perhaps they’re fans of new judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban?
Perhaps folks tuning in to see Mariah and Nicki fight as supposedly “leaked” via video last Fall?
Or perhaps they’re families looking for children-friendly content that Modern Family and Nashville don’t offer?

Are you still tuning in?
Do you still like the show? Let me know. Really, I’m not bashing. I used to watch it.

Me and Idol

I’ve got to be honest. The last full season I watched was #3 when Fantasia won. So, I know Kelly Clarkson (who is still chart-topping to #1 after 10 years in the biz), Ruben Studdard (who has done gospel records, started a foundation for kids and lost 80 lbs as vegan), and Fantasia (whose had a mix of Broadway shows, reality shows and a roller coaster personal life).

By Season 3, I had picked up on the machine churning behind the scenes and knew too much about reality shows to believe that what was airing was actually all that was happening.

Fantasia confirmed in her autobiography what I had suspected all along: producers were pre-screening the talent, searching for great and horrible auditioners, through 3-4 rounds of auditions before anyone ever made it before the judges. I thought it was so cruel that the producers led artists on who were obviously not right for the show in order to make sport of them for entertainment. By now, everyone knows. But at the time, I was done.

I’m constantly reminded of Paul’s letter to believers in Ephesus about unity and use of their gifts. He encouraged them in Ephesians 4:15 that “speaking the truth in love” was the way in which they’d all mature in Christ. I know this is in reference to the Church, but truth applies across the board. The way that we help artists mature is not to lie to them for ratings. If someone cannot sing, they should not go before the judges and be torn down so that America can laugh at them. The Voice figured this out. If you get on that show, you can sing. I’m not saying it’s a better singing competition, (it’s quite confusing); I’m just saying it’s hard to trust folks who lie. :=)

Former Glory

FOX knows Idol will never return to its former glory as “The Most Watched TV Series, 2005- 2011” and the only TV show ever to be #1 for 7 consecutive seasons.

It was widely publicized last year that ratings fell by 25% over the season to what they were in Season 1 with the onslaught of new singing competitions like The Voice and X Factor. But FOX knows, even as it declines, the show still posts larger numbers than most TV shows on air. Which means, they can still earn top advertising dollars.

Whenever I pass an American Idol billboard around LaLa Land, I keep wondering why FOX hasn’t pulled the plug going into 12 seasons and declining numbers?

Well, they’ve got 17.8 million reasons not to.

Let me know when they get to the TOP TEN, and I might tune in to see who the producers, I mean, the American public chooses this year.

Onward & Upward,
Naima

Do you still tune in? I’d love to know why.
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