It's official: Season 9 will be Simon Cowell's final season of American Idol. But you already knew that.
The question is, what does this mean for the show's future? Well, for starters, ratings are not going to increase as a result of the move, and in fact, they will most likely drop (by quite a large margin most likely). Simon makes the show, even though he often causes most of the "problems" concerning allegations of manipulation and the like, so by him leaving there will be an unfulfillable void.
Now, if rumbles of America's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan replacing Simon ring true, he would probably be an okay choice but will always be seen as a second-rate Simon. Besides this obvious drain on Idol, there's also that threat of Simon's new venture, at least new on this side of the pond, as he will bring his hit series X Factor to FOX beginning in Fall 2011. If Simon is smart and nabs Paula Abdul to help him out as a judge on that show, it will likely recreate the kind of luster that Idol as seemed to have lost over the past few seasons. Even though the show itself would not be a threat to Idol physically, it is certainly one theoretically.
Simon is smart enough to pull off this kind of scheme, and according to this piece by Richard Rushfield over at TheDailyBeast.com that's been circulating around the net this afternoon, Simon is just the man to put this plan into motion. One of the more interesting comments in the article came not from Simon, but from former producer Nigel Lythgoe, who said:“There's been so much talk on Idol about the judges, the judges; it's not about the judges. It's about the talent."
Now Nigel knows just as well as anyone that this was once true, but sadly, it isn't anymore. As evidenced by the handling of the past season's finalists, the show and its staff are not into the actual contestants as much as they are their bottom dollar. But that's the least of the show's problems.
Regardless of how Simon's career turns out come the end of May, it's easy to see that Idol is on a downward spiral that will need a miracle to get out of.
Showing posts with label x factor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label x factor. Show all posts
Monday, January 11, 2010
Simon Cowell's departure signals the end of 'Idol' as we know it
Monday, December 21, 2009
Simon Cowell ready to exit 'Idol' says brother
After much speculation, it appears the upcoming ninth season of American Idol will be his last. The news broke in a podcast done by Simon's brother, which supported rumblings that appeared in an article in The Times of London and has been circulated around the Web this evening. Per NYTimes.com:
Tony Cowell said that “a press statement is being prepared which will confirm what everybody expected: Simon will leave ‘Idol’ at the end of 2010 to concentrate on bringing the American version of ‘X Factor’ to U.S. TV in 2011.”
If this is true, it shouldn't come as a surprise. Simon has been itching to bring his mega popular X Factor across the pond to the U.S., and there's no better time to do this. Although once this changing of the guards takes place, it would be hard to find a way for Idol to continue in its present state, and its declining ratings would probably be accelerated. Whatever happens, we can expect a lot of news to be made beginning after Christmas.
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