Tonight, the American Idol two part premiere continues in Little Rock and San Francisco, beginning at 8/7c PM. We’ll be live blogging!
Former Fox Chief Kevin Reilly on ‘American Idol’: ‘Now Was the Time for It to Be Over’ – “The show was extraordinary, one of a kind,” Reilly said on Thursday, during the Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, California. “But now was the time for it to be over.” “Look, one of the things about [‘American Idol’] was that it was 59 hours of our schedule,” he continued. “When you have almost 100 hours between ‘X-Factor’ and ‘Idol,’ and it’s going down, there’s not a lot you can do. … At Fox, the last couple years was not a lot of fun.” – Read more at The Wrap
Why the World Will Miss American Idol – Between the twilight of the legacy networks, and the dawn of Twitter, there was a ray of light that seemed poised for a moment to bring back the promise of the American dream. That dream had never shined brighter than it did on Hollywood, where “any bar maid can be a star made.” But in the 1990’s, when in the pre-internet days where the three (going on four) TV networks and seven studios held an iron grip on the entertainment experience, which spat out to viewers and moviegoers a highly controlled and regulated product, the idea that anyone could get off the bus from Kansas and find themselves a few months later planting their feet in the forecourt of Graumann’s Chinese seemed a lost myth. American Idol gave us that story back, and actually made it come true. – Read more at HitFix
American Idol: a final farewell to the ‘Death Star’ of reality TV – I suppose Idol was revolutionary when it premiered on 11 June 2002. The first reality boom was at its peak, 9/11 and the subsequent wars had Americans in what I like to call “a bit of a mood”, and audiences had never seen such a bloated, self-important spectacle dedicated to a talent contest. Plus, we all got to vote on it! Finally, Americans could have their voice heard in an election that refreshingly wasn’t rigged. Every year, we got to elect some ropey crooner to act as the avatar for our collective aspirations. There were heroes (Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood) villains to thwart (Simon Cowell, Sanjaya apologist Howard Stern), and the insidious sideshow acts that livened up the audition round. – Read more at The Guardian
Here Are 7 Ways American Idol Influenced Pop Culture – A decade and a half after it first premiered, American Idol begins its fifteenth and final season Wednesday night on Fox. Though the show produced a handful of genuine stars like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson, it also struggled to adapt to seismic shifts in the music industry, the rise of social media and increased competition from the very format it popularized. But the end of Idol doesn’t mean the show didn’t change the culture just as the culture was changing around it—here are seven of the show’s most lasting gifts. – Read more at Time
How ‘American Idol’ helped change pop culture – In the summer of 2002, the first Bonnaroo Music Festival was held in Manchester, Tennessee, a 20-year-old Britney Spears was named the world’s most powerful celebrity by Forbes, and “American Idol” debuted on Fox. All three are still around, but Wednesday will see the 15th and final season of “Idol,” which at one point was the biggest thing on television. In its heyday, the reality singing competition pulled in tens of millions of viewers each night. And while it is now going out with more of a whimper than a bang, here are a few ways “Idol” had a major effect on pop culture: – Read more at CNN.com
.@KelliePickler and @KyleCJacobs are taking us on their @The_USO tour on a new #ILoveKP TONIGHT at 10/9c! ??? https://t.co/ttiT5xIsOC
— CMT (@CMT) January 7, 2016
American Idol Alum Colton Dixon on Why He’ll Be ‘a Mess’ at His Wedding – When American Idol alum Colton Dixon marries girlfriend Annie Coggeshall this weekend, the wedding will be fairy-tale inspired – but Prince Charming might have to pack some tissues. “There will be tears on the groom’s side, probably as soon as she walks in the door. Maybe even before,” Dixon tells PEOPLE. “I can’t imagine how much of a mess I’m going to be!” – Read more at People magazine
Glee star joins The Good Wife – Will Schuester is heading to Chi Town. EW has learned that Matthew Morrison (Glee) has booked a recurring role on The Good Wife. Morrison will play Connor Fox, an assistant U.S. attorney who jailed the last four Illinois governors. His character is described as a tough and smart dude who doesn’t exactly warm to the Florricks. – Read more at Entertainment Weekly
