The Return of ‹Idol, Confident in Season 7
Empty seats were common last summer at the American Idols Live concert tour. Two …American Idol winners ‘ Taylor Hicks, who took the top prize in the program fifth season, and Ruben Studdard, who won the second season ‘ recently lost their record contracts. And last season, the sixth, marked the first time that overall viewership of …American Idol declined from the previous year.
None of which means that the …American Idol juggernaut has started to weaken, said Nigel Lythgoe, an executive producer of the series, which begins anew on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time on Fox. On the contrary, with the Hollywood writers strike ensuring that …American Idol will face even less competition than normal, the outlook for Season 7 of …Idol appears to be as good as or better than ever.
‘American Idol’ not likely to produce an American icon
Can you imagine Bob Dylan on “American Idol”? Me neither. For the sake of argument, however, let’s pretend the legendary singer-songwriter somehow manages to pass the audition.
Week 1: Dylan tries to impress the judges with “Like a Rolling Stone, ” to no avail. “It was kinda long, dawg, ” Randy Jackson tells him.
Week 2: Dylan struggles through “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” during Motown week. Paula Abdul compliments his Zorro moustache.
Week 3: Bon Jovi week sounds the death knell for Dylan, whose nasal assault on “You Give Love a Bad Name” is decried as “pathetic” by Simon Cowell.
“For Bob Dylan, the journey ends here, ” Ryan Seacrest declares, putting an arm around our dejected also-ran from Hibbing, Minn. “Good luck, dude.”
‘American Idol’ changing its tune for 7th season
We can all agree to disagree on “American Idol” and pretty much always have over the past six seasons.
Some editions have been grand, some less so. Which was which? That was strictly a matter of opinion and the maddening and unpredictable hobgoblin known as “taste.”
Then, something happened last year. It started quietly enough – maybe a sort of revulsion at the early contestant rounds, which featured a tsunami of false notes and bad hair. Then, there was Sanjaya, who became a national joke. Melinda Doolittle, the finest singer in “Idol” history, was prematurely ejected. Ratings slid slightly, teens abandoned the show by the millions, the summer tours were sparsely attended and potential buyers remain allergic to winner Jordin Sparks’ self-named CD.
‘American Idol’ not likely to produce an American icon
Can you imagine Bob Dylan on “American Idol”? Me neither. For the sake of argument, however, let’s pretend the legendary singer-songwriter somehow manages to pass the audition.
Week 1: Dylan tries to impress the judges with “Like a Rolling Stone, ” to no avail. “It was kinda long, dawg, ” Randy Jackson tells him.
Week 2: Dylan struggles through “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” during Motown week. Paula Abdul compliments his Zorro moustache.
Week 3: Bon Jovi week sounds the death knell for Dylan, whose nasal assault on “You Give Love a Bad Name” is decried as “pathetic” by Simon Cowell.
“For Bob Dylan, the journey ends here, ” Ryan Seacrest declares, putting an arm around our dejected also-ran from Hibbing, Minn. “Good luck, dude.”
Will ‘Idol’ sing a different tune in its new season?
The seventh season of American Idol begins with a crucial question: Can this show still sell music?
Yes, the real point of the show is to sell cars, clothes, soap and anything else an advertiser wants to peddle to the hordes who tune into the series, which launches again with two two-hour audition telecasts Tuesday and Wednesday on Fox.
No question about the hordes. It was the most-watched TV series last season. In fact, it was the two most-watched series, with the 30 million viewers for the Wednesday results shows ranking first and the 29.5 million for Tuesday telecasts placing second, according to Nielsen.
American Idol Romance: Blake Lewis & Haley Scarnato?
As American Idol gets ready to fire up for a rescue from a disastrous season 6, two of the finalists may be cuddling up. According to Star magazine last year’s runner-up Blake Lewis rung in the New Year in style ‘ with fellow American Idol contestant Haley Scarnato!
The couple …looked like two teenagers in love while partying at the Svedka New Year Eve bash at the Hotel Gansevoort in New York City, a source tells Star. After arriving at the event, hosted by Kid Rock, at 1 a.m., the two …were glued at the hip, says an onlooker. …They were in the VIP room, sitting practically on top of each other, toasting to 2008.
Idol’s Premature Exits
Gina Glocksen, Season 6
Rocker Gina Glocksen was a shining personality, a moderate-to-good talent, a woman who probably wouldn’t have won season six’s Idol, but definitely should not have been kicked off so soon.
‘American Idol’ gets big boost from writers’ strike
Last season, “American Idol” became its own worst enemy. TV critics and online fans alike criticized the show’s lack of engaging personalities in its sixth incarnation.
All of this resulted in shrinking ratings. The season finale was 18 percent off season five’s finale in the ratings, according to Entertainment Weekly.
As the show prepares to launch its seventh season Tuesday (8 p.m. on Fox, Channel 11), though, it’s one of the few big shows still on the air, thanks to a Writers Guild of America strike that doesn’t affect reality programming like “Idol.” The success of “Idol” doesn’t surprise Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y.
New season, new way to Idolize
Every year, there’s a little tinkering, a slight change here or there that helps keep Fox’s “American Idol” fresh – and alone atop the ratings.
But if you can believe the show’s most vocal judge, Simon Cowell, the seventh season of “Idol, ” which debuts at 7 p.m. Tuesday on WITI-TV (Channel 6), will have a far more noticeable change.
This season’s competition will focus more directly on the contestants and their personalities, and not so much on big names like Tony Bennett and Barry Manilow, who are brought in to help the finalists develop their singing style.
Time for TV Jedi to raise lightsabers against dark empire
You know that scene in “Star Wars” where the old guy with the beard is using what looks like an early beta version of “Tron” to explain that there’s a tiny hole — roughly the size of the womp rats back on Tatooine — through which the entire Death Star could be brought down and peace could be restored to the universe?
American Idol Needs Country
I wonder if the powers that be at American Idol realize that if they don’t want to look goofy, they should rewind and rethink. Which Idol contestants have been successful? Not the two winners from Alabama. Gray-haired Taylor Hicks and heavyset Ruben Studdard were both recently dropped from J Records. Katharine McPhee was dropped from her label, RCA, last week. Just released from jail in Florida, former Idol star Jessica Sierra is on her way to rehab. Pretty sad, huh?
Look at the success of Carrie Underwood, an Idol winner whose debut album sold 6 million copies. Her second release is already double platinum. Every record she’s released has been a hit with radio as well as with the fans. Stepping into a new arena, the Checotah, Okla., native co-wrote her last single, “So Small, ” and yes, that was her latest chart-topper.
American Idol Rewind Moves to Fox Stations
It didnt take long for Trifecta Entertainment to find a home for American Idol Rewind, the weekly hour produced by FremantleMedia North America and formerly distributed by Tribune Entertainment, which said last month that it was exiting the distribution business.
American Idol Rewind
The reality hour — comprised of repackaged and never-before-seen footage from Fox mega-hit singing show, American Idol — will appear on 13 Fox stations come fall, including in New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Dallas; Washington, D.C.; and Houston. The deal calls for double-runs, which will likely appear on Fox duopoly stations in those markets.
Super Bowl pregame show will have ‘Idol’ chatter
Monday, Fox announces its Super Bowl pregame show will debut Idol judge Paula Abdul’s Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow music video, and she might also perform the song live.
The song will be the first single released off an upcoming album produced by another Idol judge ‘ Randy Jackson’ who’ll also appear on the pregame show. And, Idol host Ryan Seacrest will be a host of the pregame show, where he’ll do red-carpet interviews with celebs coming into the stadium. Especially, one assumes, if they have anything to do with Idol.
Hill sounds open to any Idol tie-in: “I wish (Idol host) Simon Cowell had called and said he’s doing, say, an audio book of poetry. Simon reading William Wordsworth. It’d probably sell.”
Tales from an American Idol
“American Idol” didn’t want me.
Although I had never seen the popular Fox show, I decided to audition because I fancy myself as a singer. Apparently, I found out, so did the other 17, 000 people who showed up at the Wachovia Center in August to try out for a spot on the upcoming season.
My father reluctantly accompanied me on my wild adventure. “Should you watch the show before-hand?” he asked before we arrived. I shook my head no. “I don’t want to be tainted by watching other people get rejected, ” I said to him. Confidence would carry me.
Trying out for “American Idol” is an endurance test — with long lines for registration, long lines for auditions — all culminating in one 30-second attempt at stardom.
