American Idol, scourge of my middle school years, I need you to do something for me. I need you reach deep down in your purple latex pants and find your panties. Found them? Yes? Good.
Now unbunch them.
The creator of American Idol, Nigel Lythgoe, has accused The Voice and The X Factor of "diluting" audience figures for American Idol.
He went on to state that the newest addition to the pantheon of television-I'm-only-passively-interested-in, The Voice, is "very gimmicky" and implied that it lacks strong talent.
He's right, you know. The Voice is very gimmicky. That gimmick being that viewers tune in to cast their votes on a pool of fresh new talent until a new star is born from the ashes of the rejects, destined to clog the airwaves with autotuned goodness. The X-Factor is a lot of the same and I can't for the life of me figure out where the creators of those shows came up with such a random and unique idea. It's not like anybody has been using that exact same formula for success for the past decade. Right, American Idol? Right?
You know, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
More reaction from the webs:
American Idol is obviously a declining asset and definitely on its last legs. I'm sure it is still profitable. But enthusiasm is probably at its lowest level since it started - which is not a good way to launch other new shows around it. I think now that they're in the Hollywood phase and getting closer to the Live shows, the ratings will start to pick up. They'll probably limp into another season and that will be that. Fox just needs to accept that fact and get ready to move on.
http://mankabros.com/blogs/onmedea/2012/01/19/american-idol-dead-show-walking/