The Hollywood Reporter has a great article posted about how at mid-season, American Idol executives tried to replace Mariah Carey with Jennifer Lopez. The mistake that FOX and producers made was telling Mariah. She threatened to sue them forever and they caved. FOX says that it is all just a rumor and that THR is wrong. Umm, unlike most weekly magazines, THR is usually never wrong. The ratings suck on the show. Why not try and fix them. A mid-season shakeup could have done that, but what I would have done if I was Fox was try to get Paula or Simon back. Paula would have probably done it for free. Well, free as long as there was an adequate stockpile of vodka in her trailer. In recent weeks, Idol has not only lost to The Voice, but also got killed by a repeat of Big Bang Theory. These are sad days for the once huge franchise.
The end is nigh!
ReplyDeleteThe show sucks, but Mariah brings more to it than Lopez ever did. JLo was beyond boring. Plus, no more having to watch her shitty performances anymore.
ReplyDeleteNicki is that shows downfall. Kick her out and leave a 3 judge panel again
ReplyDeletei'm just kind of sick of reality-talent shows.
ReplyDeletea friend of mine said this quote: "talent is cheaper than table salt."
lets try something with good writing and an outstanding cast.
I agree @Lotta, she just doesn't have the talent or experience to back up her judging other singers and frankly she doesn't even have the personality to keep an audience interested.
ReplyDeleteMariah has improved now that they rotate who the starting judge is for the comments. When she was always forth there really wasn't much more for her to say. She's been pleasant. Nicki is annoying with her weird comments and I want to eat you up comments.
ReplyDeleteI'm just glad Jlo didn't get the satisfaction of thinking anyone would care, just because those producers are CLEARLY dumbasses for even conjuring this scheme.
ReplyDeleteOh! JLo! Seriously? WGAFuuuuuuuuuuCK?!?!
I didn't even bother to watch this trainwreck.
ReplyDeleteNicki Minaj is unwatchable. The few times we tuned in (very few times) we had to change the station as soon as she started speaking. Couldn't stand it. And the last time, she was speking with a British accent. My 17 year old looked at me and I looked at her. We were both like WTF??? An my husband kept going on about what a freak show she was. I'd rather watch paint dry then listen to her.
ReplyDeleteOMG Mariah would have died to be replaced by MV, ohhhh the humanity. No wonder MC went into lawsuit overdrive I do not blame her one bit.
ReplyDeleteThis whole article reeks to high heaven. Seems like someone at FOX is the source. Not cool to do this to Mariah as if she is the sole reason that the ratings are sliding. The basic format hasn't changed since the show's inception. The music the contestants sing is dated (Burt Bacharach Night?!). This season there are no cute guys left for tween girls to swoon over. Four judges does not work on this show, three is much better. By the time they get around to the last judge there is nothing left to say or critique.
ReplyDeleteVery proud to say I've never seen an episode. I'm not out of the loop, I'm a trendsetter!
ReplyDeleteI keep hoping that sometime in the near future reality shows will cease to exist. Although that probably won't happen since it would mean networks and cable would have to think of something original!
ReplyDeleteThe ratings are doing so bad because it's over saturated. Everyone is sick of it. They are trying to run it to death to make that last dollar and need to just end it.
ReplyDeleteThey should just cancel it and then 'revive' it in a couple of seasons once everyone forgets why they lost interest.
ReplyDeleteSlightly OT, but does anyone know what's happening with Adam Lambert's career? I love his voice, but he seems to have vanished.
Just saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show this weekend and thought Adam would be a great Frank N. Furter onstage, now that Tim Curry is too old for the role. At any rate, I'd pay to see Adam on Broadway, which I hope is where he'll end up at some point.
I agree with the Nielsen families of America: Penny's butt > American Idol.
ReplyDeleteWell the Big Bang Theory is pretty awesome :P
ReplyDeleteWhy do they keep trying to cast "celebrity" judges anyway? American Idol had it best years with 3 relatively unknown judges - Simon, Randy, Paula
ReplyDeleteBesides over-saturation, you have it. Once it became about the current celeb judges, vs older, haven't been working on stage forever judges, the talent became secondary. Why it works on The Voice, I dont know, but it doesn't on AI.I agree, cancel it.
DeleteIt couldn't just be that the show's worn out its welcome, could it? It's been on for years now, long enough to spawn a whole bunch of imitations, and, as usually happens, some of the latter are now outperforming the parent program--that's just how these things work. Time to put the show to bed, if not forever, then at least for a good 6 months to a year, IMNSHO.
ReplyDeleteDid I miss an Enty story about the NY Times' article about the Today show/Ann Curry debacle? That was much more interesting and intriguing than this "plot"
ReplyDeleteThere are too many copycat shows. No one cares about American Idol anymore. It's not the judges fault.
ReplyDeleteHmmm.
ReplyDeleteSo the cash Cow-ell is drying up.
AI just needs to END. It should have gone out on top YEARS ago.
ReplyDeleteI agree it needs to go back to the three judge panel. But I cant stand Mariah. She is beyond snotty and arrogant on there. I say Enty's right--bring back either Simon or Paula. Do NOT bring back that nasty J-Ho (not a typo). I didnt even watch it when J-Ho was on there. I'm only watching it sporadically right now to see good ol' Sparkles, and if he leaves I'm done.
ReplyDeleteI agree it needs to go back to the three judge panel. But I cant stand Mariah. She is beyond snotty and arrogant on there. I say Enty's right--bring back either Simon or Paula. Do NOT bring back that nasty J-Ho (not a typo). I didnt even watch it when J-Ho was on there. I'm only watching it sporadically right now to see good ol' Sparkles, and if he leaves I'm done.
ReplyDeleteCancel the show, FOX, its over
ReplyDeleteCorrection, Count J.: Penny's breasts > American Idol.
ReplyDeleteIt's over. I'm stunned they still get the ad dollars they do. It's going to be cancelled pretty soon, I reckon.
ReplyDeleteThey brought it on themselves, and I feel bad for the kids who have invested so much of themselves into something that wasn't even a balanced elimination this year. I stopped watching about week 2 and just checked the news updates to see who got voted off.
ReplyDeleteMariah is awful as a judge. She should have been a mentor. And no way should she be getting $17 million to sit there, stare off to her left, and push her hair back with her hand. That sums up her contribution to the show.
Why do people hate on Mariah? I mean, she's a bit ditzy but relatively harmless, donates a lot to charity... she had a cray cray period but seems to have emerged okay from it.
ReplyDeleteJLo, on the other hand, can't sing for shit, and seems to be completely divorced from reality.
I'm no singer but if I were, I'd much rather be judged by Mariah than Jennifer.
Why do people still go on these shows thinking they are going to make it big permanently. When was the last time someone from American Idol made it legit big? Kelly, Clay? I don't even know. This show has long worn out it's welcome.
ReplyDeleteI was going to watch it for the Mariah factor.. but then they brought in Niki, and she brought the gun play ect.. that killed it for me. Zero interest in that show.
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch when Jlo was on, I think I stopped watching when they let Paula go.
Idol, meet fork.. your done.
Mariah is not the problem--it is the production --the blatant manipulation and lack of real judging that is the problem. Every singer gets a tongue bath --they are all "amazing"--and rarely any specific feedback. That and the fact that they are made to sing theme weeks --songs written before the current contestants were born.
ReplyDeleteI think the judges are programmed to push things in the direction the producers want them to go. They rarely say anything specific or negative.
Mariah is an idol to most of the singers and I think she's improved a bit--and could get better if she didn't have Randy whispering in her ear, lol.
Nikki gets on my nerves but there are times when she is particularly outspoken that I appreciate her--when she is a bitch, sometmes she is saying someting everyone else is thinking. She's very inconsistent tho and I don't know if she really has that much musical knowlege--she is more about the image and the business side of things.
@Jason: Ah, it is a never ending quandary. Is a rose more beautiful than a tulip? Does fresh cut grass delight the nose more than fresh baked apple pie? What is it that propels BBT past AI?
ReplyDeleteI think we can both agree it isn't Harold, dude is a creep. Always sexualizing conversations and hitting on everything that moves. I can't believe there are actually guys like that out there.
And who the hell has that many turtle necks in this day and age.
Howard wear dickies - which is so much funnier than turtlenecks.
ReplyDeleteI've never been interested in American Idol. I do have to cop to enjoying The Voice. Blake is a hot mess, Adam is absolutely transparent but seems to put in a little effort, Usher is likable despite me not wanting to, and that Shakira is just plain adorable. I am so embarrassed.
ReplyDeleteFor all Mariah's faults, she has knowledge as a vocalist, as a performer. I stopped watching because I just cannot handle Nicki Minaj. She is the one that needs to go.
ReplyDelete@Mikey: OH GOOD LORD! I hope there was a kicker in his contract for subjecting himself to that.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to kick my own ass for wearing a turtle neck, but a friggin dickey? I'd nail it to the tallest branch my ladder would reach, then jump off.
That poor dude. I guess it is a more respectable way to turn a buck than what Lohan is doing :D
What's dumber than this rumor? The mainstream media apparently because they are picking it up and running with it. Must be a slow news day. Can people stop and think for a change? All 4 judges have contracts for a year. Unless they do something pretty bad to violate the contracts, the producers can't get rid of any without facing a major lawsuit. I'm pretty sure all the high priced lawyers over at fox and the show are very well aware of this and so are the shows producers if they have half a brain. Second, this show keeps signing Randy back despite being unpopular with fans for years now. third, does no one see the coincidence here? This story leaks on a performance day and it's down to the top 4? A little too convenient know? Finally, this show has been in a decline for years, even with the original 3 judges, it declined little by little each year. Now after 12 years, countless rip offs saturating the market, and the producers not changing the format (i.e. The same themes and songs year after year, a lot of talent but no big voice singers that also have tremendous commercial appeal, the one very annoying contestant who always seems to make it to the 6 0r 7, the annoying and arrogant jimmy Iovine..) I could go on and on, but to blame one judge for the shows failure when it has been in a steady decline for years is absurd, and the idea of replacing her with another judge who was let go because she failed to deliver ratings just adds to the absurdity. I remember other "major news outlets" not long that blamed Nicki for the decline. I agree that Nicki was never a good fit due to the fact that she is not a singer and only has a few years of experience. I think that kind of hurt the shows credibility because they may as well have announced they were simply signing a big name. Not critiquing her as a judge, just an observation. Still hard to believe in this day and age people buy into these fabricated stories that are leaked to generate publicity. Even this being leaked by producers doesn't float with me because I can't see why they'd want to anger a judge during the season. That alone could give Mariah reason to sue if it were proven I'm sure.
ReplyDelete@ Matt: Throw a hit on the ENTER key every now and then. You got some valid points in there but the wall of text approach can make the eyes batty and keep people from reading.
ReplyDeleteThey can probably let anyone go at anytime, but have to pay out the contract.
Well count me as another who's never watched this idiotic talent contest. It worked a long time ago because it was different but it's not anymore. All reality shows can freakn' die. As T.E.Cuz said, "lets try something with good writing and an outstanding cast."
ReplyDeleteJust to add---there must be some grain of truth to it (probably not the JLo part)--a week or two ago, Mariah made a very pointed comment that the producers had "spoken with her" about not being critical enough.
ReplyDeleteI think if/when she and Keith give actual musical suggestions or feedback it seems to be really good--they are musicians and they know the work--but I think Mariah is very image concious and afraid that being critical will be bad for her image.
She's been extremely supportive and gracious to most of the singers--I think she has improved a bit lately.
I think the fighting they had in the auditions has also made her very self-concious. She wants to look like the good guy in the fight.
I loved it last week--she said somethng and then Nikki sort of disagreed with her and then Mariah came back and corrected her--that Nikki had mis-stated what she was saying--so essentially they were arguing about whether they were arguing..and all the time, neither one of them would look directly at each other. It was pretty funny.