One of the most-watched shows in America started its tenth season last week. This year, “Idol” fans will no longer be treated to one of the main attractions of the show—the biting criticism of Simon Cowell. Cowell stepped down after the end of season nine, joining Paula Abdul, Kara DioGardi, and Ellen Degeneres on the growing list of judges who have quit “Idol.” The loss of Cowell means that the show only has one of its original judges left—Randy Jackson—and let’s admit it, he is nobody’s favorite. Jackson is joined this season by fellow judges Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.
Now that Simon is no longer a judge, the show may have lost some of its pizazz. Yes, it’s still fun to watch the underdog with the great voice hit those high notes, or laugh at the latest crazy audition, but will these factors be enough to keep the audience’s attention throughout the whole season? For that matter, does anyone even remember who won the last few years? The last “Idol” contestant that caught my ear was Adam Lambert from season eight, and he didn’t even win. Ten seasons for a show with pretty repetitive content seems like too much.
In as much as “Idol” is a pop culture phenomenon, the show may be taking its dying breath this year. I doubt that America will miss it, especially now that social networking in the form of MySpace and YouTube has “discovered” such artists as Colbie Caillat and Justin Bieber, respectively. Now that rising musicians with stars in their eyes don’t need “Idol” to get a record deal, will the show’s popularity live on? Only time will tell as season ten continues on Fox, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7 central.
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