American Idol Judge Changes?

Last week the American Idol live results show finished second in the ratings to reruns of the Big Bang Theory. This week reports swirled around the internet that show producers considered replacing Mariah Carey in the middle of the season with Jennifer Lopez. Is American Idol getting that desperate? And what does this mean for next year? Finally, what can we as content creators learn from this? The answer to the first question is "Yes." They are getting desperate, but you can't blame them. Ratings are down significantly from last year (although the show usually wins its time slot) despite spending $18 million on Mariah Carey along with more millions on Nicky Minaj, Keith Urban, and Randy Jackson. The show that used to bring in torrents of money for Fox may only be bringing in a trickle. They've tweaked show formats, brought in big stars and still viewership is down. The producers may have forgotten the most important factor in American Idol's previous success -- it's about the contestants, not the judges. Paying Mariah Carey $18 million got the show some off season press, but not a ratings boost. That's because the audience doesn't tune in to see the judges, they tune in because they care about the contestants. We don't remember a lot about what Simon, Paula, and Randy said about the contestants, but we do remember rooting for Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, and even Katherine McPhee and Taylor Hicks. The judges' most important job is to pick a final group that viewers can care about and makes compelling television. That's where this year's group of judges (with help from the producers)failed. They were so worried about repeating past mistakes that they didn't focus on the best candidates for the present. If the present low ratings continue, we may be looking at the last year of American Idol. If I was running Fox, I wouldn't cancel the show. I think the best way to salvage the ratings next year is to announce that next year is the last year of American Idol -- that will bring to auditions everyone in the U.S. who thought about auditioning but didn't. The contestant pool (and potential star power) will be deep. I'd also use guest judges every show -- bring back Simon and Paula, of course, but also Ellen, Karla, Steven and J Lo. Let's see William Hung and Sanjiya again. Fans will tune in to see their old favorites, and may stay tuned to watch this year's group. Content Creators can learn two lessons from this: First, stay true to your vision. American Idol started as a show that gave chances to unknown talent, aided by colorful, but not particularly famous, judges. When they tried to make the judges the stars, the show failed. When creating content, have a clear vision and stick with it. The second lesson is that sometimes a show, or a tv series, or a book series, runs its course. People move on to other entertainment. American Idol is in its twelfth season. It's possible that no matter what the producers did, the audience would have melted away. That's why you should be true to your vision. Your show, or your movie, or your book, may fail. Odds are, even if you have some initial success, you show will go off the air eventually. You may as well realize your vision for it to the best of your ability.