American Idol prepares for swansong

New York

AT its height, American Idol minted break-out stars and drew more than 30 million viewers an episode. It was the No 1 broadcast show for eight years, provided a boon to an ailing music industry and was the sort of appointment television that industry executives are desperately trying to recreate.

That was then. The show has aged and the singing competition genre has faded. In recent years the Idol audience has eroded at an alarming rate, with losses in total viewership in eight of the last nine seasons. This season, it is drawing under nine million viewers, its fewest ever.

Its demise seemed inevitable, and on Monday it finally came. Fox announced that it would shut down Idol, one of the most popular and dominant reality shows, after its 15th season concludes next year.

"It was not an easy decision," Gary Newman, the co-chief executive of the Fox Television Group, said on a conference call with reporters, before the network's presentation of its autumn line-up to advertisers. "American Idol has been such a vital part of Fox for its run."

American Idol began in 2002 and was a huge success just as reality shows began sweeping through all of television. The show not only established itself as a ratings powerhouse but spawned a series of amateur singing competitions that strove to duplicate its successful formula, including The X Factor and The Voice. Its acerbic, wisecracking British-born judge, Simon Cowell, became a star in the US. With its strong ratings, Idol was a huge driver of revenue for Fox.

It also became influential in the cultural conversation surrounding television as its seasons gained momentum toward the selection of an eventual winner. The show became a launchpad for talented amateur singers, giving rise to the careers of stars like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson, as well as Clay Aiken, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee and Adam Lambert.

At its peak, American Idol was a juggernaut for record sales. In 2007, Idol-related titles represented 2.1 per cent of all album sales, according to Nielsen.

The biggest-selling American Idol star is Underwood, the fourth-season winner, who has sold about 15 million albums, won seven Grammys and in December 2013 sang the role of Maria Von Trapp in NBC's live broadcast of The Sound of Music.

But in recent years the show has provided diminishing returns in record sales. Caleb Johnson, for example, who won the 13th season in 2014, opened at No 24 with his album Testify, and in its second week the album fell to No 131.

Its waning influence in the music world reflected its decline on TV. As its format grew old and it faced increasing competition from other talent shows, American Idol suffered a steady drop in viewers, especially in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic that is most attractive to advertisers.

The last season of American Idol will begin in January, Fox said on Monday. The longtime host, Ryan Seacrest, will be joined by the judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. NYT