Factors hurting ‘American Idol’

Overblown Egos

Not since you had the producers decide to bring together such an eclectic group of personalities and artists who are polar opposites of each other that you knew tensions would quickly rise and give way to some on-air drama. Who knew that there was legitimate “heat” between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj? It was puzzling at first since there was no reported “beef” between the two prior to their joining the judging panel. Apparently, almost nobody knew the reality of the situation until it was out there for everybody to see and to have more than an earful of!

But isn’t that what the producers were after also—feuding and backstage fallouts—to get more attention for the show? Of all the artists who were given the honor of being a judge, Nicki Minaj has the worst personality with a matching over-inflated ego to go with it. She just doesn’t belong there. So what if she is one of the most popular artists of today? Her popularity doesn’t mean anything anymore to a lot of viewers as she continues to behave like a darn prima donna. Long-time fans have asked to get her out of that show. But have the producers listened to that clamor? Nope, they might as well hand her the hammer for the final nail to the coffin of “American Idol.”

Tough Competition

Of course, when you have an ultra-successful and ground-breaking show like “American Idol” was, you will attract competition and emulators who would not only use the show as a “blueprint” in developing their own talent search reality show but you bet they won’t veer too far away either from the basic set up of “Idol.”

However, these new shows weren’t only copycats of the once-heralded and king of talent search reality shows. Shows like “The Voice” not only worked around the concept of “Idol” but they improved upon it, making them more dynamic and interesting to the viewers with a faster unfolding of results as compared to “Idol.” Most of the time, competition is viewed as a good thing. It provides viewers the choice of which show to watch depending on their personal preferences. However, when you have numerous competitors all aiming to topple ‘Idol’, then the odds are no longer in favor of the original show such as ‘Idol’ without the predecessor paying a mighty price for it. And when you take the fact that ‘American Idol’ is viewed by most critics as an “aging” talent search reality show that is getting past its glory years on television, then indeed something has to be done to level the playing field for ‘Idol.’

The Last Original Judge to call it quits

It has already been confirmed by several news agencies that Randy Jackson will not come back when Season 12 ends and it was via the statement he gave which is a guaranty we will no longer see the last remaining original judge of “American Idol.” Among all the original judges, Randy Jackson has been my favorite ever since I started watching “American Idol” years ago. I found him to be level-headed and he always had something truly constructive to say to the contestants. Even though his resume isn’t that spectacular when compared to the other judges, viewers have grown fond of him and his long-time fans will surely miss his “Yo, Dawg!” catchphrase.

Randy Jackson lasted longer than most people had expected and he played his cards right most of the time every time he was surrounded by a new cast of judges. I have dubbed him to be the “voice of reason” early on based on how he has conducted himself. Randy Jackson is now moving on. No doubt, he had a hand in changing how we perceive talent search reality shows forever. Even as he gave his criticisms to the contestants, he was always uplifiting and encouraging in manner. He never came off as mean unlike Nicki Minaj who has a penchant for making contestants squirm with her harsh remarks.

Nobody can say Randy Jackson didn’t last. Just think of this: why is it that he is the last original judge to remain for 12 Seasons? Early on, most had predicted him to be the weakest link among the original judges. But, sometimes, if you are a genuinely nice guy to viewers and the contestants, that is enough for you to be remembered…and be missed.