A Bittersweet Swan Song For “American Idol”

The Fox singing competition, heading for its final season, set the stage for the modern era of TV talent shows.

The announcement that the upcoming 15th season of "American Idol" will be its last comes, in an oddly appropriate way, amid David Letterman's victory lap leading up to his May 20 "Late Show" goodbye.

The franchises would seem to share little in common (aside from Letterman and Simon Cowell's penchant for sarcasm). But both programs changed TV, influencing a slew of imitators who, in some eyes, eventually eclipsed the innovators.

Much of the luster – and ratings – may be gone. But "Idol" starts its long, bittersweet swan song with its place secure as the breakout program that set the stage for the era of the modern TV talent show.

Television has long served as a major platform for the hopes and dreams of unknowns – from Arthur Godfrey’s "Talent Scouts" to Chuck Barris' surreal and sometimes cruel "The Gong Show" to Ed McMahon's "Star Search." But U.S. audiences had never seen anything like "American Idol," a British TV format imported to these shores, via Fox, in 2002.

Viewers were introduced to fresh talent – and some sadly delusional folks – from the earliest try outs, learning their backstories in an Olympics broadcast-like fashion. The judging panel offered a mix of personalities: the acerbic and disagreeable Cowell; the loopy and lovable Paula Abdul; the avuncular, patter-happy voice of reason, Randy Jackson. The audience heard some great superstars-in-the making (Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson) and some wannabes who shouldn't have bothered even singing in the shower (William Hung).

The spectacle of young people crooning some old songs lent "Idol" an intergenerational charm, which showed in the ratings early on (Ruben Studdard’s 2003 Season 2 victory over Clay Aiken drew more than 38 million viewers) and offered a rare communal experience for a mass audience. The show’s widespread popularity also played out in perhaps its most appealing feature: the voting for the contestants, a gimmick that rose and expanded with the growth of the online, interactive age. The 2009 Kris Allen-Adam Lambert contest drew some 100 million votes, compared to about 115 million cast in the previous year’s presidential election.

But with time, some aspects of the show grew tiresome, as "Idol" became focused less on the striving singers and more on the feuding judges. Some personnel changes didn't work (Ellen DeGeneres), while others were more successful (Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler made for a fun odd couple). Still, the original magic dissipated by the season.

"Idol" spawned competitors that tweaked the formula, though not always for the better (Cowell’s U.S. version of "The X-Factor"). Some new shows managed to make improvements while carving out their own niches. ABC’s "Dancing With the Stars" tapped deep into the celebrity element. NBC’s "America’s Got Talent" expanded the definition of talent, along with the age range of contestants, while welcoming teams.

The most direct current descendant of "Idol," NBC’s "The Voice," added the drama and inherent fairness of blind auditions, while picking judges who tease each other in a sibling rivalry-like way, but without ever turning their ire on the contestants.

None of those shows, though, have reached the greatest heights of "Idol," and probably never will in an increasingly fragmented media age. "Idol" may be on its way out, but the program will leave TV with a legacy that reverberates long after the final note.

Jere Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multimedia NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also the author of "Raising a Beatle Baby: How John, Paul, George and Ringo Helped us Come Together as a Family." Follow him on Twitter.

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