You Decode: Viewers Size Up The New ‘American Idol’
Is “American Idol,” television’s top-rated show, still as strong as ever?
Last spring’s season of the Fox reality juggernaut marked the first time that overall viewership declined from the previous year, Edward Wyatt noted in Monday’s New York Times. But the singing competition still draws roughly 30 million viewers, 50 percent more than any other broadcast series.
The producers of “Idol” said they have made adjustments since last spring, focusing more on the contestants’ backgrounds and downplaying guest appearances and celebrity mentors. As the seventh season debuted on Tuesday, we identified “Idol” fans across the country using the social messaging site Twitter and asked a sampling to size up the new season:
Sarah Donnelly, Wheaton, Illinois:
“Yes, I have my Season Pass on TiVo ready for Season 7 of American Idol. However, with that admission, I had it set for Season 6 last year and promptly canceled it after viewing a couple of episodes. Season 6 just didn’t pull me in; the personalities were flat as well as the singing. I give each Season at least 3 weeks and if I am hitting the mute button too much then I know it is a lost cause. However, with the writers’ strike ensuing, I will probably give Season 7 more of a ‘liberal’ chance.”
Kristie Wells, San Francisco, California:
“American Idol does well when the viewers at home feel connected to the contestants. There were some good singers on the show over the last couple of years, but it seemed the focus was leaning toward the mentors more so than the contestants, so it fell really flat for me. Being a good singer is a key part of it, but knowing who the contestants are — where they came from, why they wanted to be on the show, etc — is also important. I want someone that sparks my interest enough to want to vote for them and I haven’t really felt that the last couple of years. It was interesting to watch the first audition show for Season 7 tonight as it seemed a renewed focus by the producers to do more story telling and put the contestants front and center again.”
Bill Pytlovany, Scotia, New York:
“This year American Idol will benefit from the already ten week old writers strike. Our family has been dying for something new and familiar. We usually pass up the pre-Hollywood “train wreck” shows but watched the first episode in real time. If it wasn’t for the strike we might not care as much.”
Amy Lamare, Los Angeles, California:
“Season 6 slipped, in my opinion, because of the Sanjaya brouhaha. With sites like votefortheworst.com having such control over the outcome of voting results, I think we’ll see a dilution to the process. This is a singing competition and singers should succeed. Unless the American Idol producers can come up with a way to stop all the spoil-sport voting, the show will continue to slip. Now, that said, the contestants that were passed through to Hollywood tonight do seem stronger than last year’s group.”
Mike Foster, Corona, California:
“They had some great singers on, and some people who actually looked like stars. However, I did find myself fast forwarding through some of the typical ‘make me care about this person’ stories. Also, Simon used the word ‘creepy’ several times tonight during the auditions. I couldn’t agree more.”
Brooke Renzelmann, Chicago, Illinois:
“The two-hour premiere started strong with decent talent and its share of colorful characters guaranteed to get the bloggers on AmericanIdol.com chatting. The last few seasons of ‘Idol’ have proved the ability to produce more than one pop star per season, so viewers can maintain hope that their favorite contestant may have a chance to achieve Idol status regardless of the outcome.”
Joel Ross, Spring Lake, Michigan:
“I thought the show was typical of the last few seasons — perfect TiVo fodder. Fast forward through the fluff and skip write to the singing, Paula’s attempts to be polite, Randy trying to hide his laughter, and Simon’s scathing comments. I get through two hours in about 30 minutes, and I’ve just saved most of my night.”
Augie De Blieck Jr., Wayne, New Jersey:
“It’s hard to say that the show is off to a strong start based just on last night’s episode. It’s really just more of the same. We’ve seen it for six seasons already, and now that every other talent competition/reality show has ripped it off, Idol looks clichéd. They need to mix things up somehow to look ‘fresh’ again.
That said, I thought they blended together the truly wacky and the talented rather well last night. If there’s one thing they’ve learned, it’s that the personalities of the judges and Ryan can differentiate Idol from everyone else.”
Frank Edward Nora, Nutley, New Jersey:
“I religiously watched American Idol, starting with Season 2. Last year I found myself seriously drifting away from TV in general, shifting my time to the Internet. As the show returned, I was surprised to find myself reluctant to watch. Idol is a huge serving of TV, and I think I’ve lost the taste.”
Reid Carlberg, Chicago, Illinois:
“I’m glad Idol is back. It’s good TV, and it’s even better when the hosts bicker and fans mess with their voting. If anything, Simon seems to have found a new compassion for the hopefuls. I hope not. Nothing will make Idol more boring than a compassionate host.”
Doriano Carta, Atlanta, Georgia:
“I think season seven is off to a great start because there was more focus on the good singers and less on the bad ones. Personally, I love watching the awful performers just as much as the great ones so I enjoy having a good balance of the two.”
source: http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/you-decode-viewers-size-up-the-new-idol/?hp
Last spring’s season of the Fox reality juggernaut marked the first time that overall viewership declined from the previous year, Edward Wyatt noted in Monday’s New York Times. But the singing competition still draws roughly 30 million viewers, 50 percent more than any other broadcast series.
The producers of “Idol” said they have made adjustments since last spring, focusing more on the contestants’ backgrounds and downplaying guest appearances and celebrity mentors. As the seventh season debuted on Tuesday, we identified “Idol” fans across the country using the social messaging site Twitter and asked a sampling to size up the new season:
Sarah Donnelly, Wheaton, Illinois:
“Yes, I have my Season Pass on TiVo ready for Season 7 of American Idol. However, with that admission, I had it set for Season 6 last year and promptly canceled it after viewing a couple of episodes. Season 6 just didn’t pull me in; the personalities were flat as well as the singing. I give each Season at least 3 weeks and if I am hitting the mute button too much then I know it is a lost cause. However, with the writers’ strike ensuing, I will probably give Season 7 more of a ‘liberal’ chance.”
Kristie Wells, San Francisco, California:
“American Idol does well when the viewers at home feel connected to the contestants. There were some good singers on the show over the last couple of years, but it seemed the focus was leaning toward the mentors more so than the contestants, so it fell really flat for me. Being a good singer is a key part of it, but knowing who the contestants are — where they came from, why they wanted to be on the show, etc — is also important. I want someone that sparks my interest enough to want to vote for them and I haven’t really felt that the last couple of years. It was interesting to watch the first audition show for Season 7 tonight as it seemed a renewed focus by the producers to do more story telling and put the contestants front and center again.”
Bill Pytlovany, Scotia, New York:
“This year American Idol will benefit from the already ten week old writers strike. Our family has been dying for something new and familiar. We usually pass up the pre-Hollywood “train wreck” shows but watched the first episode in real time. If it wasn’t for the strike we might not care as much.”
Amy Lamare, Los Angeles, California:
“Season 6 slipped, in my opinion, because of the Sanjaya brouhaha. With sites like votefortheworst.com having such control over the outcome of voting results, I think we’ll see a dilution to the process. This is a singing competition and singers should succeed. Unless the American Idol producers can come up with a way to stop all the spoil-sport voting, the show will continue to slip. Now, that said, the contestants that were passed through to Hollywood tonight do seem stronger than last year’s group.”
Mike Foster, Corona, California:
“They had some great singers on, and some people who actually looked like stars. However, I did find myself fast forwarding through some of the typical ‘make me care about this person’ stories. Also, Simon used the word ‘creepy’ several times tonight during the auditions. I couldn’t agree more.”
Brooke Renzelmann, Chicago, Illinois:
“The two-hour premiere started strong with decent talent and its share of colorful characters guaranteed to get the bloggers on AmericanIdol.com chatting. The last few seasons of ‘Idol’ have proved the ability to produce more than one pop star per season, so viewers can maintain hope that their favorite contestant may have a chance to achieve Idol status regardless of the outcome.”
Joel Ross, Spring Lake, Michigan:
“I thought the show was typical of the last few seasons — perfect TiVo fodder. Fast forward through the fluff and skip write to the singing, Paula’s attempts to be polite, Randy trying to hide his laughter, and Simon’s scathing comments. I get through two hours in about 30 minutes, and I’ve just saved most of my night.”
Augie De Blieck Jr., Wayne, New Jersey:
“It’s hard to say that the show is off to a strong start based just on last night’s episode. It’s really just more of the same. We’ve seen it for six seasons already, and now that every other talent competition/reality show has ripped it off, Idol looks clichéd. They need to mix things up somehow to look ‘fresh’ again.
That said, I thought they blended together the truly wacky and the talented rather well last night. If there’s one thing they’ve learned, it’s that the personalities of the judges and Ryan can differentiate Idol from everyone else.”
Frank Edward Nora, Nutley, New Jersey:
“I religiously watched American Idol, starting with Season 2. Last year I found myself seriously drifting away from TV in general, shifting my time to the Internet. As the show returned, I was surprised to find myself reluctant to watch. Idol is a huge serving of TV, and I think I’ve lost the taste.”
Reid Carlberg, Chicago, Illinois:
“I’m glad Idol is back. It’s good TV, and it’s even better when the hosts bicker and fans mess with their voting. If anything, Simon seems to have found a new compassion for the hopefuls. I hope not. Nothing will make Idol more boring than a compassionate host.”
Doriano Carta, Atlanta, Georgia:
“I think season seven is off to a great start because there was more focus on the good singers and less on the bad ones. Personally, I love watching the awful performers just as much as the great ones so I enjoy having a good balance of the two.”
source: http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/you-decode-viewers-size-up-the-new-idol/?hp
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