While American Idol is still going strong, lackluster ratings, compared to previous years, competing music shows, and sweeping changes threaten to unhinge the success of the once unbeatable program. However, while American Idol remains competitive, producers are looking into ways to make it more palatable to a culture that continues to march, with or without American Idol.
Going into its tenth season, American Idol seemed to be in a huge crisis. The big changes that are occurring in American Idol are mostly concerned with the low ratings and the inability to rely on the celebrity that Simon Cowell brought to the table. It seems as if every piece of American Idol is being changed in order to rest the show on the “story of winning or losing.” The changes range from online voting, to an updated set, and even faster music releases in order to keep audiences involved and participating in the show.
In addition, the voting may go through a fundamental change. Up until this point, an unlimited number of votes have been accepted. The producers, including Ken Warwick, are considering a change to the voting system. Limiting the number of Text Message votes, along with internet ballots, in order to have a fairer way of judging the winner.
Fortunately, American Idol,which brings in around 800 million annually, has only lost about three million viewers. This keeps the ratings at an average of 26 million viewers an episode. This is why we can expect American Idol to continue, even when it’s two most popular stars, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, have left. Additionally, American Idol is able to bring in a larger financial windfall than the competitors because of their strong ratings in prized demographics. This means that American Idol is likely to stick around, even if its numbers continue to fall a little more.
Lastly, one should keep an eye on American Idol for the purposes of Media Convergence. With Reality Television becoming so popular, American Idol built its success on converging both Television and traditional mediums of communications, like the telephone. This continued into the second season with Text Messaging and has brought the internet into the mix as well. By allowing audiences to vote, and view extra online material, American Idol may end up being a driving force behind convergence. How easy would it be to vote if you had an Television with Internet? While American Idol is only beginning to utilize the internet, if it is successful we can be sure that it will be used on other shows, such as X-Factor.
The future of American Idol really depend on if you believe that the aging American Idol viewer will continue to stop watching, which means an older age demographic and fewer viewers, or if you are convinced that the program can bring back the magic that once caught the United States off-guard. Either option seems possible at this point, and many Fox executives believe that it will continue strong. However, it is undeniable that American Idol has had a rich history and will leave its stamp on Television for a long time to come.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Everyone’s a critic: American Idol and American Culture
For such a breakout super-hit, it is strange that the critical community is not more in line with the impact of American idol. During its long run, the critics have disagreed with each other at every step. During the early years, American Idol was singled out for its blatant commercialism. However, as American idol continued, critics said everything about it, including that it was the most influential show in television history and that it was the worst thing to happen to art in a long time. The show has received near universal criticism from the music industry.
Simon Cowell has received his fair share of criticism, but it is no wonder that he was rated Number One on several lists of the most influential people in reality television “not just because he's a singular on-air talent able to captivate an audience in a way that no one has replicated,” but because he has warped the entire culture. After Simon became so popular for being mean, other reality shows instantly brought judges in to mimic his performance. His smart and mean personality caught fire in our culture and allowed mean to be an acceptable personality trait. Furthermore, Simon has been able to bring a sense of gravitas to the table. His reputation of telling-it-how-it-is, and being right, has made the judging an assessment that people trust.
As far as American Idol itself is concerned in general, it has been slammed over and over again for product placement. Furthermore, many artists, Sheryl Crow, attack American idol by saying, "Let’s face it, it undermines art in every way and promotes commercialism, I am sad people love it so." And people like Elton John talk about how the “only way to sustain a career is to pay your dues in small clubs.” These massive attacks on American Idol stem not only from the product placement, but also from railroading music stars. However, these criticisms are often made prematurely. Many critics do not realize that massive product placement was necessary to get the show started in the first season, since Fox would not take a loss on a summer series. Furthermore, many critics have voiced their support for the fast track musician selection. They contend that it allows musicians to bypass the music industry altogether, which often holds all the cards against new artists. Furthermore, they skip a lot of the production arm twisting that occurs throughout the process of producing a CD, auto-tune being one of the most infamous.
As far as the television industry is concerned, American idol is considered not only a massive bully, but also the most influential show on television. It has warped the season and forced each network to schedule their shows on days that do not compete with American Idol. Even Dancing With the Stars, a massive hit, was not willing to be placed in the same time slot as American Idol. Television executives have admitted that “Really, it doesn’t feel like a TV show sometimes. It’s like the Super Bowl” when it comes to scheduling against American Idol. Furthermore, American Idol has won Fox the most viewed television network. The massive numbers of people who gathered twice a week to view American Idol helped shows that came before and after the program, while delivering gigantic numbers for the season finale. This show has transformed the television landscape by providing a format that is intensely popular to the point where it greatly influences the decisions of each other network.
When looking at the other impacts that American idol has had on American Culture, it may surprise many to see what the show has actually accomplished. American Idol stars, even if they do not win, often have great success on Broadway. Their ability to revitalize the atrophied medium has given people a reason to hope that maybe Broadway is not ready to go right now. Furthermore, American Idol has had a gigantic impact on both record sales and the radio industry. Nielson has found that “A performance of a song on American Idol has a positive sales impact on the original for eight weeks,” “American Idol contestants have sold 42 million albums over the past 6+ years,” “and that “in 2009, they made up 1.5 percent of album sales.” This has provided the record industry with a much needed boost. As for the Radio industry, "American Idol has become a dominant force in radio” with over six million spins.
This assessment does not analyze the major spinoffs, such as Dancing With the Stars, or the massive impact that the show had on Text Messaging, that have gone on to make waves in the United States culture. However, even looking at a few of these industries, it becomes apparent that American idol has had a massive effect on everything from the way we view judges, to the way Radio and Music industries are run. The effects and criticism has changed over time, but no one can contest that American Idol has won itself a space at the top of the cultural hierarchy.
Simon Cowell has received his fair share of criticism, but it is no wonder that he was rated Number One on several lists of the most influential people in reality television “not just because he's a singular on-air talent able to captivate an audience in a way that no one has replicated,” but because he has warped the entire culture. After Simon became so popular for being mean, other reality shows instantly brought judges in to mimic his performance. His smart and mean personality caught fire in our culture and allowed mean to be an acceptable personality trait. Furthermore, Simon has been able to bring a sense of gravitas to the table. His reputation of telling-it-how-it-is, and being right, has made the judging an assessment that people trust.
As far as American Idol itself is concerned in general, it has been slammed over and over again for product placement. Furthermore, many artists, Sheryl Crow, attack American idol by saying, "Let’s face it, it undermines art in every way and promotes commercialism, I am sad people love it so." And people like Elton John talk about how the “only way to sustain a career is to pay your dues in small clubs.” These massive attacks on American Idol stem not only from the product placement, but also from railroading music stars. However, these criticisms are often made prematurely. Many critics do not realize that massive product placement was necessary to get the show started in the first season, since Fox would not take a loss on a summer series. Furthermore, many critics have voiced their support for the fast track musician selection. They contend that it allows musicians to bypass the music industry altogether, which often holds all the cards against new artists. Furthermore, they skip a lot of the production arm twisting that occurs throughout the process of producing a CD, auto-tune being one of the most infamous.
As far as the television industry is concerned, American idol is considered not only a massive bully, but also the most influential show on television. It has warped the season and forced each network to schedule their shows on days that do not compete with American Idol. Even Dancing With the Stars, a massive hit, was not willing to be placed in the same time slot as American Idol. Television executives have admitted that “Really, it doesn’t feel like a TV show sometimes. It’s like the Super Bowl” when it comes to scheduling against American Idol. Furthermore, American Idol has won Fox the most viewed television network. The massive numbers of people who gathered twice a week to view American Idol helped shows that came before and after the program, while delivering gigantic numbers for the season finale. This show has transformed the television landscape by providing a format that is intensely popular to the point where it greatly influences the decisions of each other network.
When looking at the other impacts that American idol has had on American Culture, it may surprise many to see what the show has actually accomplished. American Idol stars, even if they do not win, often have great success on Broadway. Their ability to revitalize the atrophied medium has given people a reason to hope that maybe Broadway is not ready to go right now. Furthermore, American Idol has had a gigantic impact on both record sales and the radio industry. Nielson has found that “A performance of a song on American Idol has a positive sales impact on the original for eight weeks,” “American Idol contestants have sold 42 million albums over the past 6+ years,” “and that “in 2009, they made up 1.5 percent of album sales.” This has provided the record industry with a much needed boost. As for the Radio industry, "American Idol has become a dominant force in radio” with over six million spins.
This assessment does not analyze the major spinoffs, such as Dancing With the Stars, or the massive impact that the show had on Text Messaging, that have gone on to make waves in the United States culture. However, even looking at a few of these industries, it becomes apparent that American idol has had a massive effect on everything from the way we view judges, to the way Radio and Music industries are run. The effects and criticism has changed over time, but no one can contest that American Idol has won itself a space at the top of the cultural hierarchy.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Part 2/4, A New Dream: The Success of American Idol
The success of American idol has always rested on two major vehicles that never fail to bring in audiences. The first is the emphasis on the audience. Each viewer is able, and encouraged, to view the singer as a regular person, someone much like themselves. The idea that one day you could be flipping burgers and 15 weeks later you might be a national celebrity with a one million dollar contract was, to say the least, enticing. Additionally, the fact that voters, in theory, could control the outcome of the show placed both urgency and an opportunity for viewers to get excited about the show. People’s interest stayed strong so they could see who is next and if their singer made the cut. These two modes of audience participation encouraged people to stay tuned and gather friends in order to influence change.
Casting Call
The casting call for American Idol gives great insight into the nature of American idol and why it was such a runaway success. The emphasis on “you” during the audition notice is a convincing sell for those who desire to be “megastars.” Furthermore, that was the point from the beginning. Producers wanted to repackage the American dream into a show that promised fame and stardom. The American Dream, since James Truslow Adams, has been popularized as the ability to become rich and successful through hard work and ability. However, American Idol tapped into this idea and encouraged people to believe that “you” (who, me?) could become rich and famous if you had the ability and were willing to put in the hard work. However, the key difference with American Idol is that is a fast track, one that allowed the audience to observe the fulfillment of the dream within a few short months.
This had an intense impact on the ethos of the show, which was encouraged by the producers. In fact, one of the producers, Ken Warwick, said that:
"There's no secret," he says. "In America, everyone wants to be famous. That's what it's all about. That's the Golden Fleece. They all want to walk into a restaurant and be recognized. It's a religion here - not a very healthy one, perhaps - but there nonetheless. The prize we offer isn't a record deal, its stardom. That's the whole ethos of the show. You can be flipping burgers one minute and then, three months later, you are a huge star in America. We offer a fast track, short route to stardom, and that is very, very appealing to many people." Or, as Lythgoe puts it, "We've repackaged the American dream and brought it back to this country."
This desire to sell the American Dream back to Americans allowed each person to connect with the struggle of each participant and get caught up in all of the excitement. When a favored contestant advanced, the audience was able to literally see the American dream being played out in front of them. This nearly created a moral imperative for people to stay involved and see if their candidate won, in order to see justice done to the American dream.
Premier Commercial
This is one of the first commercials for American Idol. It contains the same formula that is discussed above, the idea that “you” decide who wins. With this commercial, the show is trying to play up the audience participation in the show. Your ability to decide who ultimately wins is enough to produce legions of eager fans. This is important not only for ratings but also, as with Pop Idol, to manufacture a fan base for the artist once they create an album. The guarantee of a successful album is an important part of the promise of fame that American Idol offers. The voting base is able to see how the singer becomes famous and pushes that person in the right direction. This is reinforced by the thing that separates American Idol from most voting show, its unbridled voting system. Where Dancing with The Stars mixes judging and votes to produce a winner and Star Search had only audience voting, American Idol allows for complete audience control, from the comfort of your house.
In fact people take the voting portion of American idol so seriously that they have begun to vote in massive blocks. With only a few hours to vote, many people are sending thousands of text messages, creating software to send votes, and casting call-in votes using multiple phones. The logic may be that American Idol allows multiple votes, and so you are allowed to cast them. If a fan likes Carrie Underwood enough to send 10,000 text messages over the course of four hours, then why should that not count in favor of the artist who inspired such fervent zeal?
While American Idol assures the public that the block votes are not statistically significant, an individual may feel as if they are having a great impact on the show when they cast so many votes, especially when a singer’s distance from the chopping block has been as little as 30,000. Regardless of if block voters do affect the outcome; many block voters believe that they have an enormous influence on the process. This feeds back into the story that American idol has told since its inception, that anyone can be famous, that this show is about “you.” This lends itself to a new phenomenon, where fewer people watch American idol, but the number of votes cast per episode has spiked tremendously.
The success of American idol really springs from two pillars of development. The first is its voting system, which centers the show on the individual at home, and the second is its appeal to the new American dream. The idea that anyone can become famous and rich because of their hard work, the American Dream, is shamelessly exploited on American Idol. It is seen in the casting call that encourages individuals to show up in order to tryout to become the next superstar, in the form, where superstardom can be reached within weeks, and in the central role that the audience plays. “You” are the center of the show.
Casting Call
The casting call for American Idol gives great insight into the nature of American idol and why it was such a runaway success. The emphasis on “you” during the audition notice is a convincing sell for those who desire to be “megastars.” Furthermore, that was the point from the beginning. Producers wanted to repackage the American dream into a show that promised fame and stardom. The American Dream, since James Truslow Adams, has been popularized as the ability to become rich and successful through hard work and ability. However, American Idol tapped into this idea and encouraged people to believe that “you” (who, me?) could become rich and famous if you had the ability and were willing to put in the hard work. However, the key difference with American Idol is that is a fast track, one that allowed the audience to observe the fulfillment of the dream within a few short months.
This had an intense impact on the ethos of the show, which was encouraged by the producers. In fact, one of the producers, Ken Warwick, said that:
"There's no secret," he says. "In America, everyone wants to be famous. That's what it's all about. That's the Golden Fleece. They all want to walk into a restaurant and be recognized. It's a religion here - not a very healthy one, perhaps - but there nonetheless. The prize we offer isn't a record deal, its stardom. That's the whole ethos of the show. You can be flipping burgers one minute and then, three months later, you are a huge star in America. We offer a fast track, short route to stardom, and that is very, very appealing to many people." Or, as Lythgoe puts it, "We've repackaged the American dream and brought it back to this country."
This desire to sell the American Dream back to Americans allowed each person to connect with the struggle of each participant and get caught up in all of the excitement. When a favored contestant advanced, the audience was able to literally see the American dream being played out in front of them. This nearly created a moral imperative for people to stay involved and see if their candidate won, in order to see justice done to the American dream.
Premier Commercial
This is one of the first commercials for American Idol. It contains the same formula that is discussed above, the idea that “you” decide who wins. With this commercial, the show is trying to play up the audience participation in the show. Your ability to decide who ultimately wins is enough to produce legions of eager fans. This is important not only for ratings but also, as with Pop Idol, to manufacture a fan base for the artist once they create an album. The guarantee of a successful album is an important part of the promise of fame that American Idol offers. The voting base is able to see how the singer becomes famous and pushes that person in the right direction. This is reinforced by the thing that separates American Idol from most voting show, its unbridled voting system. Where Dancing with The Stars mixes judging and votes to produce a winner and Star Search had only audience voting, American Idol allows for complete audience control, from the comfort of your house.
In fact people take the voting portion of American idol so seriously that they have begun to vote in massive blocks. With only a few hours to vote, many people are sending thousands of text messages, creating software to send votes, and casting call-in votes using multiple phones. The logic may be that American Idol allows multiple votes, and so you are allowed to cast them. If a fan likes Carrie Underwood enough to send 10,000 text messages over the course of four hours, then why should that not count in favor of the artist who inspired such fervent zeal?
While American Idol assures the public that the block votes are not statistically significant, an individual may feel as if they are having a great impact on the show when they cast so many votes, especially when a singer’s distance from the chopping block has been as little as 30,000. Regardless of if block voters do affect the outcome; many block voters believe that they have an enormous influence on the process. This feeds back into the story that American idol has told since its inception, that anyone can be famous, that this show is about “you.” This lends itself to a new phenomenon, where fewer people watch American idol, but the number of votes cast per episode has spiked tremendously.
The success of American idol really springs from two pillars of development. The first is its voting system, which centers the show on the individual at home, and the second is its appeal to the new American dream. The idea that anyone can become famous and rich because of their hard work, the American Dream, is shamelessly exploited on American Idol. It is seen in the casting call that encourages individuals to show up in order to tryout to become the next superstar, in the form, where superstardom can be reached within weeks, and in the central role that the audience plays. “You” are the center of the show.
Part One: American Idol Production: How the Media Giant got Its Start
The mega-hit American Idol, which became one of televisions greatest shows, began with a British hit that migrated to American. The producers were trying to market both fame and music in order to repackage the American Dream and make people feel as if anyone could be a star. This format met with harsh resistance in American production circles because executives believed that it was just another music show. However, with a little luck, Pop Idol made a successful migration to American homes and became a success due to the cheap costs of production, favorable position, and its pulse on the American Dream.
In order to tell the story of American Idol, it is necessary to start way back in Australia with Popstars. This successful show centered on auditioning and creating a band. This format made huge waves in Britain and caught the attention of Fuller and 19 Entertainment. Popstars was followed the formation of an all girl band that was to be named TrueBliss. Unfortunately, the biggest flaw that the show had was that once the audition process was over, audiences became bored with the show. This was occurring beside the Eurovision Song Contest, which utilized audience participation via a telephone vote.
Pop Idol would improve on Popstars by being harsher and allowing the audience vote that had been such a hit with the Eurovision Song Contest. The idea was to move away from the success of the actual music and rely more on the drama to carry the show. This way, even if a particular song flopped, the immanent elimination and the harsh criticism would certainly carry the show. In order to utilize continuous audience participation, not to mention drama, Pop Idol ran 15 weeks long and only kept the audition portion of Popstars.
The audience vote was viewed as an integral part of the show. The ability to have even limited control over the winner not only drew people in to cast their ballots, but energized people into pulling both friends and family into the show. Furthermore, audience voting gave everyone something to talk about at the office, and encouraged people to have a greater buy-in with the show. The grand prize was also alluring. The idea that a contestant’s life might get turned around based on the audience’s actions made the prize that much greater. This format had monumental success due to the growth of ratings throughout the season. The show was hailed as a success with ten million viewers in Britain.
This is the format that was sold to American executives. Unfortunately, American Idol was passed up by ABC and other networks. At the time, this was a curious occurrence since each network was trying to snap up reality television shows in order to emulate the success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Survivor. However, the massive success of Pop Idol was seen as a provincial and British. This sentiment was reinforced by the failure of both Making the Band and Pop Stars. Network executives diagnosed these failures as an inherent product of the fractured American music taste. Since music taste was particular for each demographic, any music show was seen as an impossible sell to a larger audience. While Fox agreed to accept the show, they would only air it on the condition that it was prepaid for with advertising revenue. While gathering this revenue proved difficult with a tenuous concept, American Idol producers got a break. Fortunately, the show was bought because of the low cost of production and the fact that Rupert Murdoch had a daughter who was managing a British portion of Newscorp, and happened to love Pop Idol. After a persuasive phone call, where she explained how this show had become a phenomenon, Fox agreed to purchase the show and increase the summer series from 8 to 15 weeks. Upon watching more tapes, the producers then demanded that Simon Cowell perform as a judge in America, emulating the corrosive image that he produced on Pop Idol.
The entrance of Simon Cowell into American Idol is perhaps one of the most influential directions the show ever went in. while Cowell was the star judge of Pop Idol, he was in it mainly to sign the next big singer, and his reputation as a great music producer had no context in America before American Idol. Nevertheless, the producers recognized the energy that he brought to the audience with his criticism and wanted that same reaction. Cowell himself was concerned that he would be censored and that America was too politically correct for his frank assessments. Luckily, the producers gave him space to maneuver. In addition to providing experience to the American Idol Judges, he also brought a sense of gravitas to the table. Since he was the only non-musician of the three judges, and a successful music producer, he was able to justify his intense comments. This not only produced a counterweight to the other judges, but also allowed for audiences to enjoy a thorough dressing down of amateur contestants which became a highlight of the American Idol Experience.
In order to tell the story of American Idol, it is necessary to start way back in Australia with Popstars. This successful show centered on auditioning and creating a band. This format made huge waves in Britain and caught the attention of Fuller and 19 Entertainment. Popstars was followed the formation of an all girl band that was to be named TrueBliss. Unfortunately, the biggest flaw that the show had was that once the audition process was over, audiences became bored with the show. This was occurring beside the Eurovision Song Contest, which utilized audience participation via a telephone vote.
Pop Idol would improve on Popstars by being harsher and allowing the audience vote that had been such a hit with the Eurovision Song Contest. The idea was to move away from the success of the actual music and rely more on the drama to carry the show. This way, even if a particular song flopped, the immanent elimination and the harsh criticism would certainly carry the show. In order to utilize continuous audience participation, not to mention drama, Pop Idol ran 15 weeks long and only kept the audition portion of Popstars.
The audience vote was viewed as an integral part of the show. The ability to have even limited control over the winner not only drew people in to cast their ballots, but energized people into pulling both friends and family into the show. Furthermore, audience voting gave everyone something to talk about at the office, and encouraged people to have a greater buy-in with the show. The grand prize was also alluring. The idea that a contestant’s life might get turned around based on the audience’s actions made the prize that much greater. This format had monumental success due to the growth of ratings throughout the season. The show was hailed as a success with ten million viewers in Britain.
This is the format that was sold to American executives. Unfortunately, American Idol was passed up by ABC and other networks. At the time, this was a curious occurrence since each network was trying to snap up reality television shows in order to emulate the success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Survivor. However, the massive success of Pop Idol was seen as a provincial and British. This sentiment was reinforced by the failure of both Making the Band and Pop Stars. Network executives diagnosed these failures as an inherent product of the fractured American music taste. Since music taste was particular for each demographic, any music show was seen as an impossible sell to a larger audience. While Fox agreed to accept the show, they would only air it on the condition that it was prepaid for with advertising revenue. While gathering this revenue proved difficult with a tenuous concept, American Idol producers got a break. Fortunately, the show was bought because of the low cost of production and the fact that Rupert Murdoch had a daughter who was managing a British portion of Newscorp, and happened to love Pop Idol. After a persuasive phone call, where she explained how this show had become a phenomenon, Fox agreed to purchase the show and increase the summer series from 8 to 15 weeks. Upon watching more tapes, the producers then demanded that Simon Cowell perform as a judge in America, emulating the corrosive image that he produced on Pop Idol.
The entrance of Simon Cowell into American Idol is perhaps one of the most influential directions the show ever went in. while Cowell was the star judge of Pop Idol, he was in it mainly to sign the next big singer, and his reputation as a great music producer had no context in America before American Idol. Nevertheless, the producers recognized the energy that he brought to the audience with his criticism and wanted that same reaction. Cowell himself was concerned that he would be censored and that America was too politically correct for his frank assessments. Luckily, the producers gave him space to maneuver. In addition to providing experience to the American Idol Judges, he also brought a sense of gravitas to the table. Since he was the only non-musician of the three judges, and a successful music producer, he was able to justify his intense comments. This not only produced a counterweight to the other judges, but also allowed for audiences to enjoy a thorough dressing down of amateur contestants which became a highlight of the American Idol Experience.