American Idol Popularity Waning: Almost 20 Million Less Viewers Than in 2007

American Idol judges Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban are shown with host Ryan Seacrest in the center. The show is staggering into Season 12 as viewers leave the show in droves.

The first American Idol show was telecast on June 11, 2002 with 9.85 viewers watching The 2003 premiere show attracted 26.50 million viewers almost tripling the viewers from 2002. The 2007 premiere show attracted a record 37.44 million viewers, but there has been a steady decline of viewers since then, bottoming out at 17.93 viewers to start Season 12 last January. The show has lost close to 20 million viewers in the last six seasons.

Surprisingly the season finale topped out in Season 2 in 2003 at 38.06 million viewers and last year’s finale only attracted 21.49 million viewers, which is the all-time low for a finale.

With The Voice being telecast twice a year and X-Factor being shown in the fall it appears singing competition shows have reached the saturation point.  With American Idol starting about a month after the last X-Factor show has been shown, fans are not getting much of a break.

The Voice and X-Factor winners don’t get near the publicity of the American Idol winners. Quick, name all three winners of The Voice and the two winners of X-Factor. Only the most devout fans of either show could give you those names, without stopping to think it over.

Melanie Amaro who won X-Factor in December of 2011 has yet to release her debut album, which will be released next month. Meanwhile Phil Phillips the Season 11 winner of American Idol has already sold 700,000 copies of his debut album Dark Side of the Moon which has received 361 five-star reviews, while receiving only 5 one star reviews. I have to admit that I didn’t think Phil Phillips would go far as an artist, but he could be on the cusp of a great career.

Phil Phillips has been opening shows for Matchbox 20.

Season 12

American Idol went from a three judge panel of Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson in Season 11 to a four person panel of Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson and Mariah Carey in Season 12. The show got off on the wrong foot, before the first show aired as Nicki Minaj threatened to knock out Mariah Carey at the Charlotte auditions. They tangled more along the way to the opening show, but in recent weeks they have both calmed down and don’t talk to each other. Minaj is said to have said that if she had a gun she would shoot Carey, but later denied ever saying that.

Placing two divas on the judging panel was a recipe for disaster and that was what it turned out to be. I am sure the producers have told them to cool it, because most viewers like me don’t like a lot of attention being placed on the judges. Nicki Minaj seemed to be harsher with contestants a few weeks ago but seems to have calmed down and show more compassion for the contestants.

Keith Urban has really surprised me with his knowledge of American music and has very well thought out critiques of the singers. Randy Jackson has apparently appointed himself as the villain among the panelists, as he seems to be more critical of the singers, than the other three judges. Mariah Carey is taking over the Paula Abdul role as the judge who seldom says anything critical of most singers.

Ellen DeGeneres was by far the worst judge in the history of American Idol. She seemed to be more intent on cracking jokes, than on making meaningful critiques of the singers. It was no surprise, that she was a one season and out judge. I think even she sensed she didn’t belong on American Idol as a judge. Know that has nothing to do with Season 12, but just felt compelled to mention her judging skills or lack of.

It is too early to have a favorite or even to mention any names of the Season 12 contestants, since there are many eliminations ahead before the Final 10 is announced.

Apparently the tradition of judges going to rooms with contestants and telling which rooms are going home and which ones are advancing has been dropped, but that could change before the Final 10 is chosen. I liked that the Hollywood group week contestants were sorted into groups by American Idol executives. It ridded the show of the drama of singers begging to join a group or being dismissed by a group. I will never forget the season when the young boy from Louisiana was dumped by one group and him having to find a new group.

I don’t know if the tradition of contestants taking the long walk to talk to judges and being told their fate by the judges will be repeated this season. I am hoping by the end of this week, that we will know who the Final 10 singers are. Right now I think that the girl singers are better and should have more singers in the Top 10, but the producers may want an even number of girls and boys in the Top 10.

TV By the Numbers shows that both Big Bang Theory and Person of Interest attracted more viewers than American Idol last Thursday. The show is no longer the juggernaut it used to be, but it still is one of the most-watched shows on television.

It will be interesting to find out who the Final 10 will be composed of and we should know by the end of Thursday night’s show.

The Voice Tops X-Factor In Head to Head Encounter

The Voice not only defeated X-Factor in the ratings, but drew 3.2 million more viewers during the 8 ET – 9PM time slot last night. I seriously thought that Britney Spears making her debut as a judge would attract more viewers to X-Factor.

It was a huge win for The Voice, as it drew 10.7 million viewers, while X-Factor only brought in 7.5 million viewers. The worst thing is that X-Factor had 12 million viewers on their debut show last September.

The 7.5 million viewers is an all-time low for X-Factor, as it was worse, than the 8.51 million viewers who watched the live results show on November 23 of last season.

So the spinning chairs won this battle over Simon Cowell, Britney Spears and the X-Factor singers.

These results don’t bode well for X-Factor, as the other networks will be debuting their fall programs soon. However, with The Voice not in direct competition next week, it will be a true test, to see if X-Factor rebounds from a shocking ratings loss.

The Voice has won one round one, but we may see both shows losing viewers, in the coming weeks.

Simon Cowell is probably in deep depression, since he had criticized The Voice producers, for scheduling their program, against X-Factor. Now the ratings results make it worse for him, since he knows X-Factor is not in the same league as The Voice, when it comes to attracting television viewers. Cowell had predicted X-Factor would draw 20 million fans during the inaugural season, but never drew more than 12.59 million fans, which watched the live results final last December. So dropping to 7.5 million in the first show this season, compared to 12.49 million viewers watching the debut show in 2011 is a serious setback to Cowell.

Producers of both shows will be watching the ratings next week, to see if The Voice can top X-Factor for a second week. X-Factor will be on its own tonight, but with the Packers-Bears game going against it, there could be more disappointing ratings announced tomorrow.

American Idol producers can’t be too happy, after the ratings were released, as the singing competitions bubble may be on the verge of being burst.

American Idol Nearing the End of Its Run?

Since Phillip Phillips became the current American Idol, the American Idol franchise is looking very shaky, as the music competition show can’t seem to get its act together.

The chemistry between judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, over the last two seasons was excellent, but now with Lopez and Tyler leaving the show and Randy Jackson’s status questionable the show seems to be in disarray.

Mariah Carey is the only judge confirmed for Season 12 and will reportedly be earning $18 million. I am not sure she is a good fit for the show and she is certainly not worth $18 million. It seems strange after the ratings decline of Season 11, that they would pay that kind of money to a judge.

Carey is not only making a lot of money, but is trying to influence who else is on the panel. She was furious to know Nicki Minaj could be on the judging panel. Carey apparently thought she was to be to the only female judge on the panel and at the age of 42, she would be 13 years older than the 29 year-old Minaj. In addition Carey seems to have had the impression that she would be the only female judge like Jennifer Lopez was in Seasons 10 and 11.

Meanwhile Carey is calling for Lenny Kravitz to be one of the judges in Season 12. There are all kinds of rumors, about whether Randy Jackson will return as a judge or as a mentor, plus there is a long list of names being mentioned as possible judges.

Kanye West, Alanis Morrisette, Keith Urban, Enrique Iglesias, Brad Paisley, Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood and even Charlie Sheen have been mentioned as possible judges.

Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley are the only possible judges, that I would like to see get the judging gig, but that probably won’t happen since they are both country music stars.

The question is how much longer the American Idol producers will continue to let this media circus go on. I think they made a huge mistake in signing Mariah Carey, especially at $18 million and since she is trying to influence which other judges will join the panel.

There is no way Carey is worth the extra $6 million, over what Jennifer Lopez was earning as a judge, when she signed her $12 million contract. Carey may surprise me, but I don’t see her having the emotional connection with contestants, that Lopez exhibited in her two years as judge.

Fox and the American Idol producers need to make their decisions soon on the judges for Season 12. Rumors are floating around that there may even be a fourth judge in Season 12.

The days as a ratings juggernaut for American Idol may soon be over. There were some chinks in the armor in Season 11, when almost 8 million fewer viewers turned in to see the finale, than had tuned in for the Season 10 finale.

Season 10 had Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina in their finale, while Season 11 had Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez, so that may explain the drop in the ratings.

I look for X-Factor to have a ratings spike in Season 2 with Britney Spears on the judging panel. Even though American Idol and X-Factor don’t compete directly against each other, there may be viewers who like X-Factor so much more, that they won’t bother watching American Idol next year.

It is time for American Idol to get their act together, assemble the rest of the judging panel and end the present chaos and show Mariah Carey, that she is not going to pick and choose who the judges will be on the panel.

Ryan Seacrest may not even be able to save American Idol, if something isn’t done soon to restore the luster of the American Idol franchise.

 

Big Brother 14 Twist (Spoiler Alert), American Idol Judges Dropping Like Flies

Big Brother 14 debuted for the 2012 season on Thursday night with a couple of new twists. The first twist was that four former contestants, including two winners would be coaches this season. The house guests will be competing for a $500,000 prize, given to the winner in the finale show this September.

Big Brother 2 and Big Brothers All-Stars winner Mike Boogie and Dan Gheesling of Big Brother 10 were the two returning winners, while Janelle Pierzina of Big Brother 6 and Big Brother All-Stars and Britney Haynes of Big Brother 12 will be the other two mentors, who will be competing for the $100,000 prize for best coach.

The other twist was that no house guests were given keys, because the coach of the losing team, in the head of household competition, on the inaugural show would have to choose one of his team for immediate eviction on opening night.

Personally, I hope this never happens again, since each contestant deserves one full week on the show, before being evicted, instead of being unceremoniously sent home on the first night.

This website is a great source of information worth saving to your favorites if you want to keep up to date, with what is going on in the house between the shows. Don’t go to this site if you want to wait for the shows to air, since it tells who was nominated since Thursday’s show and who won the veto, plus will tell the outcome of the veto ceremony next week.

http://www.mortystv.com/big_brother.shtml

Latest American Idol News

It is now official that Steven Tyler is not the only American Idol judge leaving the show. Tyler had announced earlier this week, that he was leaving American Idol to return to Aerosmith full-time. There have been rumors that Jennifer Lopez was resigning her job as a judge. Those rumors are no longer rumors, as Lopez told host Ryan Seacrest, that she was leaving the show to have more time, to allow herself to have more time to pursue other options in her entertainment career.

As if this wasn’t enough news about judges for one week, there is now word out, that Randy Jackson may be leaving the show as a judge, but may remain as a mentor for the contestants.

This would create openings for three judges. Mariah Carey has been mentioned as a possible judge, but there is no official word, as to whether she was actually offered the job. Adam Lambert has also been mentioned as a possible judge. With the auditions for Season 12 going on now, it is probably imperative that a new set of judges be chosen soon, so they can be filmed at the auditions, determining the fate of the contestants.

After a huge drop in ratings last season, American Idol may be having too much change, too soon for these changes to improve the ratings for Season 12. The proliferation of singing contests has reached the saturation point and I can foresee the ratings drop for the entire genre. The Voice and X-Factor return in September and The Voice being on twice in one year, could be a huge mistake since it hasn’t produced a name star yet.

With Britney Spears reportedly being a train wreck on X-Factor as a judge, this is what can be expected from X-Factor this September.

http://www.billboard.com/column/reality-check/new-x-factor-video-shows-britney-spears-1007557952.story#/column/reality-check/new-x-factor-video-shows-britney-spears-1007557952.story

 Big Brother 5 Winner Tasered By Cops

Big Brother  winners have a history of having run-ins with the law and Drew Daniel winner of Big Brother 5 is the latest winner, to experience a brush with the law. He reportedly injured a man, while in a domestic dispute. Now for the rest of the story, including the part where he is tasered by the cops.

http://bigbrotheraccess.com/big-brother-5s-drew-daniel-arrested-353325/

Josh Ledet Sounded Even Better Live (Now With Video of Concert)

Josh Ledet

It was just yesterday that I learned Josh Ledet would be appearing, in Heritage Square in Sulphur, Louisiana. We got there early about 1:20 PM, before the 2PM concert. We live only about a mile-and-a-half from Heritage Square, so it took about three minutes to arrive at the venue.

Jason Ledet, the brother of Josh was the host of the show and introduced all the acts and thanked the sponsors and workers, who did an amazing job, considering they only had two days to set up for the concert.

A lady sang Amazing Grace, then a couple of country singers sang a couple of songs each. The lady had a French sounding name so won’t attempt to guess at the spelling. She returned after the country singers sang and sang the Loretta Lynn classic You Ain’t Woman Enough To Take My Man.

Then a fourth singer sang six songs, while playing the acoustic guitar, with none of the songs being recognizable to me and the crowd seemed to be uneasy, since most of the crowd was in the extreme heat and wanted to see Josh. Then a surprise guest Chase Slaughter of X-Factor sang a song acapella.

After all acts left the stage, it was time for Josh to make his entrance and he rewarded his fans, with his stirring rendition, of When A Man Loves A Woman. Almost everyone was on their feet, from the first note of the first song, till he left the stage. Josh called out to some family and friends, that he recognized.  He also sang It’s A Man’s World, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg and I Wish a song that really rocked the house and sounded even better than this version on American Idol.

Josh also sang Ready For Love. If you have a chance to hear Josh Ledet take it, because you will never forget the experience. He commands the stage well and has as much stage presence, as anyone since Elvis Presley. You could feel the electricity in the air when the took the stage.

This video shows Josh singing at the concert at Heritage Square in Sulphur, Louisiana. The video starts off with still photos, but it switches to video, when Josh begins to sing. Somehow this writer was captured on this video shot, since if I had known I would have absconded from the scene. I am the prematurely gray man wearing a Calvary Baptist T-shirt, not having a clue I was being filmed. The best part of the video is when Josh sings I Wish, which was a hit for Stevie Wonder. The video doesn’t come close to the sound of actually being there:

He came out early because of the extreme heat. Free bottles of water were being handed out to the fans, to keep them hydrated. My wife drank three or four bottles of water by herself and was feeling sick, when the crowd closed in to see Josh.  We were just outside the covered part of the arena, so  there was no escaping the heat, unless leaving the seat, to stand under the trees.

We left after Josh finished the first half of the show and went to his motor home behind the stage. I was badly sunburned by then, so we decided to leave before my wife got sicker or I got more sunburned, than I already was.

The main thing is that we got to see and hear Josh Ledet in person. I will be shocked if he is not a bigger star, than the American Idol Phillip Phillips or runner-up Jessica Sanchez.

Best of all, the concert, food and water were free, with McDonalds furnishing free hamburgers.

Josh Ledet will be returning to Louisiana later this summer, when the American Idol tour stops in Lafayette, Louisiana and appears at the Cajundome. The seats won’t be cheap, but if you got the money you will definitely get your money’s worth.

Kris Allen: May Be Time To Pull Plug On American Idol

American Idol producers can’t be too happy with Kris Allen, after he said it may be time to pull the plug on American Idol. It is surprising that he would say that, considering that without American Idol he probably would be singing at grocery store grand openings. It wasn’t that long ago that Lee DeWyze sang at a bowling alley opening, which is not saying much for how the career of Allen and DeWyze is going.

To his credit Allen’s latest album Thank You Camellia has 12 reviewers giving it a 5 star rating out of 15 reviewers.

The following article and video from TMZ.com includes a poll at bottom, that is showing that 74 percent of the voters think American Idol should be canceled, which has to be troubling for American Idol producers and may signal more losses in viewership in Season 12. This is a fairly large sampling of over 51,000 voters, so this tells me there is still some backlash, after Phil Phillips became the fifth guy in a row to win American Idol.

kris-allen-american-idol-finale

After viewing the video, am not sure that Allen said what he reportedly said in the article, unless he made some remarks, not shown in the video. Anyway, the alarming poll results have to be a huge concern.

We can’ t help but wonder if X-Factor and The Voice are killing the American Idol reality star.

The Voice: Took 9 Weeks To Choose Final 24

 

The Voice is seeing its rating slip as it drew the fewest viewers of the season last night with 11.7 million viewers. Nobody expected them to match the 37.6 million viewers, with the Super Bowl lead-in, but the ratings have dropped almost every week from the 17.8 million viewers of the second show.

14.8 million viewers tuned in for the last blind audition shows, but then the viewers returned for the first week, of the battle rounds with 16.8 million viewers. The ratings dropped to 14.5 million, 11.9 million and the 11.7 million last night. I am sure they have lost some of those viewers to Dancing With The Stars. The Voice has lost 6.1 million viewers since the second show.

Battle Rounds Fiasco

It took four weeks to finish the battle rounds and when they finished last night, there were still 24 singers remaining in the competition. Only the most ardent fans could give you the name of any of those 24 singers.

The main problem is that there were so many singers at the beginning of the battle rounds, that the fans forget the singers when they don’t see them week after week. Some of the singers haven’t even been seen on the show for over a month.

Even after whittling it down to the final 24 singers, there is not enough continuity on the show, to remember the names of the singers. Singing eight songs in two hours means there is 24 minutes of singing, assuming the average song is three minutes. That leaves NBC with one hour and 36 minutes to tell about the singers and run their commercials. It is almost a relief when the show is over, after watching so many commercials.

The worst thing about the battle rounds is that the judge/mentor seem to be more interested, in staging a great battle between the contestants than anything else. It is almost a given that the flashiest and loudest singer of the battle rounds, seems to invariably be the winner.

Another problem is that the judge/mentor are favoring one singer over another, like when country singer Jordan Rager was forced to sing a Jason Mraz song, which fit better the style of Naia Kete. This is where the battle rounds hurt one singer or the other, forcing them to sing out of their genre.

Why not just have live performances the entire season, instead of having battle rounds. Hopefully, the producers saw how the ratings dropped during the battle rounds and will rework the show, before it returns this fall.

 

Ratings Could Drop This Fall

I am worried that when the show returns in the fall, the ratings will continue to drop, since by then the new television season will have begun and television fans may want to see the new and returning shows of the fall season.

X-Factor will be returning also, which could cause more problems for the singing competition industry. It will be disastrous for X-Factor to go head-to-head with The Voice. That probably won’t happen, since they might just split the audience in half.

There are still 12 more shows of The Voice to be seen and I am wondering if the ratings will continue to drop, week after week or will the live shows bring back some of the lost fans.

The Voice needs a winner that is a household name and don’t want another winner who would be a trivia question, only one year later. Who did win The Voice last year anyway? Not many people could give you the answer.

American Idol Ratings Plunging

American Idol which drew over 20 million viewers in all but two shows in Season 10 in 39 shows, has only drawn over 20 million viewers once in  Season 11 and that was when the season opener drew 21 million. The first three shows in Season 10 drew roughly 74 million while the first three shows in Season 11 drew about 59 million, a loss of 15 million viewers and around 5 million less viewers per show.

It is apparent that X-Factor started the trend of losing viewers since X-Factor ran from September through December, then a month later American Idol starts their new season. Throw in The Voice debuting on Super Bowl night to an astounding 37 million viewers after their Super Bowl lead-in.

However, The Voice has drawn less viewers each week since their debut and have seen their viewership dwindle down to 14 million in this week’s show.  The main attraction to me for The Voice are the blind auditions. Now they are over I look for ratings to drop even more,

American Idol Season 11 ratings bottomed out during Week 13, when they drew 15.6 million viewers. 16.1 million viewers watched the Final 13 boys perform on Tuesday night, but the Wednesday night ratings for the Final 13 girls have not been posted as of this minute.

The Voice Season 1 drew only 34 million in their first three shows, but The Voice Season 2 drew 70 million, so the show is definitely drawing more viewers than in Season 1. The Voice needs a winner that will stand out and not someone like last year’s winner Javier Colon, who more or less disappeared for the most part since Season 1 ended.

American Idol producers have to be worried about the precipitous drop in the ratings. They will probably try some innovative ways of spiking  the ratings,  back to the 20 million mark. I look for American Idol to draw more viewers than The Voice, but I feel the American Idol phenomenon is showing signs of erosion in their viewer base.

It is still my favorite of the singing competition shows, but the genre has over saturated the television landscape and the glory days of American Idol may be over. We used to have American Idol alone being shown from January to May. Now we have singing competition shows starting in September and running through May, with only a gap of about three weeks, from X-Factor ending and American Idol beginning.

When Big Bang Theory and NCIS beat American Idol, it is time to rethink and seriously ponder, whether we need any more singing competitions.

It will be interesting to see if American Idol can go over the 20 million mark again this season. The Voice may be on a different night from American Idol, but their success has to weaken American Idol.

Meanwhile, Simon Cowell is fine-tuning X-Factor and thinking of hiring Britney Spears to be on the new judges, replacing Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul. He is also considering having two hosts to replace Steve Jones, who was the most tense host I have seen of any TV show. Just his presence made me nervous and the producers need to hurry up the judges, if they are running over but by talking in their ear, not having the host remind them to speed them up like last season. Ryan Seacrest is a much smoother host who can handle any situation, unlike Jones who asked judges and contestants questions, they weren’t ready to answer at that moment, showcasing the lack of hosting skills by Jones.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see X-Factor, like the The Voice have better ratings in their second season. As of today in order of popularity it is American Idol, The Voice and X-Factor.

Simon Cowell Wants Sing-Off With American Idol, The Voice and X-Factor Winners

Simon Cowell is so desperate to elevate X-Factor winner, up to the same playing field as American Idol and The Voice winners, that he is proposing a sing-off between the winners of the three shows.

For instance if was held between the winners last year, it would pit Scotty McCreery, Javier Colon and Melanie Amaro against each other with Cowell being the host.

American Idol producer Nygel Lythgoe has stated that the American Idol winner would have been a star, before the competition and is opposed to the idea.

To further complicate things for X-Factor, there are rumors circulating that The Voice will have another season this fall, which would give them two winners the same season, not to mention possibly competing directly against X-Factor, depending on the scheduling of the two shows.

X-Factor is in third place in ratings among the three shows, since even The Voice has bettered the X-Factor ratings so far in 2012. American Idol is showing signs of weaker ratings, but when they get into the live shows it will be the real test, since some fans don’t really follow the show until they know the 12 finalists.

The Voice doesn’t have the mass auditions, like American Idol and X-Factor, so they can have a second season this year, which would be Season 3 of the singing competition.

The way I look at it is that the singers have competed enough by the time they win one of the singing competitions and are ready to start their career, instead of appearing in yet another singing competition.

If The Voice does have a second season this calendar year, we could see even more erosion in the ratings. There is such a thing as overkill and The Voice and X-Factor could see falling ratings if they go head-to-head this fall.

http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1679472/american-idol-voice-x-factor-simon-cowell.jhtml

Big Bang Theory Tops American Idol In Early Ratings

Those that are saying there are too many singing competition shows, gained some more ammunition last night, when Big Bang Theory drew 15.5 million viewers to 15 million viewers for American Idol.

It was the second consecutive week that Big Bang Theory topped American Idol in the ratings. The Voice and X-Factor may have played in a part in the American Idol decline in ratings.

Too Many Singing Competition TV Shows?

Apparently music fans don’t like the idea of three singing competition shows, when considering that American Idol drew over 20 million fans in almost every show last year, but this year is floundering around the 15 million mark lately. Most shows would be happy to have 15 million tuning in, but for Idol it is a staggering blow to attract only 15 million fans.

Now the question is if the three judges really disagreed on the talents of some of the singers on the show last night, or was it a ploy to increase ratings in the future. Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson have got along well, for the most part since the three became the judging team in Season 10. Maybe it was a one-time thing, but it seems like the American Idol judges, may be trying to emulate the tension between Simon Cowell and the other judges on X-Factor.

Producers May Be Contemplating Changes

The producers are probably re-evaluating the show, now that the show is not No.1 in its time slot. American Idol has been a juggernaut in the ratings, but now Big Bang Theory has shown they can post even better ratings.

The Voice Returns on Super Bowl Sunday

The Voice will return on Super Bowl Sunday for another season. That could make things worse for American Idol having two singing competition shows on each week.

I don’t think anyone thought we would see a situation comedy beating the No.1 singing competition show, but Big Bang Theory has done just that.

Ratings May Jump During Hollywood Week

American Idol may regain the top spot when they get into Hollywood week, with all the drama that comes with Hollywood week. I still remember someone tell Scotty McCreery he wasn’t good enough for his group, then Scotty went on to become the American Idol, showing he was more than good enough for their group.

The ratings should be even better when the singers for the live show are chosen, then once they are chosen viewers may pick a favorite and watch till their favorite is voted off.

American Idol doesn’t seem to be that different from past years. It may just be the victim of overkill when it comes to singing competition shows and American Idol is paying the price by receiving lower ratings.

 

 

 

Have The Voice and X-Factor Killed Off The American Idol Star?

Erika Van Pelt a DJ and wedding singer was the best singer on the Thursday night American Idol show.

Hallie Day had one of the most impressive auditions on American Idol on Thursday night’s show and has a great chance of being in the Final 12 in Season 11. Hallie should go far in the competition, if she can get past Hollywood week which has been known to end singing careers, before they even get off the ground.

Fewer Viewers Than Last Year

American Idol drew less fans on Thursday night, than they drew in any audition or Hollywood show last year. 21.89 million was the lowest number of viewers, in the auditions before the final 24 show last year. 

Only 14 million viewers tuned into American Idol last night, which was less than any show last year. It could be that fans are experiencing singing competition burnout after a heavy dose of American Idol, The Voice and X-Factor. It will be interesting to see if The Voice makes a dent into the American Idol franchise, when it debuts on Feb. 5 on Super Bowl night.

The magic was still there for me in both American Idol shows telecast this week. However, The Voice and X-Factor fans may not be as likely to watch American Idol as in the past.

There is still little likelihood that Javier Colon and Melanie Amaro, who won The Voice and X-Factor respectively, will come close to having the name recognition of Scotty McCreery, who may have won only $250,000 but has sold over a million albums in three months.

It is not likely that The Voice and X-Factor have killed off the American Idol star, since American Idol drew over 20 million in almost every show in 2011, while X-Factor maxed out at 12.59 million on finale night. The American Idol finale drew 29.29 million when Scotty McCreery was voted the American Idol.

The American Idol franchise may be a little shaky, but I look for ratings to get better as fans choose their favorites and follow them as long as they survive the cuts during Hollywood week.

 

 

American Idol: Still King of the Singing Competition Hill

The return of American Idol last night signaled that the No. 1 singing competition show, by far outshines The Voice and X-Factor. The other shows have their moments, but neither show comes close to matching the drawing power of American Idol.

Shaun Kraisman was one of the most interesting contestants, as he did an excellent Ryan Seacrest impression, but didn’t advance to Hollywood despite singing very well in my book, but the judges didn’t agree.

My personal favorite was Shannon Magrane, the daughter of former major league pitcher and MLB Network analyst Joe Magrane. The judges coaxed Shannon into bringing her family to the audition room, so they learned, that she was going to Hollywood the minute the judges told her the good news.

The last singer at the Savannah, Georgia audition was Phillip Phillips, who impressed the judges so much that he was asked to sing a second song. Phillip will be a singer to watch when the Hollywood week round starts.

American Idol was a breath of fresh air after The Voice and it’s chairs that turned around, to reveal the singer that was singing, if  the judge liked the song, plus it reminded us how much we disliked the constant bickering of the X-Factor judges. The bickering between Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul was a huge distraction, not to mention the annoying host Steve Jones, who seemed to annoy the judges, as much as the fans.

There is no doubt that American Idol is still the best singing competition. It may be difficult to follow-up the success of Season 10, when Scotty McCreery won the title of American Idol. Even more impressive was that Scotty sold a million copies of his debut album, only three months after being released. His sales far eclipsed those of Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze, whose record sales never did take off.

It is safe to say that Scotty is the most successful recording artist, after winning American Idol, since 2005 when Carrie Underwood won Season 4.

We won’t know until May who wins Season 11 of American Idol, but fans will have fun watching the shows, till the winner is revealed by Ryan Seacrest.

X-Factor Finalists: Chris Rene, Melanie Amaro and Josh Krajcik

 

Chris Rene, Melanie Amaro and Josh Krajcik will vie to become the first winner of X-Factor in its inaugural season. The three singers will compete this week with the winner being announced on Thursday, Dec. 22.

The best singer remaining in the running, for the coveted $5 million recording contract, in my estimation is Melanie Amaro. My personal favorite is Chris Rene, since he has overcome many obstacles, to be competing to be the winner of the X-Factor. Going from being a garbage collector with a serious drug problem, to the brink of winning a $5 million recording contract, makes me want to root for him.

However, I expect to see either Josh Krajcik or Amaro take the top prize on Thursday night, on finale night. Krajcik has a powerful voice, but his mentor Nicole Scherzinger did nothing to change his stage persona or his appearance during the season. Rene changed his look during the season, due to L.A. Reid’s advice or did it on his own. Either way I think it increased his appeal. He commands the stage and seems to be enjoying entertaining the audience. Rene is by far the best entertainer, remaining in the running to win X-Factor.

Krajcik looks as unkempt as he did during the auditions and has made no attempt to clean up his look. Who would want to buy an album of his with his look, unless he changes it this week? It is sad to see a singer with such a great voice, look like he bought his clothes at a Goodwill store, with scraggly looking hair, that looks like it hasn’t encountered a brush or comb in months. I apologize to his fans for my criticism, but am only pointing this out, to say that a singer’s appearance is crucial to their success.

I look for Steve Jones to announce Amaro, as the winner on Thursday night. I still can’t believe that Simon Cowell chose four other female singers ahead of her.

Speaking of Jones, there are rumors that he will not return for the second season. He is opposite of Ryan Seacrest who seems to run a tighter ship, without all the drama. Jones has several times asked questions to singers or judges, that were emotionally distraught and refused to talk to him.

Jones seems to be obviously reading from a cue card, during X-Factor. I can’t see X-Factor bringing him back and will find a host, who is less annoying.

Shocking Eliminations

The most shocking elimination this season was when Rachel Crow was sent home, due to Scherzinger not being able to make a choice between Marcus Canty and Crow. The judges are paid to judge and her refusal to judge, resulted in Crow going home, since it was her only chance, to remain on the show.

Drew seemed to be a lock for the final three along with Crow, but Cowell’s insistence on her singing in a chair, for an entire song resulted in her being voted off the show.

The animosity between Cowell and Reid speeded up Drew’s departure from the show.

Summary of first season as of today: My personal opinion is that X-Factor went overboard, on the big production numbers. I can’t remember this many big production numbers, on American Idol. Their focus was more on the singers and not the staging of the songs.

X-Factor did well in the ratings, but didn’t come close to approaching the ratings numbers for American Idol. I look for American Idol to continue draw more than 20 million viewers in its 2012 season. Cowell had predicted 20 million viewers for X-Factor, but was 9 to 10 million off most of the season.

Jones, the host was a major distraction during the inaugural season. Know he was being hurried by producers, but then those same producers slowed down the show, by the dead air when announcing who was staying on the show.

X-Factor did alright for a first season, but it seems like they could have come up, with a better final three, than that competing on Thursday night for the big prize.

The fighting between the mentors, took the focus off the singers and onto the judges. Cowell and Reed were particularly disrespectful to the singers, in the other mentor’s tutelage.

One of the singers will have a $5 million recording contract, after the show on Thursday night. Amaro to me, has the best chance of becoming a recording star.

X-Factor Season Drawing To Close

X-Factor has sent four acts home in the last two weeks, with the finale only 17 days away. We have seen LeRoy Bell, Lakoda Rayne, Astro and Drew sent home during the last two weeks. The field has been reduced from nine singers to five singers, over the last two weeks so the season will soon be drawing to a close.

The first three acts mentioned above, that were sent home were no surprises, but to see Drew sent home last week, tells me that the voters will have an even tougher decision, each week the rest of the way.

Before looking at the final five acts remaining, would like to congratulate Astro, on handling his elimination so well. After acting very childish two weeks ago, when he found himself in the bottom two and threatened to not even sing, he has acted much better, but the damage probably had already been done.

Astro was a one trick pony for the most part, working his rapping into whatever the theme was for a particular week, without really singing. However, Astro was very good at writing and rapping, which should result in his being signed by a record label.

Final Five Singers

Chris Rene – Chris will probably suffer the fate of Astro this week, unless he can come up with two great performances, with each contestant being required to sing two songs this week. Chris is my personal favorite, since it would be a great story if he won, since he would be going, from being a drug addict picking up garbage, to winning a $5 million recording contract. He may pick up some of Astro’s voters, since he is only remaining rapper on the show.

Marcus Canty – Marcus has been living on the edge lately, finding himself in the bottom two often, but his ballad that saved him last week, was one of the best performances of the entire season. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him in the bottom two again next week. I look for Marcus and Chris to be in the bottom two this week.

Melaine Amaro- Melanie is the best singer in my book, that remains in the competition. I can see her winning on finale night in two weeks. She is definitely the best female singer remaining.

Rachel Crow – Rachel is another that just may win this competition, because of her likeability factor. She sings well, but not at the level of Melanie or Josh. Rachel will be a star in some form of entertainment world, in the near future. She is tailor-made for the Disney Channel and may wind up there, if she doesn’t receive the $5 million recording contract.

Josh Krajcik – Josh has a powerful voice, which could be his ticket to winning the recording contract. However I can’t see him drawing more votes than Rachel or Melanie. I am surprised that Nicole Scherzinger, the mentor for Josh hasn’t had him adopt a cleaner look, as far as facial hair is concerned. His fan base probably won’t come close to that of someone like Rachel.

Predicted Winner

My prediction is that Rachel Crow will win the $5 million recording contract, unless she falters badly in the last two weeks. Melanie is by far a better singer and can belt a tune with the best of them, but I have a feeling that Rachel’s voters are very loyal and could propel her to victory.

Summary

Simon Cowell’s gaffe of having Drew remain seated in a chair, probably cost Drew her dream of winning X-Factor. My personal thought is that the singers should be able, to choose their own songs. Simon knows he is the reason, that Drew made an early exit from the show.

If the singers choose the wrong song, at least they will know, that  they didn’t lose because of a mentor making a bad song choice. It was heartbreaking to see Drew so upset, about being eliminated and it hurt Simon too, since he knew it was his fault.

The ratings prediction by Simon that predicted 20 million viewers, for X-Factor never materialized. The show is drawing about half that many viewers, with rating numbers close to the 10 million mark.

X-Factor may never be the ratings juggernaut, that American Idol has been, but it is still drawing well enough to win the nights, on which it appears.

 

EDITORS NOTE: I am now working a full-time job, after being retired for the last year, so the posts will be sporadic, as long as I am working. Thank you to the readers for understanding the situation.

Andrew Godfrey

 

 

X Factor: Review of First Season With 23 Days Left

The inaugural season of X-Factor is drawing to a close, with the finale scheduled for December 22. Simon Cowell’s prediction of X-Factor drawing 20 million viewers has never been realized.

Matter of fact only 8.51 million viewers watched the results show last Wednesday night. The CMA awards hammered X-Factor in the ratings with 16 million viewers to 10 million viewers for X-Factor.

American Idol drew at least 20 million viewers to every show in 2011, while X-Factor has topped out around 12 million viewers for the entire season.

It was thought that reuniting Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul as judge-mentors would attract viewers, However, that has not seemed to make much difference in the ratings. It is clear that there is a lot of work that needs to be done, since right now X-Factor is not drawing half the fans of American Idol.

Steve Jones has been a major disappointment as the host of X-Factor, with his tendency to rush the judges, while they are giving their opinions of the singers. He definitely is not attracting viewers to the show, especially with his annoying personality. He is making Ryan Seacrest look much better, in contrast. Seacrest is a much smoother host and seems to really care about the contestants, but we don’t get that impression from Jones.

Jones is by far the most obnoxious host of any television show I have ever watched. Why Simon Cowell would hire this clown is beyond me. The most annoying thing, which may or may not be his fault, is the long pauses between telling which singers are advancing in the competition to the next week. It may be a case of him waiting on the producers to tell him the names of those advancing. Regardless, it looks silly to have so much dead air, while announcing the safe singers, then a few minutes later saying “We have to move on” incessantly as Jones rushes the judges, to make their decisions a few minutes later.

Paula Abdul’s groups have all been sent home and only Josh Krajcik remains of the over 30 singers, which Nicole Scherzinger has been mentoring.

I think the groups category should be eliminated next season, since voters don’t think in terms of groups, as much as solo acts. It was only a matter of time before LeRoy Bell and Stacy Francis were sent home, so that was no surprise.

So that leaves Simon Cowell with all three of his female singers still in the competition:

Rachel Crow has a real chance to win the competition, since she is one of the most likeable contestants on any singing competition show ever. Melanie Amaro to me is a better singer than Drew, but Simon seems to be pushing for Drew to win the competition. Amaro has the most powerful voice remaining in the competition, with maybe the exception of Krajcik, who can belt a song with the best of them.

L.A. Reid also has all three of his remaining singers,  in the competition in Marcus Canty, Chris Rene and Astro. I think it is safe to say that Astro removed himself from the competition, with his childish behavior two weeks ago, when finding himself in the bottom two. He said all the right things last week, but the damage has been done. It is not a matter of if he is going home, but when he is going home. I just wonder what Astro will do, if they have a country music theme one week. Chris Rene may have the same problem, since I can’t picture him singing country music, nor can I picture Astro singing I Stopped Loving Her Today.

 My personal favorite to win the competition is Chris Rene, but that is mainly because of his back story, not his singing ability. It would be the American dream story if he wins, going from being a garbage collector with a drug habit, to winning a $5 million recording contract, but it is not likely to happen. Marcus Canty found himself in the bottom two last week, so it may mean his time on X-Factor may be drawing to a close.

Josh Krajcik may be the best singer on the show, but I can’t see him having the kind of fan base to actually win the show. Melanie Amaro may have the same problem. My prediction to win the inaugural season of X-Factor is Rachel Crow. It is hers to lose.

 

 

 

 

X-Factor: Josh Krajcik Warned to Stop Drinking, Smoking, Rachel Crack Baby

X-Factor Updates

 

 Josh Krajcik one of the 11 finalists remaining on X-Factor, has been told by his doctor, to stop drinking and smoking if he wants to have a chance of winning X-Factor. 

http://www.tmz.com/2011/11/08/josh-krajcik-x-factor-smoking-drinking-doctor/

 

Rachel Crow’s adoptive mother Barbara Crow has related to the New York Post that Rachel of X-Factor, was born a crack baby.  She lived in a crack house and suffered abuse. It was good to know that she was taken out of that environment, then overcame that to have a chance of winning a $5 million recording contract on X-Factor.

http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2011/11/08/x-factor-rachel-crow-crack-baby/

X-Factor USA: Host Steve Jones Adding Drama During Results Show

There was no doubt that X-Factor host Steve Jones wasted time, with his long pauses between announcing contestants, that would be safe, or were in the bottom three. He milked all the drama he could and almost made the show run over.

Then to make up for the long pauses, he rushed up the judges in making their decisions, on the final two acts. The worst of all was when he acted like he was going to announce the next act to return, paused for a long time, then said the show would return, after a break for a commercial.

American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest does the same thing, but he never did it ten times in a row. X-Factor producers need to do some fine tuning, to eliminate so much wasted air time. I can see a five second pause, but the ten and fifteen second pauses, were way too long.

It sounded ridiculous for Jones to hurry up L.A. Reid, in making his decision on the final two, after he had wasted minutes with all the long pauses. 

Are Voters Forgetting About the Groups?

It was a shock to me that two of the bottom three acts, were the groups Stereo Hoggz and InTENsity. We weren’t told in what order the acts received their votes.  The group acts may be at a disadvantage, since fans seemed to identify more with the solo acts. 

The fact that Simon voted to keep InTENsity makes me question his knowledge. He seemed to diss the Stereo Hoggz, because their showdown song was slower, than the song sung by InTENsity. It was almost like he was voting for the flashiest act, not the best singing act.

Stereo Hoggz were clearly a better group, with better singing and better choreography, so it worries me that they came two votes from being eliminated by the judges.

Stacy Francis may have problems advancing, after finishing third in the fans voting. She may even be another step closer to being voted off the show, with the departure of InTENsity.

Melanie Amaro and Drew Advance

It is now clear that Melanie Amaro and Drew are the best singers in the competition. The question is do they have the fan base, who will vote for them week after week, or will one of them leave early like Pia Toscano did on American Idol last season?

Wish we would have known the exact order in the voting. Am particularly wondering about the older singers, who may have smaller fan bases. 

I can see Josh Krajcik going late into this season, but wouldn’t be surprised if LeRoy Bell and Stacy Francis are voted off, in the first month of  the live shows. It is not that they aren’t good singers, but I can’t see them garnering  much support from the voters.

Paula Abdul was caught in a bad position last night, having to choose which group went home, after being their mentor. So after round one of the elimination shows, Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid and Nicole Scherzinger still have all three of their singers for another week. I have a feeling Paula and Nicole will come out on the losing end by the end of the season, with Simon and L.A. having singers in the finale.

The following poll question asks which category, will have all of its acts voted off first.

Has Simon Cowell Dropped His Sarcasm on X-Factor USA?

Simon Cowell announced on last night's show that X-Factor USA has been renewed for a second season.

Simon Cowell was in a good mood last night, as he announced during the USA version of X-Factor, that the show has been renewed for a second season.

It was clear last night, that we may not be hearing the snarky comments, we heard from him as an American Idol judge. He may be mellowing in his old age, having observed his 52nd birthday on October 7. His worst comments were reserved for his fellow mentors on last night’s program. We didn’t hear the catty comments, we heard during nine years of American Idol.

No comments were heard last night about karaoke singers, cruise ship singers or singers sounding like screeching cats. One reason is that this is a group of singers, has no flaws glaring enough for Cowell to heap abuse on them.

Trend Toward Kinder Judges

There has been a trend toward kinder judges this year, from American Idol to The Voice and now X-Factor. The American Idol judges, in one show had 26 positive remarks out of 27 remarks during one particular show.

The Voice had almost all positive remarks about the singers, but seemed to be reticent about criticizing the other singers, since it would reflect on the mentors. There was more criticism of the other mentors, who were Ce-Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Even that criticism was in a joking way, that let the viewers know, there was no personal animosity between the judges.

Part of the kinder judges mentality, may be because the producers are focusing on the singers more, since they are what drive the shows.

America Votes For First Time on X-Factor

It will be very interesting to see how X-Factor handles the results show tonight. It may also give us an indication of what singers have fan bases and which don’t.

The last thing the producers want is a Pia Toscano situation, that occurred during American Idol. Melanie Amaro is clearly the best singer, but it remains to be seen if she has a strong fan base.

Another interesting thing to watch tonight is how X-Factor, will let us know who drew the most votes. They will probably come up with a new way to reveal the votes, to avoid copying the bottom three of American Idol.

No Comment Made About Bell, Francis Past Success

X-Factor producers decided to not address, the LeRoy Bell and Stacy Francis articles on the internet, saying they had both had success in the past. Instead the producers continued to pursue the last chance storyline for both singers.

Josh Krajcik outperformed both of them anyway last night.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see LeRoy Bell or Stacy Francis voted off the show.

The younger singers probably will draw more votes, as usually happens on these singing competitions, that allow voting by the fans.

Not Good as American Idol

There is a missing ingredient on X-Factor, that keeps the show from being good as American Idol. I think having groups, is part of the reason, since it is harder to identify with a group than a solo singer.

Steven Jones, the host of X-Factor doesn’t seem to have the command of the stage, Ryan Seacrest had with American Idol. I noticed he cut off Paula Abdul, while she was talking again. Abdul was infuriated when this happened last week, saying Ryan Seacrest had never cut her off.

There still is enough drama on the show, to keep me watching till the conclusion on December 22. It will be fun tonight, watching how X-Factor handles eviction nights.

X Factor USA: Final 12 Chosen While Judges Spar With Each Other

Melanie Amaro, who was given a second chance by Simon Cowell advances to final 12 last night on the U.S. version of X-Factor on FOX.

GIRLS

Simon Cowell made a colossal mistake, by sending Melanie Amaro home, during the week the singers sang, at the homes of the judges. How he could send Melanie home, before Tiah Tolliver and Simone Battle was puzzling to say the least, especially considering that Simone had not forgotten a few words from her song at boot camp, but the entire song.

To his credit, Simon did reconsider and went to Florida to tell Melanie, that she was back in the competition. Melanie in my opinion, was the best singer among the 17 acts that sang last night.

By the time the show was over last night, Simon had sent Tiah Tolliver and Simone Battle home. Drew Ryniewicz who will also be in the final three girls, will be known as Drew for the rest of the season. Rachel Crow sang well and was her usual cute self, insuring her inclusion in the top three girls.

BOYS

Phillip Lomax was sent home, leaving Brian “Astro” Bradley, Chris Rene and Marcus Canty, as the three remaining boys in the competition. Personally, I liked Phillip singing Frank Sinatra music, but L.A. Reid seemed to be more interested, in singers that sing more current  music. Astro did an excellent job in his rap song and he and Marcus Canty were clearly the best boys singers last night. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chris Rene in danger of going home next week.

L.A. Reid must not be a country music fan, as he sent home Skyelor Anderson and Tim Cifers after the auditions at the home of L.A. Reid. Lomax was my favorite singer coming into last night’s show, since he sings the music from my generation. L.A. clearly favors rap over the other music genres.

GROUPS

Paula Abdul made the right choice by sending the Brewer Boys home. The Stereo Hoggz should have an excellent chance, of being in the final four this season. Their version of Try a Little Tenderness, showed their versatily.

The two groups that were thrown together InTENsity and Lakoda Rayne will return the next week with The Stereo Hoggz. The two new groups sang well, but not sure if they can outlast, the more polished, Stereo Hoggz which have what it takes, to go a long way this season.

The Brewer Boys wouldn’t have won on the final show, so it was just as well, that they were sent home. Paula did an excellent job with the choreography.

OVER 30′S

It was no surprise that Dexter Haygood was sent home during last night’s show. Nicole Scherzinger really liked Dexter but she knew he was not in the class of  Josh Krajcik, who really needs a name change bad, possible shortening his name to Josh. Le Roy Bell and Stacy Francis are a combined 102 years old, but still were better than Dexter. Matter of fact, it seemed like Dexter was sort of confused,  after being told he was going home.

Josh is the best bet, to be the last over 30′s singer remaining later in the season. He may not be the best looking of the three remaining singers, but his voice really stands out from the others.

OVERVIEW OF LAST NIGHT’S SHOW

The biggest difference between American Idol and X-Factor, were the production numbers during many of the songs. The music was too loud in some of the songs, overwhelming the singers, during some points in the songs. After all it is a singing competition, not a competition to vote on best production numbers.

Another difference was the quibbling between the judges, on songs chosen by the other judges, assuming the songs were picked by the judges. L.A. Reid and Simon Cowell seemed to have their own personal vendetta going on between each other. It  may have been genuine disagreement, but can’t help wonder, if the producers were trying, to create drama, to spark interest in the show.

At one point Simon called Nicole and Paula Squiddley and Diddley, while on another occasion Simon praised Paula for her work with the groups.

There was very little quibbling between the judges on American Idol and wonder how viewers perceive the bickering among judges on U.S. version of  X-Factor.

MY FAVORITES TO WIN THIS SEASON

My favorites to be the best in their category this season are:

Boys: Marcus Canty

Girls: Melanie Amaro

Groups: The Stereo Hoggz

Over 30′s: Josh Kravitz

This is probably too early to make a list, but wouldn’t be surprised if these singers are the final four for the season. Kravitz probably will need a makeover, before the season is over. He has the voice to win, but he doesn’t look like a winner.

Rachel Crow’s cuteness, might take her a long way, but she is no match, for the powerful voice of Melanie Amaro.

X-FACTOR RATINGS FOR LAST NIGHT

X-Factor attracted ten percent more viewers than last week, in the first live show on Fox last night. 11.8 million viewers watched the show, which placed the show in fourth place for the night.  The show still had stiff competition from CBS which drew 19 million viewers for NCIS and 15.9 million viewers for NCIS LA.

Dancing With the Stars was the third most watched show last night with 13.8 million viewers.

X-Factor should do better in coming weeks, as there should be no more scheduling shifts, due to the World Series, which probably affected the ratings.

I think even Simon Cowell realizes that X-Factor will not come close, to drawing more viewers than American Idol, but he would like to see the numbers improve from where they are now.

Simon Cowell Showing Softer Side in X-Factor

Simon Cowell is more mellow in his first season of his new reality series X-Factor being shown on Fox in Season One.

Simon Cowell had walked away from American Idol in May of 2010, to launch his own reality singing competition the X-Factor which debuted on Fox last month.

The 53-year-old Cowell known for his sarcastic comments, when judging American Idol contestants showed a softer side in Sunday’s episode. Each judge was to pick four acts for the live show of X-Factor. Cowell made his four choices, then realized he made a mistake, so he went to Florida to tell Melanie Amaro, a singer who he had sent home, that she was still going to be on the live shows.

Melanie was shocked to see Simon at her house. I give Cowell credit for admitting he made a mistake. However, it wasn’t really fair to the other three judges that he has five acts while they have only four each.

Fought To Keep Tiah Tolliver

In his nine seasons of American Idol, there was not a time that I recall Simon, fought to have anyone on the show. He became perturbed earlier in the auditions, when Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger refused to vote for Tiah Tolliver. Cowell became agitated and finally got his way, when Tiah advanced.

My personal opinion is that Caitlin Koch deserved to be on the live shows. So when he said he made a mistake, by choosing to keep the wrong singer,  I was hoping he would give Koch a second chance, but instead he chose Amaro to continue in the competition.

Rachel Crow Kept for Ratings

Rachel Crow is a cute kid, but I have a feeling that she was voted onto the live show, more for her personality than her singing ability. She is very likable though, which could help garner higher ratings.

So his team will consist of Rachel Crowe 13, Drew Ryniewicz 14, Melanie Amaro 19, Tiah Tolliver 19 and Simone Battle 22. Personally I liked Caitlin Koch more than any of the other four singers, but Simon apparently doesn’t like easy listening music. The surprising thing is that Cowell was complimenting her to his assistants after sang at his house.

Rooting For Over 30 Singers

It was easy to root for the over 30 singers, since I am 67 and am especially rooting for Stacy Harris 42, and Dexter Haygood 49, since they seem to be the worst off financially. However Josh Krajcik 30, may be the best singer of the above 30′s, while LeRoy Bell 60 could also give the other three, all the competition they can handle. Stacy Harris 42, has the saddest back story of the over 30′s having been told, by an ex, that she would never make it in the music business.

Chris Rene the Singing Garbage Collector

The most financially troubled of the bunch seems to be Chris Rene from the boys group, who collects garbage for the living, plus has quit a drug habit for about three months now. I am hoping that he can stay away from drugs, so he can advance in the competition.

Disappointing Ratings Hurting Fox

Simon Cowell was expecting 20 million to tune in X-Factor this season, but the show is drawing about 12 million viewers a show. This development caused Fox to drop their advertising charges, resulting in savings for the advertisers, but causing the show to lose money.

It may have been a mistake for Fox to show X-Factor during the World Series, which is on Fox. X-Factor has been shown on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday at least once this season, due to conflicts with major league baseball playoff games. If fans have too much problem finding the show, it could result in even lower ratings.

Once the World Series ends, the show should gain some of the viewers, who tired of finding it in different time slots. It will also help, once the viewers find a favorite or favorites, to root for and start watching the show on a consistent basis.

My personal thought about the show, is that it will be a good show, with some very talented singers. It will be interesting how X-Factor will end the season on December 21, since there are 17 singers remaining in the show. That should mean we will see some double eliminations, during the season to pare down the competitors to two for the finale.

X-Factor: Boot Camp Missing Hollywood Week Drama of American Idol

X-Factor contestants on Boot Camp stage.

 

It was good to see that the first Boot Camp episode of X-Factor, didn’t resort to the drama of Hollywood week, seen last year on American Idol. X-Factor focused more on how badly the contestants, wanted to win more than the drama  on American Idol, when contestants were booted from groups.

X-Factor handled the Boot Camp in a more orderly fashions. We didn’t see contestants begging to be in a group, or see groups refusing someone like Scott McCreery who wasn’t good enough to be in a group on American Idol last year, yet became the American Idol.

I liked the approach of X-Factor, with them furnishing voice coaches, dance instructors and image consultants. X-Factor decided who was in what group, plus what song that group would sing. So there no drama between the contestants, since all they needed to focus on was learning the words to the songs and learning a few dance moves.

It looks like X-Factor will be using an idea from The Voice, in that the judges will also be coaches. The show will be even better, as the number of contestants will be whittled down, to where we can start to learn the names better of the contestants.

Dividing the final contestants into groups of eight is not a good idea from my viewpoint. For instance if there are only five or six deserving to be in the over 30 group, that means that better singers might be eliminated from the show, simply because they are good, but can’t gain a spot among the finalists, because they are blocked by their age. It also means three inferior singers over the age of 30 could block three talented singers from being in the final 32.

Overall, I thought the first boot camp show went well. X-Factor proved last night, they can present a singing competition, without all the drama of  Hollywood week at American Idol. It will be interesting to see if American Idol decides to run Hollywood week in a more orderly way.

I look for X-Factor to draw more fans as the season goes on and fans pick a favorite to support. One thing in the favor of X-Factor is that it has already been five months, since American Idol’s finale show. It will be interesting to see if The Voice can give American Idol competition in 2012.

X-Factor: Simon Feuds With Nicole and Paula

Tiah Tolliver advanced in the X-Factor singing competition, but not before Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger feuded over her talent or lack of talent.

When Tiah Tolliver sang without a backing track, on the third X-Factor show of this season, it precipitated a battle royal, between Simon Cowell and the two female judges, Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger.

Nicole said Tiah was singing in too many keys, then she and Paula voted no, on advancing Tolliver further into the competition. However, Simon and L.A. Reid thought they saw something about Tiah that should allow her to advance. It was one of the few times if ever, that I have seen Simon almost beg for a judge to change their vote.

Tiah is given one more chance to sing and this time Nicole votes yes and Tiah is on her way. to wherever X-Factor contestants that win go.

The question is if this drama between the judges was manufactured by the producers, or was it the real thing and that we will see more contentious behavior Simon and the two female judges. It wouldn’t be the first time a reality show, created a situation to draw ratings the next week.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20532752,00.html

The more I watch X-Factor, the more I like it. I like that the singers usually bring music with them, unlike the American Idol contestants who don’t use music in their first auditions.

X-Factor is purposely avoiding using American Idol type drama, like when on American Idol, one contestant is chosen to be the last one auditioned by the judges, after telling their back story.

Tonight will be the last auditions, before the show starts paring down the contestants to a reasonable number, so we can learn the names of the singers.

It will be interesting to see how far Rachel Crowe, the first contestant on the first X-Factor show will go, as the show goes on till the Dec. 22 finale.

Rachel Crowe was the first contestant, on the American version of X-Factor and she wowed the judges. Now she will have to show starting next week, that she can compete with the other singers.

X-Factor may never reach the popularity of American Idol, but Simon Cowell would like to see it come as close as possible, to the ratings drawn by American Idol.

One thing for sure in my book, is that X-Factor is much better than The Voice. I liked The Voice best when the coaches, spun around in their chairs to see the person,  that belonged to the voice they were hearing. I was not a fan of the battle rounds, because it became more of a shouting contest, than a singing competition.

How many people can even tell you who won The Voice in its first season?

This poll asks, now that American Idol, The Voice and X-Factor have been shown, which show is their favorite.

Will X-Factor Kill The Singing Competition Star?

L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger, Paula Abdul and and Simon Cowell are the judges for the American version of X-Factor with Steve Jones (not shown) as host.

The American version of X-Factor debuted last Wednesday night Sept. 21 on the Fox network. Simon Cowell was hoping for 20 million viewers but fell about eight million viewers short. The show came in third in the ratings war, with Modern Family and Criminal Minds drawing more viewers.

The question is if X-Factor will kill the singing competition star. Are three prime time singing competitions too many for television viewers to embrace and watch every week? We should find out in the coming weeks as the ratings stabilize somewhat and be more indicative of how the X-Factor will fare in the ratings the rest of the fall season.

The Wednesday show was highlighted by Rachel Crowe, a 13-year-old girl, who reminded me of a young Shirley Temple. She was a very talented performer and could go a long way this season. However with the 12-year-old age limit on the lower side and no age limit on the higher side, it makes me wonder if anyone from either of those extremes, could actually win the $5 million recording contract.

However there was a singer who will go unnamed on Wednesday’s show, who created an actual pants on the ground moment by dropping his trousers, during his performance. It was such a disgusting scene, that Paula Abdul left the judge’s desk, to go to bathroom and almost threw up from some reports.

There were some singers who had extremely sad stories, that made me hope they keep advancing  further into the competition.

Thursday’s show ended with the rudest contestant, in singing competition history. He seemed to be challenging L.A. Reid and/or Simon Cowell to go outside and fight. First rule in singing competitions is to not turn the judges against you. However this singer did precisely that, by repeatedly arguing with the judges. He seemed to be in a state of shock, when the judges voted no, but it was a no-brainer that he would be going home. His situation is similar to a job applicant, arguing with the interviewer, then expect to be hired. It just doesn’t happen in the real world. Maybe he will realize his stupidity and try again next year and be more civil toward the judges.

There were several acts that did well during the first two shows and I will be watching again this week to see the next show. There may be ratings problems for the American X-Factor, since this is the time of year, television viewers will be trying out new shows and ratings should be more indicative of how the X-Factor will do in a few weeks, once the viewers settle into their viewing habits.

Simon Cowell, seemed to be somewhat kinder this year, but did still make a few snarky comments, but some of those singers deserved them.

I have a feeling that X-Factor will never reach the stature of American Idol, but it should draw better ratings than the Voice did last spring on NBC.

The Voice Is No Threat To American Idol, X-Factor Debuts September 21

The Voice debuted last spring while American Idol was nearing the end of Season 10. It is safe to say that more people know that Scotty McCreery was voted the American Idol, than those that know that Javier Colon was the singer to win The Voice competition.

The Voice had the gimmick of the coaches hearing the voice of the singers, without seeing the singers.

It was an interesting concept that made the coaches evaluate the singers strictly by the sound of their voice.

Each coach chose four singers to be on their team, with Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton being the coaches.

There is no doubt that Javier Colon was the best singer of the group seen on the television show. He had previously had a recording contract and lost it, so he is having another chance to make it. The television exposure may be the difference this time that enables him to sell more albums.

Still he is not nearly as well-known as Scotty McCreery, who won Season 10 of American Idol.

This is just my opinion for what it is worth, but I thought the battle rounds became more of a shouting match, then a singing competition.

It was like both singers were trying to sing louder than the other singer.

A ballad singer singing an up tempo song, during a battle round is at a distinct disadvantage, since they are not used to singing songs that have to be sang loud to make a better impression on the viewers.

My personal favorite of the singers in the finals was Vicci Martinez, who had a band with her name, before she appeared on the show.

The Voice will return on February 5, 2012 after the Super Bowl ends. By then the X-Factor would have finished their first season and we will know how X-Factor fared in the ratings.

X-Factor has Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul as judges which should help in the ratings, with Nicole Scherzinger and L.A. Reid will also be judges. Steve Jones who lives in London will be the host of the show.

The winner of X-Factor will receive a $5 million recording contract which far surpasses the worth of recording contracts given by American Idol and The Voice.

The show will debut on September 21 and end on December 22 on the Fox network. It will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 PM ET.

Now that American Idol and The Voice have completed their seasons, this would be a good time to see which show viewers prefer in this poll.