For most of the decade, American Idol has flattened its TV competition, developed a small stable of pop stars and even launched the career of an Academy Award-winning actress. But after each success, a nagging question would always be asked: How long can this last?
So as overall TV viewership continues to slide and the talent show enters its eighth year (a ripe old age for a network program), Idol's producers aren't taking any chances. They're ready to unveil the biggest changes to the familiar formula since the show's early seasons.
When Idol returns Tuesday, it will have a fourth judge, Grammy-nominated songwriter Kara DioGuardi, a larger field of semifinalists and fewer freak-show auditions that initially made the reality show a cultural phenomenon.
"There's the question of how do you change it up without destroying what you've got?" Idol's executive producer Ken Warwick says. But he adds, "In truth, the biggest problem will always be, from now on, keeping it fresh."
Warwick's dilemma is evident in last year's ratings numbers. While the show's ratings did slide 7 percent, almost 32 million people tuned in to see heartland rocker David Cook win last season's contest. It was one of Idol's best ratings ever and helped make Fox the overall most-watched network in America for the first time.
But the ratings aren't Idol's only concern. Cook and other recent winners like Jordin Sparks and Taylor Hicks have failed to match the post-Idol success of their predecessors. When Hicks arrives in Baltimore next month, he'll be performing not at the 1st Mariner Arena, but at the Hippodrome as part of Grease.
Idol's producers knew change was needed, but not too much (the format of the megahit will remain largely intact). And most of the changes seem designed to find actual fresh faces.
"The thing that always bothers me is that because they know the show so well now ... they are a lot more savvy than they used to be," Warwick says of the auditioners. "So a little naivete, especially in the big cities, has gone. They are very camera-savvy, they know exactly what to say and what to do to get on either the good side of the judges or the bad side. So we have to be a little bit more careful with the people we pick."
As the show ages, it's attracting performers who have already had a shot at the big time (and failed) and, worse yet, professional reality-show contestants who are more interested in stardom than singing.
