Clay Aiken News Network

This past week has produced the finale of many shows on television. Having been so involved with the finale of Celebrity Apprentice, I forgot about the finale of American Idol…and it looks like I wasn’t the only one who forgot to watch.

The two-hour season finale of Fox’s ”American Idol” was the least watched finale in the show’s history with a smaller audience than even Season 1′s finale — which aired in the summer.

It was reported that 21.5-million people tuned in to see Phillip Phillips get voted the winner of the 11th season finale of the singing competition. The show was featured many well-known musical stars, including John Fogerty, Reba McEntire and Rhianna. The show also featured a performance by Steven Tyler who performed with his band Aerosmith.

Those numbers represent a 26% drop from last season’s finale, which had an audience of almost 30 million. In its first season, which was during the summer of 2002, the finale of “American Idol” averaged 23 million viewers. The first season show that crowned Kelly Clarkson the title of American Idol aired in early September when television watching is lower than the late spring.

Season two posted the highest numbers of all, with a 16.8/37 Nielson rating and 38 million viewers. This decline has culminated in a 6.3/19 this past season with 21.5 million viewers. The first number in the Nielson rating represents the percentage of TVs tuned to that station. The second number represents the percentage of people watching TV at that time who are tuned to that program.

According to Joe Flint at the Los Angeles Times:

While Wednesday’s ratings clearly indicate “American idol” is showing its age, the show is still a massive hit, with tremendous staying power for its age.

On the business side, “American Idol” is still a cash cow for the network. Fox executives have promised to fine-tune “American Idol” in the off-season. The show also has to figure out whether Jennifer Lopez will return as a judge.

The following list from Deadline Hollywood lists each season and the numbers

WEDNESDAY-09/04/2002 8:00 PM-10:00 PM 23.021 million –Kelly Clarkson

WEDNESDAY-05/21/2003 9:00 PM-10:00 PM 38.060 million – Ruben Studdard

WEDNESDAY-05/26/2004 8:00 PM-10:02 PM 28.839 million – Fantasia Barrino

WEDNESDAY-05/25/2005 8:00 PM-10:01 PM 30.269 million – Carrie Underwood

WEDNESDAY-05/24/2006 8:00 PM-10:04 PM 36.383 million – Taylor Hicks

WEDNESDAY-05/23/2007 8:00 PM-10:09 PM 30.755 million –Jordin Sparks

WEDNESDAY-05/21/2008 8:00 PM-10:06 PM 31.688 million – David Cook

WEDNESDAY-05/20/2009 8:00 PM-10:07 PM 28.838 million – Kris Allen

WEDNESDAY-05/26/2010 8:00 PM-10:07 PM 24.215 million – Lee DeWyze

WEDNESDAY-05/25/2011 8:00 PM-10:07 PM 29.288 million – Scotty McCreery

WEDNESDAY-05/23/2012 8:00 PM-10:07 PM 21.5 million – Phillip Phillips

Although I do not watch American Idol anymore, I do appreciate the show because it introduced Clay Aiken to the world. To me, he will always be a winner.

The following is one of Clay’s performances from the finale of Season Two. Nobody has even come close to performing so well on the show.

Did you watch American Idol this year?

American Idol has been around for eight years. It has produced many talented performers. Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry and Carrie Underwood are arguably the most well-known and talented performers from the eight year run.

But what about Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Ryan Seacrest? Certainly, they were not household names before American Idol hit the air-waves and now they are stars in their own right.

American Idol has shown in the past that the idols are expendable. They seem to support their talent until another contestant comes along the next year.

But on Tuesday, August 4, 2009, American Idol showed that their judges are not that important to the show……..just ask Paula Abdul.

After weeks of negotiations with the producers of “American Idol,” Paula Abdul said Tuesday evening that she was leaving the top-rated singing competition.

Paula’s contract expired at the end of season 8 and she had been negotiating for a substantial raise from the estimated $2 million that she earned last year. Unfortunately, she has included the public in her contract negotiations with Fox. It is usually a bad idea to try to push your boss in a public arena.

There is some sympathy for Paula as she said she just wanted a fair deal. Judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson are already locked into a contract for season nine so they are set. Then it was announced this week that Kara DioGuardia, the newest of the judges would return for another year. They all were signed for the year, but Paula and the show were stalled in the negotiations.

And then there is Ryan Seacrest who has signed a three-year deal worth some $45 million to stay as host of “American Idol.” American Idol must think he is far more important than Paula Abdul.

Paula announced her decision on Twitter saying, “With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to Idol. I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent, but most of all … being a part of a show that I helped from day 1 to become an international phenomenon.”

Within an hour, FOX, FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment issued the following statement. “Paula Abdul has been an important part of the ‘American Idol’ family over the last eight seasons and we are saddened that she has decided not to return to the show. While Paula will not be continuing with us, she’s a tremendous talent and we wish her the best.”

What do you think? Do you think Paula was asking too much of American Idol or do you think the show just wanted to let her go? Will her departure make a difference?? Do you even care??

Personally, I am not a huge American Idol fan. But I will always be thankful that they introduced the world to Clay Aiken.

Below is a video of Clay Aiken singing “Bridge Over Troubled Water” on the finale of Season.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC9SKjdoTXg

Clay Aiken – He Will Always Be A Winner!

Clay Aiken – Is Paula Gone?

Celebrity Apprentice: Clay’s Presentation

Chat

Search

Quote of the Day

Subscribe To Clay Aiken News Network

Upcoming Events

CANN Radio

Clay's Websites

Meta

Visitor Map