Ty Will Not Watch American Idol

I was scrolling through Twitter and Facebook the other morning and I saw that the show "American Idol" was coming back to TV. I believe that it is coming back this summer on NBC. I have a few thoughts about this news.

First and foremost, why? Why is this show coming back on TV? Who is clamoring for this? Shows get cancelled for a reason, and "American Idol" was cancelled because no one was watching it or talking about it anymore. I am not a fan of any singing competition show. I personally think they are all garbage. Why do people like Paula Abdul, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Bruno Mars and the dude that used to be a bassist that always told people they were "a little pitchy dog", hold clout over others, and get to judge people? Simon Cowell, I get. He is a producer. He is a star maker. That is what he does for a living, and he has made a great life for himself doing this. But, the other "judges", we have many failed pop stars, a crappy country musician, a wannabe and a guy who's name I cannot even remember, just to name a few. So, I ask again, why are you bringing this show back?

Maybe I am just the wrong audience for this show. But, people who I think this may appeal to, kids in their early teens, or maybe 10, 11 and 12 year olds, they are all watching other shows, or constantly on their phones. I know my nieces personally like "The Voice", and when they found out about "American Idol" returning, their response was akin to, "why are they copying "The Voice"". They have never really known a world with "American Idol", and contrary to what they think, my nieces and their friends will not leave a show like "The Voice" to watch "American Idol". They have their one singing competition show, and they won't abandon it. That is one thing I like about the younger generation. They have so many options, maybe too much, on TV, but when they find something they like, they stick to it. Hell, my nieces still prefer "Impractical Jokers" to "America's Funniest Home Videos", no matter how many times myself and their parents show it to them. So, if the new people behind "American Idol" think they might appeal to a new generation of viewer, forget about it.

As far as who may be clamoring for this show, I cannot think of anyone outside of people that once loved the show and stuck it out through the end of the first run. To me, that is a problem. I remember when "American Idol" first premiered, I was still living at home with my folks, fairly fresh out of high school. That was over 15 years ago. If the producers behind this new "American Idol" show are clamoring for that 18-34 prime viewing audience, they have missed out by a year.

After seeing that this show was coming back, I did a little further research and I remembered that it was first on Fox. So, a show that the Fox Network cancelled is coming back on TV, and ABC is putting it on. What the hell? Why ABC? You used to have, and still do, some quality TV. I mean you had a show like "Lost", and you know have a great show like "Blackish"  So, why are you bringing back a crappy singing competition show? You don't need this, literally. You guys can find ratings with your own original programming. You do not need to take on an old singing show for the nostalgic audience. That is a complete waste of your time. This show will do nothing but cause you a headache. You should never have taken it on. 

Another thought, and maybe what made me most upset, I saw who the new judges were. Of course Ryan Seacrest is back because he has nothing better to do. He is never, ever going to be a famous host of any show. He had his chance, he blew it, and now, he is an afterthought. I had forgotten about him, and when I told my wife that "American Idol" was coming back, we both thought of Brian Dunkleman before Ryan Seacrest. Hell, I'd rather see Dunkleman hosting this show in its new format. Seacrest is a has been. And then we have the judges. First off, why are you doing this Lionel Ritchie? You were once a sought after musician. The song "Easy Like Sunday Morning" is a classic, and you sang the hell out of that song. Your solo stuff, while I'm not a fan, was pretty big. You are a well known, famous musician. You, much like ABC, do not need to do this. I wish you had said no. Katy Perry is like a lesser version of Paula Abdul. She is just about as good a singer, which is not a compliment, and I would be willing to bet a ton of money that she won't be nearly as funny without knowing it as Abdul was. Paula Abdul was a train wreck on TV, but it was a compelling train wreck to watch. You literally never knew what she was going to do next. It was, at times, exhilarating. Katy Perry is milquetoast. She is going to be boring and dull. I have no desire to watch a mediocre pop singer judge worse singers. The third new judge, some dude named Luke Bryan, I have no idea who he is. Doing some internet research revealed to me that he is a country singer. I cannot name one single song of his, and that makes me proud of myself.

Looking at these judges further made me realize that the new "American Idol" is kind of doing a "The Voice" rip off with the judges. Now, there is no one that has ever been on "the Voice" that will reach Lionel Ritchie fame. But, you have the female judge, a la Aguilera and Gwen Stefani from "The Voice", and "American Idol" has Perry. And both have mild to mediocre country musicians as judges. Like I said, they are stealing ideas from other singing competition shows. It is lazy.

One final thought about all of this. For all the "fame" that previous "American Idol" winners have achieved, are any of them really, truly famous besides Kelly Clarkson? You may throw out names like Carrie Underwood, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino and that annoying dude that always yelled "soul patrol!". I say back, Underwood isn't as famous as you might think. She is actually kind of grating. My son, who is 6, heard her singing before the Super Bowl, and he asked why "this terrible song is on right now". So, I don't buy the hype around Underwood. While Studdard has made his name known on Gospel charts, more people know him as the guy that beat Clay Aiken. That is it. Fantasia has been on "The Simpsons", and she too has a kind of cult following, but again, people always seem to say, "oh yeah, I kind of remember her". The "soul patrol" guy, he is nowhere. The only person, outside of Clarkson, who is a bona fide star, that has achieved any success from "American Idol" is Jennifer Hudson. And, she came in 6th place on her season. She didn't even get to the finale. Also, she is more known for her acting than her signing.

This is a terrible, horrible idea and I wish that ABC had rejected it instead of bringing it back on. This is so stupid.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is known to hum a few bars, and rock out to, "Pants on the Ground".  

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.