http://truthaboutmusic.com/truthabou...american-idol/

The SCALPING

I don't think he killed the show. He damaged it, but it could have recovered since he's at least a good singer. Sanjaya killed the show, and even if he didn't, the 5 WGWG winners in a row sure did.

Taylor as a person and a vocalist wasn't bad... he was just the first to represent how the demographics of the viewers can skew voting away from a marketable winner, towards a niche one
lol I was one of the many 13 y/o girls voting for him tbh
Definitely. I think it negatively affected how the judges and the producers chose the contestants

Repent

And Simon pointed out that the show ultimately started becoming about the judges than the contestants.

Which is true especially after he, Paula and Randy left. I'll never understand the winners of some of these seasons.

I don't feel like he was the problem tbh. I can't at them emphasizing "pushing 30" like he was practically dead his coronation song still went number one after he won and Jordin Sparks won after him and had success. I think it was David Cook that was the first true flop winner, the whole upset with him winning over David Archuleta who was clearly more in favor with the young girls had a negative impact

But he didn't though
Paula and Simon leaving ruined the show

The three judges dynamic was iconic and they each had their unique personalities thag helped elevate the show...when they left...it was never the same

Mess. When I read old, I thought he would be in his mid or late 40s or something, not under 30

They went in

He isn't the reason AI went downhill. The ratings kept going strong after Season 5. I honestly feel like it started going downhill when Paula left. Season 9 was honestly the worst season the show had, there were like 2 or 3 actually good people in the Top 12 and so many average/bland people, including the winner.

Besides, despite Taylor Hicks winning, Season 5 probably put out more stars than any other season....Katharine McPhee, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler....Mandisa has become a successful gospel artist, and Elliott Yamin had a hit single like a year after the show.

He wasn't as bad as people claimed, worse made it much farther lol

People only called him old because his hair was prematurely grey and he sang older music. Ridiculous considering Idol didn't even allow anyone over 28 to audition

His first album sold 1 million copies in the US though, as much as Archie's debut.

He isn't a bad singer, I think his song choices were bad.

The next season with Adam Lambert was a great one though. I honestly think the show started going downhill when the judges panel started changing. The original 3 were the glue that held the show together....they had an amazing dynamic that is rare for shows like this...so much chemistry, yet they were so entertaining. They had a balance, each gave really great critiques, and they didn't overshadow the contestants. The contestants were still the main stars of the show.

First they added Kara, which was okay, but it was different and it took her a bit to find her place among the other 3. A lot of people got annoyed by her and thought she talked too much. Then, it really started going downhill when Paula left and they added Ellen. Ellen was great for comedic relief and she's super likable, she would have been great as a guest judge, but as a full season judge she wasn't a great choice...you could tell she didn't like giving criticism to people. Also, a huge factor was the fact that Season 9 had probably the worst group of contestants out of any season A few of them were great, but most of them were so average and bland.

Things got a little better when they gave it a facelift and replaced them with Jennifer and Steven in addition to Randy. The tone really changed though because none of them were really critical in the sense that Simon, Paula and Randy together were. A standing ovation used to be a big deal on the show, and they'd be giving multiple standing ovations a night. They praised everyone so much (except for a couple contestants like Haley that they were unnecessarily hard on). The group of contestants was great though, and it was even better the next year.

Then they changed the panel to Randy, Nicki, Mariah and Keith. Although the Mariah/Nicki messiness was hilarious for pop stans, AI's audience didn't like it. That, and it felt like they were just trying to get the biggest stars they could on the panel.

Disgusting ageism.

He wasn't that bad tbh. He gave a few great performances, he just wasn't as polished as the other contestants and you could tell he had the least commercial appeal. Katharine, Kellie, Chris, Elliott, Paris, etc all seemed more appealing.

Did they lie?

Many things killed the show:
*tired format and winner pattern with WGWG
*The Voice overshadowed it starting in 2011
*original judges all leaving
*Ellen being a judge and people not liking Kara in 2010
*Mariah/Nicki in 2013
*idol winners getting ****** record deals

I think The X Factor also contributed to killing it. People apparently weren't here for what's essentially another season of AI in the fall, along with 2 seasons of The Voice a year.

ageisme

that old man was in ha 20s during AI? the lies. I just googled ha!

Taylor Hicks was only 29 even though his looks made it difficult for him to be marketed to his own age range; his age wasn't the problem, it was not being able to translate what made for good television into real life music career success and that happened often with contestants. Ruben Studdard was only 4 years younger and was able to sell nearly 2 million of his debut. I think them losing the Paula-Simon-Randy dynamic was the first and biggest nail in the coffin; they were never able to really find a good and impactful combination of judges after that in spite of the big names. It was just a slow and inevitable descent once that key element was lost.