Tuesday, June 9, 2026

“American Idol” Hits Shocking Low– Under 11 Million Viewers

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Rock bottom? “American Idol” fell under 11 million viewers last night and scored a 2.5 in the key demo. The show is disappearing as fast as Randy Jackson’s weight! This is especially alarming since Wednesday night was a 2.8. This means that with the selection of the three finalists, young people simply tuned out. The finalists are not exciting the audience at all. And the viewers dropped out as a whole–almost a half million of them left the show before even seeing the final choices. “Idol” was fourth in total viewers for the night. This doesn’t bode well for next week when “The Voice” and “Idol” air on the same night– May 8th. Plus there are rumors that Harry Connick Jr is being talked to for a spot at the judge’s table next season on “Idol.” He’d be a great addition as leader of the group with Randy Jackson. But they need young — sorry Harry– men for that panel. Young means under 35, not 45, if they’re going to compete with “The Voice.”

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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