“American Idol” sank to a 2.7 on Thursday night, its lowest rating yet in the key demo. The audience was 11.10 million viewers, also its lowest ever.
“Idol” was beaten by every show on the air just about– from “Big Bang Theory” with 14 million viewers and a 4.7 to CBS’s “Person of Interest.” Also, “Two and a Half Men” beat “Idol” in audience numbers. And this was the night when a big announcement was supposed to be made– and it was only that all the contestants would stay and no one would be eliminated. That 2.7 is a steep fall off from Wednesday’s 3.0, also.
Is “Idol” over? Well, no. It won’t be cancelled based on all this. But changes are coming. It doesn’t take unsourced comments to figure that out. Twelve seasons is an eternity in television. But “Idol” is going to have be re-thunk if it comes back next year. And swapping out Mariah Carey for Jennifer Lopez ain’t the answer. The problem is that, without Simon Cowell, the show has no access to what’s going on in the music business. Simon read it all like Tarot cards. Without him, the show feels clueless. Without him, it’s just a talent show.
