Sunday, May 31, 2026

“American Idol” Hits New Low, Falls to 8.3 Million Viewers

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“American Idol” continued its descent into death spiral last night. The show fell to 8.3 million total viewers, with a 1.9 in the key demo. An 8.3 is very startling for “Idol,” which not so long ago had 10 or 11 million. Fox execs said not too long ago that the show was “winding down” and now it’s come to pass. Will Fox cancel it? I think it’s a strong possibility. It’s not the fault of the judges. And Jennifer Lopez performed last night! You’d think she would have brought in a few peeps. But JLO has also reached the “mature” phase of her career. She’s not the draw she used to be. And the 1.9 rating in the key demo? Ouch! That’s another all time low for “Idol,” which had been up around 2.7. It means no young people are watching the show.

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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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