'American Idol' Season 15 Will Be Its Last
After more than 14 years on the air, the TV music talent show "American Idol" is finally signing off. The Fox TV network recently announced that they are cancelling the show after its 15th season, which will happen in 2016. Season 15 will bring back the show's current judges, Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr as well as its host, Ryan Seacrest.
The final season, according to a report in BBC, will be a celebration of the show and its history. It will reportedly feature former contestants and winners as a "thank you" for the show's fans.
One of its former judges, Simon Cowell, shared his thoughts about the show's cancellation. In the BBC report, he shared that he had "a blast" during his time as a judge in the show. He was among the first judges when the show started in 2002, together with Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. He left the show in 2010 when he launched the U.S. version of the talent show "X Factor." In a tweet, he said: "Looking back at my time on American Idol we had a great time. We found great artists. Had fun. And to America. Thank you. It was a blast."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"American Idol" was an unbeatable hit on TV during its first 10 years on air. It was also during this time that the show discovered new artists who would go on to succeed in the music industry, such as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. According to a report in CNN, the last few years of winners were a bit "underwhelming" and usually did not perform well in the business after winning. This was one factor that contributed to the show's dipping ratings.
Another factor was the fact that the show eventually took up so much airtime that it was likely that the audience would grow tired of it after so many years. Cowell's departure was one factor, as well as the bevy of replacement judges that did not fit well into the show's "chemistry." The proliferation of other talent shows such as "The Voice" and "X Factor" also contributed to the demise of "American Idol".
In its heyday in 2006, the show got as many as 36 million viewers, but the show's ratings dipped every year. Its most recent season only had 11.6 million viewers.
