The End of One Era and The Beginning of Another

With Simon Cowell announcing that he’s following Paula Abdul’s lead and jumping ship off of American Idol come the end of this season. After nine seasons, American Idol has produced more hit-making artists and gold and platinum singles and albums than any American major label of the last decade. More than seven Grammy wins, A.I. has produced most of the significant cross-over artists that people around the watercooler all knew and could discuss (Fantasia, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood, even Daughtry) a rarity in the niche-market era spawned with the declining prominence of radio and network TV. It has fed Broadway with a seemingly endless stream of fresh faces and competent voices with bankable name recognition from Deanna DeGarmo and LaToya London to Constantine and Ruben Studdard. It’s even produced an Oscar-winner in Jennifer Hudson.

The Canary In The Mine?

American Idol could survive the loss of both Abdul and Cowell, but somehow I doubt if legendary producer/guitarist Randy Jackson or Kara Who? is enough of a draw to bridge the gap, even with the congenial comedy of A.I. newcomer Ellen Degeneres. What is even less clear is whether the music industry could survive the impact of losing American Idol? After all, A.I. drop dates for winners and losers are known to be heavy draws for fans who may otherwise rarely visit the record store or music section of their favorite Big Box store. Who knows if Cowell’s X-Factor will be the hit here that it is in Britain, creating a seamless transition without any blips. But, if NBC’s experiment with Jay Leno has taught us anything, it’s taught us tickering with a proven formula is almost always a recipe for disaster, if not cancellation. NBC could survive the cancellation of an earlier Jay Leno, but could the industry survive the cancellation of American Idol?

TAGS: American Idol, Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell