Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Idol’ pedestal a bit shorter


Either Jordin Sparks, left, or Blake Lewis will be named the sixth-season winner of
Chuck Barney Contra Costa Times

For five straight years, Vicky Conlu wouldn’t have thought of missing a single episode of “American Idol.” If the show was on the air, she was there.

But this season, the unthinkable happened: The Antioch, Calif., teen, who proclaimed herself to be “one of the biggest ‘Idol’ heads on the planet,” suddenly started going AWOL.

“It has been the weakest season ever,” she says in her defense. “I feel like the whole thing has lost a bit of its glamour.”

She isn’t the only one who feels that way. As “American Idol” prepares to crown its winner tonight, legions of fans and critics continue to grumble that the show’s sixth season has been largely a snoozefest beset by lackluster singers and a feeling of sameness.

Although it remains television’s top-ranked program by a wide margin, “Idol” has seen its ratings slip in recent weeks – normally a time when the show builds to a rousing crescendo.

Could it be that one of pop culture’s greatest powerhouses is finally showing signs of vulnerability?

“There might not be a real cause for alarm, but maybe at least for some puzzlement,” says Matt Roush, critic for TV Guide, who points out that ratings for most popular TV shows are down this spring.

“Still, I wouldn’t start filling out the death notices just yet.”

Peter Liguori, entertainment chief for Fox, the network that airs “Idol,” remains unfazed, despite the fact that last week, “Idol” for the first time ever was edged out in the key 18-to-49 demographic by “House,” which airs afterward.

Last week’s “Idol” performance episode attracted 25.4 million viewers, almost 3 1/2 million fewer than the equivalent night last season.

“We’re mindful of the numbers,” Liguori said. “But it’s still a very fertile, very popular juggernaut of a show.”

There’s no denying, however, that this season has been a turnoff for many longtime viewers, who feel the show’s field of competitors lacked vivid personalities – Sanjaya Malakar notwithstanding – as well as a diversity of musical styles.

“The show wasn’t cast as well this season,” says Michael Slezak, who writes witty recaps of “Idol” for Entertainment Weekly’s Web site (www.ew.com).

“The (producers and judges) let a lot of people slip during the audition process who would have given the show a cool, quirky vibe,” Slezak says.

The result, he says, was an overload of “R&B types among the females and Justin Timberlakey types among the males.”

The dearth of captivating personalities was surely a factor in the improbable rise of Sanjaya, a charmingly goofy teen contestant who was more notable for his shaggy mane than his singing voice. When it came to big buzz, Sanjaya eclipsed both “Idol” finalists (Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis), as well as its best vocalist (Melinda Doolittle, eliminated last week).

In doing so, he had a polarizing effect among fans, some of whom deemed him to be the show’s most exciting attraction, and others who saw him as an integrity-draining annoyance.

“The whole Sanjaya thing was just so yucky and dismaying that I started to think that we should take the vote away from America,” says “Idol” fan Juley Salkeld, 47, of San Ramon, Calif. “His leaving was the highlight of the season.”

Entertainment Weekly’s Slezak, who describes Sanjaya as the “perfect Disney Channel-type heartthrob,” wasn’t as bothered by him as some.

“Every season has a contestant who goes further than he should,” he says.

But Slezak does believe producers made a key mistake by not enabling the audience to develop a better feel for other contestants.

“They seemed to focus so much on the guest mentors (like Diana Ross and Tony Bennett), and that left us with less time to make an emotional connection to the contestants,” he says. “We didn’t really get to know these people, and, as a result, we didn’t care quite as much when they were sent home.”

Despite all the flak it has received, “Idol” will complete its fifth straight season as TV’s No. 1 show (it aired in the summer off-season the first time around) – a feat previously accomplished by only “All in the Family” (1971-76) and “The Cosby Show” (1985-90), according to Marc Berman, who crunches the TV numbers for Mediaweek.

“The magic of ‘Idol’ is that it appeals to everyone from little kids to the grandparents,” Berman says. “And it sucks you in like a vacuum cleaner.”

In their sixth seasons, both “All in the Family” and “Cosby” took a tumble – the former falling to No. 12, the latter to No. 5.

Don’t be surprised, then, if “Idol” slips some next season, says Berman, but it probably won’t be a significant drop-off.

“Yes, it may have developed some cracks in the armor, but this show isn’t going to go anywhere for a very long time,” he says. “It has the perfect formula in that it’s on the air for only five months and then it rests for seven. By the time it returns, the hype and anticipation has built right back up.”

That’s something to which even disappointed ” ‘Idol’ head” Conlu can agree.

“I may be down on the show right now,” she says. “But by next January, when those promotional commercials come around, I’ll probably be all excited and telling people, ‘OK, OK, “Idol’s” back and I’m watching, so don’t anybody bug me!’ ”