‘American Idol’ still in its prime

How long can the dominant but aging “American Idol” keep hitting the high notes?

Television’s top-rated series opens Season 8 tonight (8 p.m., KAYU-28 in Spokane) with its hugely popular auditions, while trying to freshen a format now well into the TV version of middle age.

Although “Idol” is expected to easily maintain its No. 1 status, last season’s ratings drop was its biggest yet. Champ David Cook hasn’t ignited the charts, and some wonder how long a devoted fan base will remain loyal in a medium as fickle as television.

To stem “Idol” fatigue, the show has made changes: a fourth judge, Grammy-nominated songwriter Kara DioGuardi; an extra week of Hollywood rounds, with the return of group performances; and a larger semifinalist field, along with reinstatement of the judges’ wild-card picks.

Fox Networks Group CEO Tony Vinciquerra says he hopes the show “finds singers with more personality than last year’s batch,” and that initial talent reports are good.

He also said “Idol” plans changes to what he called “very boring” Top 12 results shows.

Simon Cowell, “Idol’s” severest judge, suggested that tweaks such as the wild cards should make it easier to assemble an intriguing field of singers – the key to audience engagement and an area he also found wanting last season.

“Too many people on the show were like professional reality-show contestants, which made it a little frustrating,” he says. “I like all shapes and sizes in the final 12, and I think this year we will have a more interesting and eclectic bunch of people.”

“Idol” also faces stronger competition this year. “NCIS” and “Biggest Loser,” its Tuesday rivals, are among the few shows with audience growth this season.

And the median age of the “Idol” audience is up 11 years – from 32 to 43 – since its 2002 premiere, says Brad Adgate of ad firm Horizon Media.

Despite the challenges, “Idol” is hardly in midlife-crisis mode.

Last year’s ratings decline of about 7 percent (28.2 million) was smaller than the drop in broadcast network viewership; the Tuesday and Wednesday shows each topped No. 3 “Dancing With the Stars” by more than 6 million viewers; and it was even more dominant with the young adults (18 to 49) prized by advertisers.

Some viewer loss is expected in an eighth-season show, executive producer Ken Warwick says, but huge changes aren’t needed to maintain popularity.

“The truth is, if you’re successful after (seven) seasons, you’re not doing too much wrong,” he says.

Critics regularly question whether judges’ comments, particularly Cowell’s, are too mean, especially for contestants who may be emotionally unstable.

That question arose again after the apparent suicide of former “Idol” auditioner Paula Goodspeed in November.

Warwick says the tone and representation at this year’s auditions is similar to previous years.

The ratio of good to bad “is roughly the same,” he says. “I’ve got to entertain. I’ve got to show an honest cross section of people who walk through that door.”

As for the commentary, Warwick adds, “Sometimes it is mean. So is life.”

“Idol” is shortening its audition broadcasts from four weeks to three, but it is only cutting one episode because of a special Thursday hour on Jan. 29.

After the auditions, well over 100 surviving singers move to the Hollywood round, which begins Feb. 3. The second week of the Hollywood round, which disappeared in recent years, has been restored.

Jackson says the extra week “gives viewers more insight into who these kids are.”

Also back are the group performances, which some enjoy for the snits and arguments that can erupt as tired singers struggle through late nights of practice.

“It starts to really show their true personalities, because if somebody’s in trouble, you’ll always see it within the group process,” says Cowell.

The judges’ 36 top picks – up from 24 in previous years – move to the semifinals starting Feb. 17.

For three weeks, 12 singers will perform each week, with the top male and top female moving to the final round, along with the next highest vote-getter.

The previous semifinals system, which featured all the singers each week, led to overexposure, Warwick says: “By the time you got to the top eight, you were getting a bit fed up of them.”

The judges also will give a group of singers a second chance, choosing three for the finals with the restoration of wild-card picks that were dropped after Season 3.

The 12 finalists begin the last stage of competition on March 10.