“This is American Idol!” is Ryan Seacrest’s famous line on the show, which will have its final season this 2016.
It’s a bit bittersweet for American Idol having to premiere its very last season next year. If that isn’t bittersweet enough, Billboard reported that American Idol will also be four weeks shorter than their previous seasons. Ouch!
According to the report, the show will be condensed in fewer weeks, as confirmed by Trish Kinane, FremantleMedia North America President of Entertainment Programming. "The storytelling works better in [fewer] weeks. Idol was so successful [that the season] got too extended too much. There are only so many hours that viewers will devote to watching these shows, so if it is shorter this year, it will be a good thing."
The show started its downfall from the ratings. The show once garnered around 35 million viewers in season five but went down abruptly, having almost 11 million viewers in 2015. The show also seemed to have lost the appeal of its winners gradually. Many of its recent winners have a fewer impact compared to the previous winners or contestants.
The report also gave credit to some of Idol contestants that was eliminated earlier but are now taking over the music scene. Such contestants include Todrick Hall, who has his own MTV series and stars in Virgin America’s safety music video, who didn’t reach Top 24. Tori Kelly is also one of the recent rising stars that were rejected by the show back in Season 9.
Other Idol alumni also expressed their interest in going back to the last show. Jennifer Hudson, also a non-winner, was interviewed by E! Online saying, "I hope to return! I hope to be a part of the Idol finale, the final show. I'm kind of sad to see it go because it's been a part of our homes. Each of us in America, you know what I mean? So, it's going to be sad to see it go but I hope to be a part of the farewell."
The last season of American Idol will premiere on Jan. 6, 2016.