By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed January 9, 2015
"American Idol" suffered a major year-over-year drop in ratings from season 13 for its Wednesday debut: 25 percent. Last year, the show drew 15.2 million. This time? About 11.2 million. The 18-49 numbers fell even further.
So producers and Fox executive had to breath a sigh of relief (to a degree) when Thursday night ratings were released. The ratings were virtually the same. Last year, the show shed about two million viewers from the first night.
This means year-over-year comparatives aren't quite so bad night two: 15 percent drop. Last year, over the six audition episodes, ratings kept falling. By the sixth and final audition episode, "Idol" was down to 11.4 million viewers. The best-case scenario for Fox at this point is that erosion won't be quite so steep. Perhaps (and just perhaps) the folks who really want to watch the show will simply stick with it. Those who have abandoned ship are, as Kelly Clarkson might sing, already gone.
Last year, the show lost even more audience when the live shows came on, slipping down into 8 to 9 million viewers. Again, if things go as hoped for Fox, the new top 24 will excite viewers and keep ratings above 10 million. That, in my mind, would be the rosiest prediction.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Earlier this week, I spoke with
Loren Sharice Lott
, the 2014 Clark Atlanta University graduate and Atlanta resident who sang "Treasure" on last night's episode and pantomimed washing dishes while singing "Saving All My Love For You."
She has a good voice and a marketable look. But the judges had issues with authenticity. The fact she's an actress is not necessarily an advantage on a show like "Idol." She made it to Hollywood thanks to votes from Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban.
Lott grew up in San Diego but wanted to go to college in a city with a big African-American population. Plus, her parents attended historically black colleges. So she picked Clark Atlanta. Although she knew she wanted to get into entertainment, she also felt it was smart to get a degree, too. She majored in mass media arts and kept pursuing acting.
But she wasn't breaking through so she decided to try out for "American Idol" last summer in Nashville.
"I never wanted to do a show like this because I was terrified," Lott said in an interview earlier this week. She felt her audition was not her best. "I was petrified!" she said. "Vocally, I felt I was shaking." It didn't help that she told Michael Orland, the pianist, the wrong key. Surprisingly, her nerves didn't really show during the audition. "I was so excited. This audition has changed my life."
Lott is aware that she can come across as theatrical. "I'm extremely bubbly," she said. Some people, she acknowledged, see her coming off as false but that's really who she is. "When people get to know me and spend time with me, they realize, 'Oh wait! That's her literally all the time!' " She said she grew up in a very upbeat, non-argumentative household. "We talked everything out," she said. "We didn't yell."
She realizes for her to win "Idol," she has to get past theatrics and become a self-defined artist. "They want something more raw," she said. "I understand that."
When she watched the national tour of "The Lion King" at age 13, she fell in love with Broadway and has had a dream to be in that musical. She has done several musicals in her day and was the understudy for Fiona for 'Shrek" at the Alliance Theatre in Midtown. She got to be Fiona for two performances after the lead lost her voice. That buoyed her confidence, leading to "Idol."
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Kelly Clarkson has a new single coming out next week called "Heartbeat Song" as part of an upcoming pop album, her first since "Stronger" in 2011. I can't wait!
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On Wednesday night, Carrie Underwood won her seventh People's Choice Award, this time for Favorite Female Country Artist.
Her song "Something in the Water" is at No. 5 on the Mediabase 24/7 country chart, within shouting distance of No. 1, behind singles by four powerhouses: Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Eric Church.
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Ruben Studdard is trying to raise funds for two albums via crowdsourcing. (Bo Bice tried this last year without success.). He is using Pledge Music. So far, he has a long way to go - about 22 percent to his goal, as of today. The site does not cite a specific dollar amount he needs.
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I did a quick Google News check of the winner and runner up of season 13: Caleb Johnson and Jena Irene. Nothing much going on when it comes to news, unfortunately.
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I'm talking to season 8 winner Kris Allen on Tuesday. He is performing at the Mill Town Music Hall January 30 in Bremen, GA. Buy tickets here.
Two other "Idol" finalists are performing soon at Eddie's Attic in Decatur:
- Season 10 finalist Paul McDonald January 27, $10
- Season 9 runner up Crystal Bowersox, Feb. 3-4, $20
And Harry Connick Jr. is performing at Cobb Energy performing Arts Centre Feb. 16. Tickets here.
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