American Idol" is going nuclear for Season 13.



None of the four judges on the singing competition will be asked to return next season, an individual with knowledge of Fox's plans told The Wrap. Longtime producer Nigel Lythgoe is expected to get the boot. And despite reports to the contrary, Fox isn't even considering bringing former judge Jennifer Lopez back as a lifesaver for next season.


Like we said: nuclear.


"All four are gone," the insider told TheWrap. "They feel they've lost their core audience and they want it back."


A Fox spokesperson declined to comment for this story.


Driven by this belief and the need to attract younger viewers, Fox is set to make major on-air changes to "Idol," the most notable of which will be an entirely new judging panel. New judges pop icon Mariah Carey, rapper Nicki Minaj and country star Keith Urban won't be back. Even original judge Randy Jackson won't survive the blood bath this time around.


All four judges have options to return for another season, but Fox won't be picking them up, according to the knowledgeable individual, who said: "No more big checks for divas."


The network has resolved to stop paying the huge salaries it has been shoveling out for its big name talent, i.e. Carey's reported $18 million package, Minaj's $12 million salary and former judge Jennifer Lopez's $15 million.


The show's format will also change. Its look will be redesigned and the dated tribute nights will be a thing of the past. But the show's trademark audition episodes will continue.


Behind the scenes, Fox Broadcasting chairman Kevin Reilly is charged with "fixing Idol." And one of the first changes will occur at the top of the food chain: Longtime executive producer Lythgoe is expected to be replaced. What that means for the show's producers, FremantleMedia, remains to be seen.


Fox's meltdown has everything to do with the talent competition's declining viewership. Its ratings are already down 22 percent this season and it hit a series low for ratings last Thursday, when it attracted only 11 million viewers and a 2.4 rating/7 share in the ad-coveted 18-49 demographic. The ratings slide is especially problematic during May Sweeps, where ratings numbers are used to dictate advertising rates.


Viewing has been in decline for several seasons now. At its height during Season 6, "Idol" attracted about 30 million viewers an episode.


So, why not just cancel the show?


"Idol" is still a huge revenue generator for Fox, bringing in $836.4 million in ad revenue last year, according to Kantar Media. Plus, it has nothing to replace it. Simon Cowell's "The X Factor" is far from being "Idol's" heir apparent after failing to meet ratings expectations over its first two seasons. It, too, is undergoing another round of changes for Season 3, with pop star Britney Spears and record executive L.A. Reid not returning.


"Idol's" problems are compounded by the success of NBC's "The Voice." Currently airing its fourth season, the show recently crossed a milestone when it beat "Idol" (and everyone else on the small screen for that matter) in both total viewers and the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic. Additionally, "The Voice" took "Idol's" spot in the Emmy race last year, replacing it among the nominees in the Outstanding Reality Competition category.


Fox and Fremantle declined comment for this story, as did a representative for Keith Urban.


Representatives for Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj did not immediately respond to requests for comment.


http://tv.yahoo.com/news/...33699.html

Keith Urban has far, far better things to do than be on "American Idol".

Might as well cancel the shit.

This show should be cancelled.

There isn't a single act from this show that can get me 2 go see live or purchase their cd.

Coincidentally, I read that Randy Jackson is no longer Mariah Carey's manager (I didn't know he was, I thought he was "creative director" for her performances and exec'd on her albums).

Some shit is hitting the fan this week!

That's why when Mariah and Nicki both talked of walking off the show midway through, I was like "what's stopping you? This show is dying."

I bet Fox don't bring no new judges next year and if they do it would probably be old Idol contestants no one cares about anymore.

Graycap23 said:

This show should be cancelled.

There isn't a single act from this show that can get me 2 go see live or purchase their cd.

As you say OVA

This sucks for the singers though cause the show is half assing it even more than usual and probably not giving anyone a chance.

I still think the Mariah/Nicki beef is fake and Fox hyped it up for ratings and it failed because people didn't care about some crazy-looking rapper and some washed-up (to some degree) pop diva.

Gunsnhalen said:

This sucks for the singers though cause the show is half assing it even more than usual and probably not giving anyone a chance.

I think they only seriously gave Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood a chance. The rest, they just sold them off like beef cattle.

Cinny said:

Coincidentally, I read that Randy Jackson is no longer Mariah Carey's manager (I didn't know he was, I thought he was "creative director" for her performances and exec'd on her albums).

Some shit is hitting the fan this week!

This though.

I watched it the very first 2 seasons. After that nuh uh

The only idol I know of who is a success is Kelly Clarkson.

Cinny said:

Cinny said:

Coincidentally, I read that Randy Jackson is no longer Mariah Carey's manager (I didn't know he was, I thought he was "creative director" for her performances and exec'd on her albums).

Some shit is hitting the fan this week!

This though.

That hit me too. I was like "whoa really?" I thought Benny Medina or someone like that was her manager.

Never watched, never cared.

I watched most of the Kelly Clarkson/Justin Guarini and some of the Ruben Studdard/Clay Aiken. After that, I didn't care. That was ten summers ago already.

CAN THEY PLEASE GET RID OF RYAN SEACREST TOO????

That would save them a ton of money!!!!!

lazycrockett said:

Never watched, never cared.

Same here I didn't even watch the episode where Prince made a guest appearance.

It's confirmed. "Dawg" call it quits after this season:

http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/reality-rocks/dawg-days-over-randy-jackson-leaving-american-idol-215834188.html

Anyone who has been on this site knows how much I love Mariah Carey, and they also know I've been a fan of American Idol since near the beginning of the show. So when it was announced that Mariah was going to be one of the judges this season, I should have been jumping for joy, right? My favorite artist on my favorite program....what could possibly go wrong?

Actually, a lot. I was sort of excited when Mariah was announced as one of the judges this seaosn, but I also had a sinking feeling even before this season started that this was just stunt casting that would not add anything to the show and may actually hurt it. Then as the details came in that they asked Katy Perry, Enrique Iglesias, Adam Lambert, and others to be judges and they all turned the job down, it began looking desperate. After all, The X Factor and other talent competition shows were beginning to cannibalize their audience, and The Voice was becoming serious competition. Then when it was announced that Nicki Minaj was also becoming a judge, and it looked like the show jumped the shark. (Actually, they did that years earlier with Ellen Degeneres, but they did a repeat jump.)

To top it off, Mariah an Nicki clearly didn't like each other, and the onscreen chemistry was toxic. FOX thought they could get ratings by playing up this rivalry, but instead it turned off more viewers, who either just gave up on the show or switched to watching The Voice. Contrast the judges on this season's Idol with this current season of The Voice, and the differences couldn't be more dramatic.



The judges on The Voice clearly like and respect each other, and while they may razz on each other during the show, it's all done in jest.

But that wasn't the only failing of this season of Idol. With guys winning the last five seasons of the show, the producers clearly wanted to level the playing field and get a woman to win this season, and they may have succeeded in picking a bunch of boring male singers as finalists. Sure enough, the guys were the first people voted off the show, and that left the ladies in the final five. But what really made the show look its age was the insistence on doing theme shows revolving around the Beatles, Motown and jazz standards, and most of the contestants hadn't heard any of these songs before. After all, thse contestants grew up listening to Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift, and if they listened to any of their parents music, it was most likely 80's or early 90's tunes.

Then again, the judges were all over the place. Keith Urban was a really nice guy, but he seemed to be like wallpaper on the show. Nicki Minaj was actually quite a surprise with her constructive criticism, bet her antics with the pet names and weird accents was off-putting, and Mariah tended to ramble on and on. Randy Jackson looked like he was just going through the motions, at least when he wasn't trying to separate Mariah and Nicki from going after each other.

Now any show that has been on for 12 years is clearly going to lose some audience over time, but it seemed like Idol was trying to keep up with The Voice and failing miserably, and the ratings clearly showed that. The Voice trashed The X Factor during the fall, and it is doing the same thing to Idol now. In fact, the results show from The Voice last night actually drew a higher rating and more viewers than Idol did in that same hour. Idol only drew a slightly higher rating than The Voice last night because it was on for two hours. Mercifully, this current season will be coming to an end next week, but it's obvious that the show needs to make some wholesale changes if it hopes to even stay relevant, and even that may not be enough to keep it on the air after next season.

Cinny said:

I watched most of the Kelly Clarkson/Justin Guarini and some of the Ruben Studdard/Clay Aiken. After that, I didn't care. That was ten summers ago already.

Per TMZ:

The Dawg is putting his "American Idol" career to sleep -- Randy Jackson just announced he's leaving the show for good at the end of the season.

Jackson -- who's been with the show from the very beginning -- just released a statement saying, "Yo! Yo! Yo! To put all of the speculation to rest, after 12 years of judging on 'American Idol' I have decided it is time to leave after this season."

Randy continued, "I am very proud of how we forever changed television and the music industry. It's been a life changing opportunity but I am looking forward to focusing on my company Dream Merchant 21 and other business ventures."

luv4u said:

I watched it the very first 2 seasons. After that nuh uh

The only idol I know of who is a success is Kelly Clarkson.

You and I might have something in common. The moment Jennifer got voted off too soon in Season 3, I stopped taking American Idol seriously.

I hope this shows dies and we never see it again. This year with those judges has been a joke. As soon as I heard Minaj was going to be a judge I passed on watching.

It was good with Steven Tyler. At least he's a real songwriter and has been in a band with longevity for 4 decades. He made the show fun.

TonyVanDam said:

luv4u said:

I watched it the very first 2 seasons. After that nuh uh

The only idol I know of who is a success is Kelly Clarkson.

You and I might have something in common. The moment Jennifer got voted off too soon in Season 3, I stopped taking American Idol seriously.

They should keep the white hick.

TonyVanDam said:

luv4u said:

I watched it the very first 2 seasons. After that nuh uh

The only idol I know of who is a success is Kelly Clarkson.

You and I might have something in common. The moment Jennifer got voted off too soon in Season 3, I stopped taking American Idol seriously.

I remember that. Jennifer ended up doing quite well for herself. Good for her.

purplethunder3121 said:

"Xtina Bring Me Th Ax."