AI - Has The Show lost its Sparkle?

Over the last decade, American Idol has spoiled us with the sheer amount of incredible talent it is able to nurture each season. Some may say that some seasons have been more talented than others, but this could be seen as a highly subjective point!

Last night, I thought I would stay up a little bit longer to listen to all the Idol Results Show commentary straight from the mouths of my favourite US/Canadian tweeters who were watching the show live. This was the first time that I had ever done this as usually I like to watch the show the next day when it airs in the UK with a clear mind, with no previous ideas in my head.

Of course, as the show has been running for such a long time, everyone had strong preconceived ideas about what they expected to happen during the show in terms of special guest singers and who should definitely be in the Bottom Three.

Some of the first surprises of the night seemed to be the presence of the very vocally talented Pia Toscano in the Bottom Three and the guest appearance by Constantine Maroulis, the Idol Contestant from Season 4. I then realised that the worst was still to come as my twitter timeline moved rapidly before my eyes.

I'm still extremely confused by the trip to TMZ. Surely a trip to a well-renowned US weekly magazine for women would have been a better bet? Many said Stefano Langone deserved to be in the Bottom Three but I'm not certain about this.  He may not have the wide vocal range that other contestants have, but he sang very well the night before and has a lovely, happy stage persona. What really surprised me was the fact that Jacob Lusk had arrived in the Bottom Three and that Iggy Pop had been asked to appear as a guest singer!

Many of the people I follow were left very discontented by the many shocking events of the night and had decided that the show did not hold the same value that it once held a few seasons ago.

Can we put this amount of upset and discontent down to the fact that the show has changed so drastically over the last few years? Is it because Simon Cowell left to pursue The X Factor USA and that the judging panel is missing some charisma? Maybe it is just because the show has been going on for so long now that the public at home have seen it all before. We therefore expect show-stopping guest performances by our favourite artists and more constructive criticism given to the contestants.

It will be extremely interesting to find out what the viewing figures for the show were like this week. The producers should react to the figures and do something about it. I suggest listening to the people who vote!