American Idol debuted in the summer of 2002. At the time, Idol was one of the only reality singing competition shows around. The concept was simple. Find singers from all over America, get the audience to vote for their favourites week to week, and catapult the winner into superstardom. Part of success of the show was due to the judges. There was Simon Cowell (acclaimed music producer), Paula Abdul (pop princess from the 80s), and Randy Jackson (a well respected record producer). With judges so knowledgeable in the music industry, many viewers trusted their judgments.
When television producers noticed the growing interest in reality singing competitions, new shows such as The Voice and The X Factor emerged. Most recently, the newest season of The X Factor casted Britney Spears and Demi Lovato, who are thought to bring in more of the younger viewers. After so many season and its shrinking viewership, Idol had to make a change.
After about eight seasons, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell resigned from judging. From the producer’s standpoint, this was not a huge defeat because viewers had seemed to grow tired of the same old judges. Many new judges were brought in from different realms of the industry. There was Kara Dioguardi (singer and record producer), Jennifer Lopez (popular singer) and Ellen Degeneres (talk show host). Some of the judges were questionable in terms of their credibility, and was only seen as a device for bringing in more viewersfor the show.
Fast forward to the current season, officials recently confirmed that Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj and Randy Jackson would be the judges on season 12 of American Idol. Producers say that this is “one of most exciting judging panels around” and are hoping to attract new and old viewers.
Judges are now a way for producers to help market their television programs. Depending on who they hire determines a big part of their show’s demographic. How do you feel about the judges on reality shows? Should they be based on credibility or their ability to bring in viewers? Let me know your thoughts!