As we all know, this season of American Idol will be the last. To rightfully honor the end of this pivotal show and celebrate the mark it has left on the world of television, I decided that I would not only binge watch all the episodes of American Idol I could find but also look at all the shows American Idol has inspired during its fourteen-year reign as the original TV talent competition show.
When Idol first began in 2001, there were three judges: Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson. The show’s producer Simon was the harshest one of the group who had no qualms about crushing the hopes and dreams of whoever came his way. Next was Paula the flighty, aging pop star who was known for her non-sequiturs on a contestant’s fashion sense or lifestyle, as well as her welcoming demeanor. Last but not least was Randy, the laid back member of the triad who was most known on the show for calling everyone, “DAWG”.
Together the three would assess contestants on their singing prowess and each week would decide along with the viewers who was getting sent home. Obviously, the last contestant left standing would be named American Idol, but what really kept people watching was the diversity of the judge’s personalities that just made for great TV.
While the show has undergone many changes throughout the years (especially in the case of who’s sitting at the judge’s table), the program has helped spawn a multitude of similar shows that have also become huge successes. Just one year after American Idol’s premiere UPN network released America’s Next Top Model, a televised competition for aspiring supermodels. Like American Idol, a panel of judges would and eliminate one girl (or boy, as of cycle 20) each week until the final contestant won the title of America’s Next Top Model. Although ANTM didn’t have the same viewer participation that American Idol did it’s clear that the premise of the show mimicked Idol’s set up.
Next in 2005 came Project Runway, a fashion spin on American Idol that documented the successes and failures of wannabe fashion designers in New York City who were given weekly challenges and made to present their creations in front of well-know designers like Michael Kors, Zac Posen and of course fashion model and host Heidi Klum. Project Runway became such a hit that the show gained it’s own spin-off series for minors called Project Runway Junior. So You Think You Can Dance, or as many like to call “the dance version of American Idol”, also premiered in 2005 and featured dancers from all over the world competing in epic dance battles and relying on the mercy of viewers and judges to save them from elimination each week. Three years later, Simon Cowell produced another show that swept up households across the country: America’s Got Talent.This time contestants were not restricted to their musical ability but could showcase form of talent they have, from card tricks to contortion-ism. It could be said that AGT reminded long-time Idol viewers why they had become fans of Simon Cowell’s first show. It perfectly encapsulated all the hard work, hopes and hilarity American Idol contestants had in their hearts, not to mention all the humor and hope that viewers had begun to miss and the show started to lack in later seasons.
Everything changed in 2011 when NBC’s The Voice premiered. Often considered to be American Idol’s more bubblier and contemporary cousin, the show follows the same basic rules as American Idol except that it involved a deeper level of complexity. After a contestant makes the show they must pick one of the judges to be their coach and join their team. Then each judge was allowed the chance to bring on another musical artist to help them coach their contestant instead of having just one guest judge for the panel.
So 548 episodes later, as I now look back on all the memorable quotes and TV moments American Idol has created along with the aforementioned slew of TV shows it has inspired, I can’t help but think that even though the iconic show lost it’s original spark it truly is the end of an era with this series’ finale.
