‘American Idol’ Losing Viewers By Millions Due To ‘Controversial’ Specials
American Idol is losing viewers by the millions due to some controversial episodes and theme choices. This season has seen the arrival of Carrie Underwood as a judge and Jelly Roll. He is serving as the show’s first Artist in Residence and helping the contestants along the way. Yet, despite these new additions, fans are not as thrilled as they once were. Keep reading for more details.
American Idol Losing Viewers By Millions
Viewers were thrilled to welcome Carrie Underwood into the American Idol judges’ chair. The Season 4 winner replaced Katy Perry, and it appeared to be a great choice. Since she had the experience of being a contestant, she knew exactly what the singers were going through. Unfortunately, shortly before the season began airing, she sang at the inauguration, which ruffled some feathers. Execs on the show were allegedly blindsided by this decision and had no idea what backlash the series would face. Once Carrie made her first appearance, fans really liked her and what she had to bring.
Despite initial favorable ratings, the show has lost viewers by two million since the season premiere. Nearly 6 million viewers tuned into the short Oscars aftershow preview of Idol. However, since that episode aired on March 2nd, it has taken a dip. The Monday, April 21st episode saw 4.1 million viewers, and it could be the direction that the reality competition series is taking. Some have felt that it is veering toward the religious spectrum, and that is not working for everyone. On Sunday, April 20th, Idol revolved around Easter and featured a plethora of gospel songs.
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They received rave reviews, Carrie Underwood and Jelly Roll (with Brandon Lake) were immediate standouts. At the same time, fans did not necessarily appreciate the turn that American Idol was taking. According to insiders close to the show’s staff, they were not completely comfortable with the faith-based Easter episode:
“It’s the first time they’ve done a faith-based episode and the crew was polarized by it. Some didn’t think it’s completely appropriate but felt uncomfortable speaking up about it while others saw no problem with it as it didn’t focus on a specific religion.”
This was largely Carrie Underwood’s idea as she wanted a space to express herself and showcase her faith. Unfortunately, it did not fly for everyone.
So Many Questions
American Idol fans had a lot of questions regarding the turn the show was taking. They wanted to know when the show jumped into the world of gospel:
- Since when did #AmericanIdol start doing gospel?
- WHY DOES ALL THIS STILL SEEM LIKE GOSPEL HOUR?
- I thought it was American Idol, not American Gospel!!! SMH!!
- #americanidol doing a 3 hour, all God/Gospel/Christian episode for 24 contestants is absolutely insane. Is there any tolerance to other religions or no religions at all with this show?
Of course, many were pleased that Idol delved into this sphere and was incorporating something vital and valuable. At the same time, the Top 14 have also been called into question by viewers. Some are not thrilled by the choices and think they can be better. Hopefully, as the competition grows closer and Idol rounds down to the end, viewership will go up.
Are you shocked that ratings have fallen so low, and do you think it has to do with some controversial choices? Or is the season uninteresting, and that is the cause for the dip? Let us know in the comments below.
Never liked Carrie Underwood and stopped watching American Idol because of her. Never bought her music and never will. Get rid of her
When I knew Underwood would be hosting, I decided not to watch this season! Hearing about the Easter Faith episode also validates I made the right decision to not watch!!! It’s too bad, I had American Idol recorded, now I don’t.
Carrie Underwood is an AMAZING talent and a kind fair judge! If she is not your cup of tea fine but you should not run her down! Keep your opinions to yourself! By the way I am quite certain that you did not see her rendition of How Great Thou Art! It was truly AMAZING and perhaps the greatest rendition ever done!
Gospel should be in your Church not satisfied with this years lineup some seams to veer to one side
You want them to sin WAP?
Gospel should be in your Church not satisfied with this years lineup some seams to veer to one side
Love the addition of Carrie Underwood to the show. Am not a big fan of the singers this year. I’m a big country music fan and not of the music they’re singing.
I think we’re just tired of American Idol
They keep trying to make such a big deal about this – it’s over and done with! Some of us actually liked it so stop creating drama. No one complained when Ruben Studdard, Fantasia and Clay Aiken sang religious stuff.
That’s the #TRUTH! The reason they complain is because Carrie Underwood speaks out about her faith, along w/ the fact she’s a TRUMP supporter! That’s it! People need to shut up and turn the channel or tune in and watch. Otherwise, get a life cause we don’t care!
I enjoyed the Easter gospel music show, after all Easter is because Jesus is Risen and I’m proud that American Idol did Religious songs for it. Some may not be happy with it and some of us are but that’s life, not everyone is gonna be happy with other songs and some are. Someone’s always gonna be unhappy about something no matter what, and that’s life. Good job Idol.
I think it’s the back to back 2 hour and three hour shows every week that is turning people off. You kinda get tired of watching the same show for so many hours every week.
Thete would be just as many complaints if they did a total rap or heavy metal 3hr program. Also, not all the contestants sang religious songs. They sang songs that were more inspirational to their lives and journey to be on American Idol. Carrie Underwood has sang How Great Thou Art on award shows and her Vegas residency. Also, America needs to see that the contestants can sing ALL genres of music. For example, Kelly Clarkson can sing anything and does it successfully just like Carrie Underwood does. That’s the core of an American Idol🇺🇸