Showing posts with label Ryan Seacrest. Show all posts
Upfronts 2014: 'American Idol' gets little love at Fox presentation
At Fox's
upfront presentation Monday in New York, entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly
boasted about the network's breakout freshman drama "Sleepy Hollow"
and boasted of its lineup of "youth appeal comedies" like "New
Girl," "Mindy Project" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."
But there was one returning hit that received almost no mention
in the 75-minute presentation: "American Idol." Ryan Seacrest made a
perfunctory appearance in a clip to introduce a performance by rapper Pitbull,
who will host a New Year's Eve special for the network and received far more
attention than any of the stars of "Idol."
Once the crown jewel of Fox's lineup and the highest-rated show
in all of television, drawing as many as 30 million viewers a week, the aging
singing competition has fallen on hard times in recent seasons. The average
viewer of the show continues to age upward — a no-no for the young-skewing Fox
— while its overall audience has declined precipitously, reaching a low of just
7 million viewers for an episode last week.
In its just-unveiled 2014-15 schedule, Fox is dramatically scaling back on the fading reality franchise,
which was just renewed for a 14th season. Once taking up more than 50 hours of
programming over the course of a season, "American Idol" will be
reduced to about 37 hours next year. Gone completely is "The X
Factor," the Simon Cowell-produced competition series axed this year after
three seasons.
In a conference call Monday, Reilly conceded that " 'Idol'
is not going to come back as the ratings champion it once was" and said
the show is also likely to be consolidated into a single two-hour broadcast for
most of its run.
Still,
"American Idol's" overall numbers are nothing to sniff at, which is
why few people were surprised when it was renewed.
But Fox's neglect of the fading but still popular series stands
in stark contrast to NBC's treatment of its derivative singing competition,
"The Voice." At its upfront Monday morning, the peacock network
heavily promoted the show, which will be back in the fall for another cycle
with two new judges, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams, in the swiveling red
chairs.
Of course,
there's a danger NBC is guilty of overkill when it comes to "The
Voice," which, as Seth Meyers joked at the presentation, is in "the
fifth season that NBC has aired this year and it's only May." Fellow
funnyman Jimmy Fallon also joined in the self-mockery, saying, "We've got
'The Voice' and 'The Blacklist,' and we've got reruns of 'The Voice.'"
Source:
Upfronts 2014: 'American Idol' gets little love at Fox presentation
At Fox's
upfront presentation Monday in New York, entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly
boasted about the network's breakout freshman drama "Sleepy Hollow"
and boasted of its lineup of "youth appeal comedies" like "New
Girl," "Mindy Project" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."
But there was one returning hit that received almost no mention
in the 75-minute presentation: "American Idol." Ryan Seacrest made a
perfunctory appearance in a clip to introduce a performance by rapper Pitbull,
who will host a New Year's Eve special for the network and received far more
attention than any of the stars of "Idol."
Once the crown jewel of Fox's lineup and the highest-rated show
in all of television, drawing as many as 30 million viewers a week, the aging
singing competition has fallen on hard times in recent seasons. The average
viewer of the show continues to age upward — a no-no for the young-skewing Fox
— while its overall audience has declined precipitously, reaching a low of just
7 million viewers for an episode last week.
In its just-unveiled 2014-15 schedule, Fox is dramatically scaling back on the fading reality franchise,
which was just renewed for a 14th season. Once taking up more than 50 hours of
programming over the course of a season, "American Idol" will be
reduced to about 37 hours next year. Gone completely is "The X
Factor," the Simon Cowell-produced competition series axed this year after
three seasons.
In a conference call Monday, Reilly conceded that " 'Idol'
is not going to come back as the ratings champion it once was" and said
the show is also likely to be consolidated into a single two-hour broadcast for
most of its run.
Still,
"American Idol's" overall numbers are nothing to sniff at, which is
why few people were surprised when it was renewed.
But Fox's neglect of the fading but still popular series stands
in stark contrast to NBC's treatment of its derivative singing competition,
"The Voice." At its upfront Monday morning, the peacock network
heavily promoted the show, which will be back in the fall for another cycle
with two new judges, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams, in the swiveling red
chairs.
Of course,
there's a danger NBC is guilty of overkill when it comes to "The
Voice," which, as Seth Meyers joked at the presentation, is in "the
fifth season that NBC has aired this year and it's only May." Fellow
funnyman Jimmy Fallon also joined in the self-mockery, saying, "We've got
'The Voice' and 'The Blacklist,' and we've got reruns of 'The Voice.'"
Source:
Upfronts 2014: 'American Idol' gets little love at Fox presentation
At Fox's
upfront presentation Monday in New York, entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly
boasted about the network's breakout freshman drama "Sleepy Hollow"
and boasted of its lineup of "youth appeal comedies" like "New
Girl," "Mindy Project" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."
But there was one returning hit that received almost no mention
in the 75-minute presentation: "American Idol." Ryan Seacrest made a
perfunctory appearance in a clip to introduce a performance by rapper Pitbull,
who will host a New Year's Eve special for the network and received far more
attention than any of the stars of "Idol."
Once the crown jewel of Fox's lineup and the highest-rated show
in all of television, drawing as many as 30 million viewers a week, the aging
singing competition has fallen on hard times in recent seasons. The average
viewer of the show continues to age upward — a no-no for the young-skewing Fox
— while its overall audience has declined precipitously, reaching a low of just
7 million viewers for an episode last week.
In its just-unveiled 2014-15 schedule, Fox is dramatically scaling back on the fading reality franchise,
which was just renewed for a 14th season. Once taking up more than 50 hours of
programming over the course of a season, "American Idol" will be
reduced to about 37 hours next year. Gone completely is "The X
Factor," the Simon Cowell-produced competition series axed this year after
three seasons.
In a conference call Monday, Reilly conceded that " 'Idol'
is not going to come back as the ratings champion it once was" and said
the show is also likely to be consolidated into a single two-hour broadcast for
most of its run.
Still,
"American Idol's" overall numbers are nothing to sniff at, which is
why few people were surprised when it was renewed.
But Fox's neglect of the fading but still popular series stands
in stark contrast to NBC's treatment of its derivative singing competition,
"The Voice." At its upfront Monday morning, the peacock network
heavily promoted the show, which will be back in the fall for another cycle
with two new judges, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams, in the swiveling red
chairs.
Of course,
there's a danger NBC is guilty of overkill when it comes to "The
Voice," which, as Seth Meyers joked at the presentation, is in "the
fifth season that NBC has aired this year and it's only May." Fellow
funnyman Jimmy Fallon also joined in the self-mockery, saying, "We've got
'The Voice' and 'The Blacklist,' and we've got reruns of 'The Voice.'"
Source:
'American Idol' recap: C.J. Harris heads home in tears
 |
| C.J. Harris was sent home by "American Idol" voters this week. (Michael Becker / Fox)
That C.J. Harris was the singer sent home on "American Idol" on Thursday night's elimination show was no surprise, probably even for him. Nor was it a shock that Jessica Meuse had been the one to keep him company in the bottom two -- before Ryan Seacrest sent her to safety.
In fact, the evening's outcome was so predictable -- Harris, though he gives big-hearted performances, has been struggling to stay on pitch all season, and on Wednesday night, his performances had been especially underwhelming -- that none of the judges could do much more than sigh and shrug when Seacrest asked them about the two singers who were in danger of heading home. How did Jennifer Lopez feel about seeing Harris or Meuse go? "You know, it's always hard. We've been on this journey now for months and … they both have amazing voices, but this is the nature of this competition," she said. "We have to get down to one winner, and we have to see somebody amazing go every week." Was Harry Connick Jr. surprised at who'd landed at the bottom? Somebody's "going to get eliminated every week until somebody's crowned the winner," he noted, allowing that the voting results were, however, "always a surprise" to him. Did Keith Urban think the voters had gotten it right? "It comes down to the performances night to night," Urban said, "and last night, these guys sitting on the couch" -- the four singers who were already safe -- "they upped the ante so much. It was hard for them to compete, a couple of them, I think, so... " He broke off, delicately, apparently sparing Harris and Meuse further insult. Meuse had no regrets. She had been "true" to herself, and "that's what matters," she said, under questioning by Seacrest. Harris, he had a few. If he could do it all over again, he "probably would have picked better song choices," he said. The 23-year-old from Jasper, Ala., soon learned he wouldn't have the opportunity. Meuse was safe, and Harris would be leaving the "Idol" stage. First, he was compelled to watch a highlight reel and then to sing a final song, the Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See." At some point, he stopped singing, opened his arms and welcomed into a hug the contestants who'd move on to the Top 5 without him. Eventually, Harris emerged with tears streaming down his face. Harris' mom said she was proud of how far her son had come. Harris said he was looking forward to reuniting with his fellow contestants for the "Idol" tour. Here's wishing him the best of luck in going even further from there. Are you sad to see C.J. Harris go?
Source:
|
.jpg)
