American Idol, a show that stopped being watchable after Carrie Underwood won, is sinking to a new level of unwatchability.
The current season is no longer able to broadcast live from whatever venue is still enabling this competition’s existence. But instead of letting everyone endure isolation in peace, Idol is making the unfortunate move to remote performances with the top 20 contestants, according to Vulture. Ryan Seacrest, along with the table of random judges, will remotely interact with the singers as they wail into their computer microphones and vie for America’s votes.
Although American Idol ceased to be about singing a long time ago, this new format strips away the last bit of normalcy from the singing competition and leaves viewers with one incredibly awkward televised Zoom meeting. Amateur singers just don’t sound good without the bells and whistles of a sound team behind them. Singing from home, presumably in a bathroom to optimize acoustics, also robs viewers of the musical arrangements put together by the Idol band. With no musicians and vocals being passed through a subpar microphone, what exactly is the show supposed to be? Canceled. It’s supposed to be canceled.
As important as it may seem to networks and advertisers to keep live TV going, not every show is suited for the brave new world of broadcast teleconferencing, a lesson that Idol should have learned from the most recent uninspired episode of Saturday Night Live. If SNL tanking isn’t enough of a red flag, there still remains the struggle of watching hosts like Wendy Williams or the entire line up of late-night men try and pull themselves together without a full glam squad, a talented production crew, and an audience to put together something that looks like a professional broadcast.
May American Idol soon wither in peace.