How Can American Idol Stay Relevant Now That The Voice is King of Singing Competitions?

I used to love watching American Idol. It was decent. I was never a big fan of any of the winners. I never felt an emotional connection to the process or to the song choices but I love music and I love hearing people develop over time, but with The Voice, America’s Got Talent, X factor, the Glee Project and ABC’s new show Duets, what purpose does Idol have? There are simply too many singing shows and one of them has to go.

I hope it isn’t Idol.

Does that sound Odd? I’ve moved on from Idol but it has a legacy and changed the scope of musical television. Without Idol, the only musical competitions will be Star Search and that just SUCKS. So American Idol needs to shape up before it gets the axe. It needs to court young people. It needs to bring back the fun and the excitement that it once held. And this is how they can do it.

5. Stop using the same songs!

Every week on these reality shows we are treated to some sort of thematic element that helps contestants choose their songs. Sometimes it’s as simple as “country week” or “year you were born”. OK. Those aren’t too bad but they get so repetitious. Can we please stop hearing the same songs every year? Let’s try pushing the boundries a bit by creating new themes every year that eliminate the reptitious nature by asking the artists to select songs that meet new criteria. Instead of always having “Country week”, can we have “outlaw country” week one year? Can we have different artists, someone like Patsy Cline or Billy Holliday instead of always The Beatles? If we can’t do these kinds of themes, can we at least put a “waiting period” on songs. If a song has been done within the last three years, you can’t pick it. Simple as that.

4. Stop with the Group Songs

Duets is going to drive the group thing into the ground and, let’s be honest Idol, you’ve never been great at it. They almost always sound like weak kareoke night mash ups. STOP IT. People don’t like these lame attempts at filling in the time. Which leads us into number 3!

3. I want to see what these people can do!

Look, I know you only have so much time. I get it. Sometimes, especially during the begining of the season, time is tight. Later in the season, though, you start piling on the crap. It gets so old. We don’t need to hear lame asses like Rihanna. We don’t need to hear the Black Eyed Peas. We don’t need old geezer rock bands. WTF was with Iggy Pop a few years ago? REALLY? C’mon! I think we can all agree that giving each singer the time to tell a story through their music is the best option. Let us see what a concert will look like. Let us get a feeling for what their album will be. Three songs, in a row, on the same stage and in the same clothes. Let’s take it away from weaksauce awards show performances and bring it into a glimpse at them on the road. This will help us bond with the artists more, will help make the better singers stand out and lets us see their stage presence better. It also tells us who has the energy to put on a good show.