One and It's Done: "American Idol" Flagging in 9th Season

Experts are saying, "One and it's done" about "American Idol" this season, its 9th. It's a well-known fact that Paula Abdul has jumped ship and Simon Cowell is not far behind. Simon is supposedly going to unleash his "X Factor" show upon America and that may well be the death knell of "American Idol" as it has existed for the past 9 seasons.

On February 7th's show, new judge (replacing Paula Abdul) Ellen DeGeneres took her seat at the judging table and the excerpts that appeared on Tuesday, Feb. 7th, did not show her being noticeably "nice" or "mean." She certainly wans't as ditzy as Paula often seemed (One of my previous reviews from last season described her as "Forever Confused.") She seemed to do just fine, although, again, one wonders why a comedienne is considered an expert on singing.

Rumors are swirling about who may (or may not) replace Simon Cowell when his contract is up and he really does leave. Jamie Foxx...who actually is a singer...was one name mentioned. Lately, Howard Stern's name has been thrown into the mix.

I don't think it matters who the show runs in as the next plainspoken honest-but-blunt judge. Simon is one of the creators of the show, and when Simon leaves to start a rival show, I think it is logical to assume that a lot of the audience will go with him.

I've been covering the "Idol" beat each year for at least the last 3 years and have rarely missed writing an article on that night's show. I have noticed, this year, that readership of such articles is down. This may be because many others are on the same beat, or it may simply be that interest, in general is flagging.

I remember when I used to watch "Dancing with the Stars'" religiously. Then, something happened to change my viewership. That was the unlikely (and unbelievable) victory of football player Emmett Smith over Mario Lopez. After that, I seldom, if ever, watched another "Dancing with the Stars" show.

I think something similar is already happening with "A.I." It is sinking n the west, fading in viewers' memory, losing its cache, jumping the shark.

Maybe I'm wrong, but we probably won't be able to definitively say so until next season when some version of the show will appear, but will it be the same "American Idol" that captivated audiences for at least 8 seasons? Only time will tell.