Thursday’s “American Idol” sank to a 3.0 rating with just 11.63 million people watching the show. It was the fourth most watched show of the night. But it was almost the FIFTH. A show called “Elementary” was behind it by a whisker– 11.63 to 11.49 million. This is very troubling. “Idol” had a 3.8 on Wednesday, revised up. Even if this number is revised up, it still means that the carryover from Wednesday to Thursday was dismal.
And on this episode, Nicki Minaj got up and stomped around when she didn’t get her away over her favorite contestant leaving the show. This was after she showed up 20 minutes late on Wednesday and looked like a hot mess. Her explanation was that she had been caught in traffic– yes, a first for live TV considering she’s paid millions to be in that studio on time. If it wasn’t a PR stunt, then Nicki’s got problems. And so does the show.
The fact is, Thursday has become a disaster for “Idol.” The CBS comedies “Big Bang Theory” and “Two and A Half Men” just roll over it. “Person of Interest” picks up steam from those shows at 9p, giving CBS a blockbuster evening. But now “Elementary,” which follows “PoI,” is just on the verge of making it a CBS night. “Idol” is also facing the return of “The Voice” on NBC Monday, March 25th–with hot hot hot Adam Levine and lots of young stars.
So many things are wrong. Why, for example, didn’t Mariah Carey perform her “Oz” song, “Almost Home,” this week? “Oz” opened to $80 million over the weekend? This would have been the perfect moment for that. Why aren’t we seeing Keith Urban perform a song? He is hot hot hot. The “Idol” audience loves him. It’s enough with Phillip Phillips.