End of 'American Idol': Show leaves a lasting legacy in music and TV

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'American Idol' ends after 15 seasons

It's been nine years since Phil Stacey placed sixth on Season 6 of "American Idol." Yet promoters still advertise his Top 10 status when publicizing his gigs, he says.

"'American Idol' does still play a big role in my career. It continues to open doors worldwide, for which I'm extremely grateful," says the Lee University alumnus, the first singer from the Tennessee Valley who made it onto Fox's reality TV talent show. Stacey now lives in Lenexa, Kan., where he is music director of Lenexa Christian Church and frontman for the Phil Stacey Band.

He also is one of an elite 180 singers in the nation to earn the title "American Idol" finalist over the show's 15 seasons. It's the street cred of today's emerging artists - a designation that tells an audience or promoter: 'This singer was successful on TV's top star search.'"

"It's probably the biggest platform in the world for getting your name and music out," Season 10 champ Scotty McCreery recently told Entertainment Weekly.

"American Idol" will crown its 15th and final winner Thursday night, but the impact the Fox show, which debuted in June 2002, has made in music and television industries will continue for years to come as its winners continue to dominate pop, country and R&B charts.

"Idol" will wind up its run with a star-studded, three-night finale that begins tonight. Season winners and finalists have been invited to return for the farewell. Lauren Alaina, the Rossville singer who was runner-up to Scotty McCreery in Season 10, and Clark Beckham, the Lee University alum who was last season's runner-up, will both be performing. Alaina was also among an elite group of "Idol" alumni invited to mentor finalists at the beginning of this final season.

"It's going to be my last opportunity to go back to the show that gave me everything," says Alaina, now 22 and a rising country star. "Had I not walked in there when I was 15 years old with a big dream and a zebra dress on, I wouldn't be here now. I have been so blessed and so fortunate just because I took that step and tried."

Reality of the situation

Once nicknamed "The Death Star" because its ratings blasted competitors in its time slot, "American Idol" has declined in ratings and relevance - especially over the last three seasons - signaling the end of the juggernaut's lifespan.

In its heyday, "Idol" commanded a prime-time audience of 30 million viewers. In Nielsen ratings for the week of Feb. 29 through March 6 this year, the first week of live eliminations, only 8.7 million tuned in.

When "American Idol" launched, it promoted itself as a pathway to stardom. An unknown singer from Podunk, USA, could become an overnight sensation and build a fan base along the way that would eagerly buy the artist's music as soon as confetti fell on the finale.

And "Idol" did just that.

When Kelly Clarkson sang her way to the first title, she immediately hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with her coronation song, "A Moment Like This."

"Idol" wasn't the first TV talent show, but it was the first serious track to stardom. "Star Search" never had the direct sing-to-win-a record deal that "Idol" offered. Other talent shows that followed - "America's Got Talent," "X Factor," "The Voice" - haven't produced winners with the success of "Idol." Only Lee University student Jordan Smith's recent win on Season 9 of "The Voice" has came close, when he surpassed 1 million singles downloaded from iTunes, then reached No. 1 on the iTunes Pop chart with his first album last month.

But the show that promoted itself as a starmaker lost potency with the advent of YouTube. Aspiring singers found a national TV platform wasn't necessary when you could self-promote by posting videos on YouTube. And they got feedback in comments instead of a panel of three judges.

While this DIY phenomena was taking hold, "Idol" never veered from its original format. By its last five seasons, contestants who were auditioning already had significant online followings. Teenage girls, a large voting demographic, saw their favorites perform on their smartphones more often than on TV. They block-voted young male singers to title wins so predictably, the media dubbed those winners WGWG (white guy with guitar.)

Changing music and TV

Even though the mother of TV talent shows has seen its glory fade, it still will end having made a significant impact on the music and television industries. Here are four ways "American Idol" changed those landscapes, according to Forbes.

* Changed traditional artist development: Until "Idol," artists were discovered by record label scouts known as A&R (artist and repertoire) scouts. Artists usually paid their dues by beating the streets to land gigs in small clubs or bars, building up to bigger venues. "Idol" made it possible for someone who might only have sung in the shower to become a household name in a matter of months.

* Created stars with staying power: Billboard.com reported in March that Kelly Clarkson had become the first "American Idol" contestant to earn 100 chart-toppers, counting all national and domestic music charts (current, recurrent and catalog). Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood became a country superstar after her "Idol" win. Forbes estimates her current net worth at $70 million.

However, WUSY-FM/US 101 radio personality Bill "Dex" Poindexter believes Underwood's talent would have been discovered with or without the help of "Idol."

"'American Idol' gave her a jumpstart and a forum to showcase her talent.," Poindexter believes. "She probably saved herself a year or two beating the streets in Nashville trying to get a record deal. We would have found Carrie with or without 'Idol.' She has that undeniable talent."

Such is the power of "Idol" that even singers who didn't win found success.

Jennifer Hudson placed seventh in Season 3, but came in first when she won an Academy Award for her 2006 role in "Dreamgirls." She also won a Grammy Award for her debut album, "Jennifer Hudson," in 2008.

Diana DeGarmo, Ace Young, Justin Guarini, Clay Aiken, Constantine Maroulis and Crystal Bowersox are all finalists who landed roles in productions on and off-Broadway. Chris Daughtry's shocking early elimination in Season 5 didn't hold him back from rock stardom. And Season 4 runner-up Bo Bice will be at Riverbend in June, fronting Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Noted local music authority and WUTC-FM radio producer Richard Winham points out that, while TV talent shows can discover singers, they can't make them the next big pop star if they haven't got that "It Factor" that makes them appealing to fans.

"You certainly can create a singer, but I'm not sure you can make them a star if they don't have the charisma," he explains. "I think the notion of a star is something that ultimately can't be created."

* Put the power in fans' hands: Despite what judges thought of finalists' performances, the ultimate decision on who advanced or was sent packing was decided by viewers. The trickle-down effect was that, instead of A&R types deciding who the public would hear on records, the people were stating their choices. The viewing public had ownership of artists they chose.

According to Forbes, more people were voting in "American Idol" finals than presidential elections during the show's peak years.

"In the most basic sense, viewers have always voted by the simple nature of their watching habits and preferences," says University of Tennessee at Chattanooga professor Jim Pickard, a pop culture expert. "But 'Idol' expedited the process - and profited tremendously- to give viewers a more literal vote. And this is exactly what marketing and research teams want to discover: What do viewers like? How can we capitalize on that?"

Pickard sees a direct correlation between this and the emergence of the YouTube music culture, the Justin Bieber phenomenon.

"It's the same competitive struggle for 'likes,' or votes if you will, complete with comments section for fan interaction," he says. "Artists have discovered they no longer need the machine of television and marketing. Shows like 'Idol' get old and less relevant to millennials. And it seems viewers, too, have finally voted it off the air."

* "Idol" launched careers, revitalized others: When "American Idol" debuted, the judging panel included Simon Cowell, a music producer known in the United Kingdom but not America; Paula Abdul, who had six straight No. 1 hits between 1988 and 1991 then pretty much fell off the musical map; and Randy Jackson, record producer and artist manager. "Idol" made them household names.

Ryan Seacrest has parlayed his "Idol" hosting gig into television production, a national radio show and television host of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve." With fingers in so many media productions, he is the Dick Clark of this generation.

Jennifer Lopez had been dropped by her label prior to joining "Idol's" panel of judges in 2011, according to the Christian Science Monitor. After two seasons on "Idol," she topped Forbes' list of the 100 most powerful celebrities.

Harry Connick Jr. couldn't even sell out Memorial Auditorium when his tour stopped here in June 2004. Now in his third season as a judge, his personable stage persona combined with undeniable talent has landed him his own television talk show this fall.

Remembering 'Idol'

Phil Stacey calls performing on Season 6 "terrifying," even though he was usually comfortable onstage. What he learned from that season was just to have fun performing, no matter how high the stakes, he says.

"'Idol' gave me a career. In the last two years alone, I've sung for more than 50 million people on four continents," Stacey says. "My family has gotten to travel together, meet the greatest people, eat the greatest food, see the coolest places. My kids have gotten to hang out with their friends' favorite artists. They're not afraid to dream big because they know anything is possible."

Clark Beckham is another local contestant who says being on "Idol" taught him to be in the moment. The critiques he received last year have served him well as he continues to pursue a music career, he says.

"A big thing was not to be scared, to keep your eyes open and work to visually engage the entire audience," Beckham says. "Singing live on 'Idol' also taught me how to come right out of the gate singing your best. You don't have time to sink into the groove after three or four songs; you have to be at 100 on the first downbeat."

Considered the front-runner throughout Season 14, Beckham calls his loss to Nick Fradiani "the best thing that could have happened for Nick and I both."

Just being on the show "developed me and led me to an amazing path in my career and artistry," the Lee University alum acknowledges.

"However, I really do enjoy the freedoms and tenacious pursuit of the industry that I'm partaking in myself in the way I see fit," he continues. "I have a lot of wonderful options that I'm looking into currently as far as labels and management goes. Meanwhile, I'm playing, singing, recording, writing and connecting with a lot of amazing people that make it hard to have regrets.

"I stand firm in my belief that all things work for good for those who are called according to God's purpose."

Lauren Alaina was one of the youngest contestants to audition for Season 10 in Nashville, the first year 15-year-olds were allowed to participate. After "Idol," she had country hits with "Like My Mother Does" and "Georgia Peaches" before being sidelined by vocal chord surgery.

Having recovered and now boasting a broader vocal range, the 22-year-old just returned from Europe, where she opened for Carrie Underwood in the C2C Country Music Festival; she now is opening for country superstar Alan Jackson's tour through November. She also is building a reputation as a songwriter and was asked by ESPN to write a song that was played exclusively on the sports channel's college football coverage last fall.

The Rossville native says she was already comfortable performing onstage since she'd been doing so since she was a toddler, but "Idol" taught her what an artist needs to know offstage.

"I learned so much else from the show, like how to talk in interviews, how to get out what you want to say without saying something that could be taken completely out of context, yet still showcase your personality," she says. "It taught me how to work my butt off because we started at 7 a.m. each day and never stopped. They had mentors coming in all the time, and that taught me how to handle myself around famous people."

While "Idol" got her name out in front of America and "I got a lot of fans overnight," she says, she's still working hard to pursue her music dream because "nothing comes easy."

"But I wouldn't have my dream without 'American Idol.'"

Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.