American Idol is one of the longest-running reality TV shows. It lasted for 15 seasons, produced a large number of spin-offs, and helped people achieve their dreams of becoming a rockstar. Now, not even a year after it ended, there are rumors it will be rebooted by NBC.
When American Idol debuted in 2002 it was a revolutionary idea. A TV show that’s a singing contest? If you win, you become a world renowned star?! If you have singing chops and aren’t camera shy, it could be your chance at fame. Also, the show is remembered for some of the less than stellar acts, like William Hung.
According to TheWrap, American Idol is being shopped around “aggressively” to other networks by its production company and NBC has the highest bid. NBC is already home to a similar singing competition, The Voice. If NBC does end up rebooting AI, the network will have the monopoly in singing competition shows.
During AI’s long many ordinary people have become household names like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Lambert, Chris Daughtry, Phillip Phillips and the show’s host Ryan Seacrest. Even some of the contestants who didn’t win ended up getting noticed by other record companies and still making a name for themselves, like Clay Akin. Also, past contestants have gone on to win 13 Grammys, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award.
It’s a bit surprising that AI would be brought back to Television so soon. But, it seems that this might have been the plan all along. Series created Simon Fuller said last September:
“Thank you for bringing the show back in 2018, We can’t wait to make it.”
Perhaps Fuller and company just wanted to give the show a break after 14 years on TV. One big question is, though, if it returns will it be as popular as before? The Voice is now the top dog in singing shows, but if both shows are on the same channel, maybe they’ll share the top spot.
