'American Idol': How a mediocre show changed TV forever

The mediocre show that would change television forever slunk on to the airwaves on June 11, 2002.

There was nothing really new about "American Idol." Reality television was as old as MTV's "The Real World," if not older; game shows were as old as "Truth or Consequences," if not older; talent competitions were as old as "Star Search," if not older; pop music showcases were as old as "American Bandstand," if not older. Heck, viewers could even vote for their favorite videos on MTV's "Total Request Live," which first aired in 1998.

Moreover, the show's pedigree did not scream "ratings bonanza." It was a reworking of a British show. It went to production only after Rupert Murdoch's daughter took a shine to it. It debuted in the summer, a season that often buries new TV offerings. And it aired on Fox, not exactly a Nielsen powerhouse at the time.

But somehow, like other mediocrities — President Ulysses S. Grant, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, Herman's Hermits — "American Idol" made history. When it takes a bow next year, it will have aired for 15 seasons, helped sell tens of millions of records, launched the careers of Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson (among others), and revived the careers of Paula Abdul and Jennifer Lopez (among others). Wow: Now that "American Idol" has been canceled by Fox, it seems like we've really lost something — even though that something was, more or less, a retread of other somethings we lost long ago.

"'American Idol' has been a big part of my life for so long, it's frankly hard to imagine it without it," host Ryan Seacrest told the Associated Press. "It's been a remarkable journey, and I feel very fortunate to have been part of a show that made television history in countless ways. It's a show about chasing and fulfilling dreams and, truth be told, it helped some of my own dreams come true, too."

READ: American Idol to end next season

Well put, Seacrest. So: How did "American Idol" pull it off? By simply raising its hand as the Internet exploded and network television collapsed alongside the music business. This singing competition transcended its genre because, thanks to technology, it became the singing competition everyone judged and anyone could win.

"On the surface, Idol and its imitators harken back to an older tradition: the amateur hour that lifts exceptional ordinary people into the glamorous life," NPR music critic Ann Powers wrote in 2012. "Yet because it was structured as a 'journey' for contestants whose interactions with the judges and others — stylists, celebrity mentors, the band — helped them focus a gift and turn it into a product, this updated version of the star search felt less like the kiss of a fairy godmother (or cranky Simon Cowell-esque godfather) and more like the reward for contestant's entrepreneurship."

Indeed, an ordinary person transcending their ordinariness — perhaps most evident in girl-next-door Clarkson — became a key plot point in many an "Idol" season. As has been observed before, more people voted for American idols than voted in some U.S. presidential elections, many by text message, a technology that didn't exist in the age of "Bandstand."

"Despite whatever critiques the judges delivered, the final decision of who lived and who died on 'American Idol' was left to the viewers," Melinda Newman wrote at Forbes. "Never before had the gatekeeper role been extinguished in such grand fashion. ... With no filter between contestant and fan, the voting public felt complete and proud ownership of the artists they selected."

While the pop stars thrust to fame by singing competitions of yore — think Tiffany, who appeared on "Star Search" — sometimes struggled to build a legacy, this wasn't as much of a problem for those fostered by "American Idol" and chosen by the American public. Thanks to a handy new technology popularized by the folks over at Apple, one didn't even need a record or original material to rule the charts — and record executives could figure out who would rule the charts without signing artists first.

"When iTunes began selling single versions of the contestants' performances, it wasn't uncommon to see these nubile singers charting on the Billboard Hot 100 before they'd even landed a record contract," Kevin Fallon wrote at the Daily Beast. "Never before had there been such a market for cover songs."

"Idol" was even a cause.

"For all its bloated, synthetic, product-shilling, money-making trappings, 'Idol' provides a once-a-year chance for the average American to combat the evils of today's music business," Michael Slezak wrote in the New York Times in 2010.

The great democratic polis of TV viewership "Idol" convened — one person, one vote _may even have been its downfall. Even as "Idol" soared, network television was sinking into the great Internet tar pit in which it is stranded today, undone by the choices offered by on-demand viewing, YouTube, Netflix and Hulu. Once given the chance to watch whatever it wanted whenever it wanted, the show's audience began to defect (though, for the record, "Idol" still had 10 million viewers for its Season 13 finale — a "downright astounding" number, as the Daily Beast pointed out.)

"In the last few years, viewers have begun devoting far more attention to dramas such as 'The Walking Dead,' making the weekly hand-wringing over who might get voted off a reality show seem passe," Scott Collins wrote at the Los Angeles Times. "Viewers increasingly prefer the ability to tune into shows when they want, on demand, rather than being beholden to a network schedule."

If "American Idol" was killed, it was by its children. This show didn't have a different spirit than, say, "The Partridge Family" or "Let's Make a Deal" or "Showtime at the Apollo," but helped build the interactive television culture of the 21st century in ways those shows never could have. Even as it fades, it's the celestial body, if you will, at the center of our new universe of entertainment.

"Pop now still may have old-fashioned stars ... but they aren't taking us into the future," Powers presciently wrote three years ago. "Neither is 'Idol,' with its focus on that fixed astral pattern. What feels new is the universe of rogue satellites orbiting that old home planet, gathering information, sending their own signals back."