Mariah Carey named newest ‘American Idol’ judge
Jeff Horwich: Well, we’ve hit on Germany, Greece and the U.S. housing market. Now to the news you’ve really been waiting for: Mariah Carey will be one of the new judges on “American Idol.” The show lost Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler in the past few weeks, and “Idol” needs a boost.
Here’s Marketplace’s Nancy Marshall-Genzer.
Nancy Marshall-Genzer: “American Idol” has lost some of its luster. Ratings are down from the show’s peak in 2006. The show’s audience has aged along with it, with a median age of 49.
Fox is hoping Mariah Carey will breathe new life into the show — and bring back advertisers’ favorite viewers — the coveted 18 to 49 age group.
Stuart Levine is features and television editor at Daily Variety. He says Carey will bring viewers back, at first.
Stuart Levine: Maybe for the first few episodes — but if the numbers are doing down, there’s the feeling that no matter who you bring on the judges panel at this point, the numbers will continue to decline in the face of so much over-saturation of these kind of musical competition shows.
The competition between “American Idol” and new shows like “The Voice” and “X- Factor” is fierce. Fox says it’ll announce a second new “Idol” judge in the next few weeks, promising that some of the “biggest names in the business” are interested in the gig.
In Washington, I’m Nancy Marshall-Genzer for Marketplace.
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