Last night, America crowned its latest Idol in the forms of rocker Caleb Johnson, but not many of the capable voting and viewing public tuned in to watch it. After suffering ratings slips consistently over the past few seasons, reality competition American Idol suffered a new low.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, just 10.1 million viewers tuned in last night to see the energetic rocker Johnson win over the bombastically powerful Jena Irene, a massive drop in numbers for the once hot show.
This marks another year of longtime fans of the show reading about dipping ratings. For season 12's finale, 14.6 million watched Candice Glover win, at that time, pulling in the lowest ratings for the competition. But that compares little with this year's numbers. Tuesday night (May 20) for the final live performance show, just 6.6 million watched Johnson and Irene battle it out.
American Idol once peaked with nearly 40 million viewers for its second and fifth season finales.
It should be of note, however, that Wednesday night (May 21) TV ratings just weren't that hot. ABC's Modern Family, which had a highly promoted finale featuring the wedding of gay couple Mitchell and Cameron, beat FOX and Idol by a mere margin (pulling in 10.23 million viewers).
Despite American Idol's flattening numbers, the show will trudge on for a 14th season next winter, with most of the cast returning. Ryan Seacrest is committed as a host yet again (and for a tentative 15th season), and judges Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban have stated they'll be coming back. Jennifer Lopez has expressed interest in returning to Idol, but has yet to confirm her contract.
