The show needs a makeover, add a guest judges each week and a guest host each week. get rid of Ryan, and Ellen both
have no clue as to what to do. Cut the vote to 50/50 fans versus judges. each judge carries 10 points (five judges)

Unless they change their format and get rid of some no talents they will keep going down, they need better back stage help with the constestants in helping them out and a better sound stage for the home audiance.

I agree Margaret, how does that make you a winner? For all I know, he doesn't have any musical background compared to say David Cook or Adam Lambert that did have musical gigs before auditioning for American Idol.

Here it comes, everyone that saids that American Idol should be off the air. After this joke of a season I wouldn't be suprised if it did go off the air. And I can't believe some ppl putting the talent of David Cook and Lee in the same sentence! that is insulting to David and I would be ashamed.

Sorry once simon is gone the show will be history,I don't think the talent this year was anything special,I mean everyone was about the same talent wise, and I agree that then it goes to who's the most popular,I think the show is rigged also I think Crystal should have won not Lee and last year the most exciting thing about Idol was when Adam would sing you never knew what he was gonna do, now that's showmanship, and of course he didn't win because of the fact he's gay so what, it isn't about your sexual perference, it's all about the voice and he had it. He is going somewhere just wait and see.

Crystal blew it the night she wished Simon well on his future endeavors. Who the heck is she? She put herself on a par with the judges and it turned me off. I knew after that night, she would not win.

American Idol had a strong conservative base for it's audience. When you add an openly gay judge, who flants that she has loved a woman, and Ryan repeats it again the next night; when you put Lady Gag me on stage with 10-12 men behind her making sexual advances towards each other, you lose the conservative base. I wondered what Simon would've said after Lady Gag performance....he tends to lean towards the traditional...and he is bailing. The show started pushing the envelope...and lost a lot of viewers. This from just a few seasons ago of Dolly Parton singing "Jesus and Gravity."

I agree with some of the comments. Forget the old "has been" mentors. No one cares. The Sinatra mentoring was ridiculous, etc. He was awesome in his time but it's not relevant to your viewers who most have never even heard of him. Let's get modern, up to date with current songs that we can all relate to. The contestants were boring and no one cared which way it went. Adam Lambert was a hard act to follow...

To be honest, Ant and Dec came on way before people even knew Ryan Seacrest existed. They may be equivelants in their day jobs, but Ant and Dec would act circles around Ryan any day, poor Ryan is no match for the talents of Ant and Dec.
BetaArtemis 4 months ago 95 TamashiiHiroka

2 months ago 67 I bet Paula and Randy had no idea who they were.
TamashiiHiroka 2 months ago 67 resume online-,my site

I seriously can't believe anyone thinks Ellen is to blame and Paula could have saved this season. The whole point is to find a talented person and give them a shot at a recording contract. I think this season the contestants were just very boring, more talented as musicians than singers and didn't do anything to make the average viewer want to tune in let alone call in a vote.

My guess will be that neither Lee nor Crystal will have their labels dropping the big bucks on them to promote them. If an artist doesn't appear to be a cash cow to the label they'll put little effort into helping them past the year.

Adam Lambert brought excitement and stage presence to every performance. He was creative and not afraid to take risks. Ricky Miner also said Adam was proactive,asking advice and working every performance. He gave the audience something to look forward to every week. Whether you liked him or not, he generated dialogue. He exemplified what the judges preached every week and had the vocal ability to sing anything. There was no "wow" factor this year. Contestants were pleasant,[could work in Orlando Disney attractions], but just not in Adam or Carrie Underwoods league. It should always be about the talent,but missed the chemistry between Paula and Simon. I believe the finale had low ratings because Adam didn't appear. So many were expecting him because he is so supportive of Idol and he boosted the ratings the week that he mentored and sang.His tour was emminent, but if he was invited to sing, think he would have been glad to appear. Sitting in the audience vs preparing for his tour is a no brainer. I've watched every season of AI and have real concerns that their upcoming tour will not have the attendance of season 8. I hope that's not the case for the contestants sake.