Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson embrace Nikki McKibben upon her elimination back in Season 1 of American Idol. (FOX Photo)
FOX announced Monday that American Idol Season 15 will kick off in January and be the show’s finale season.
In a change from form, there will be no summer-long speculation about the makeup of the judging panel.
Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. will all be back for what FOX described in a press release as “a tribute to the past 14 seasons of amazingly talented contestants and the millions of fans who tweeted, texted and championed their Idols.”
Of course, Idol made superstars of Kelly Clarkson of Carrie Underwood and lesser stars of most of its early winners.
But its star-making ability faded as its audience dipped, from a peak of 30 million viewers in 2006 to closer to 9 million this year.
Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips was a success with his debut single “Home,” but Season 12 winner Candice Glover and Season 13 winner Caleb Johnson barely visited the Billboard music charts.
In an Associated Press story, Dana Walden, co-chairman and CEO of the Fox Television Group, called the decision to end Idol after Season 15 “pretty emotional.”
But Gary Newman, Fox Television Group co-chairman and CEO, added that the network and the show’s producers were discussing how the series would continue, but ultimately “we all arrived at the conclusion that it was time to bring the show to an end,” said Newman. “But we wanted to do it in a way that was special and celebratory.”
That’s likely to mean the return of fan favorites to the show next season.
Walden told AP there are no specific plans yet, but that several former contestants and judges have already expressed “a lot of enthusiasm” for coming back and celebrating the show’s legacy in its final year.
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