AMERICA’S love affair with its “Idol” is start ing to cool down.
Last week’s show had its lowest audience in five years for the Tuesday-night competition show.
And Wednesday night’s results show had its lowest audience in three years, according to Nielsen Media Research.
“Idol” is still far and away the most popular show in TV.
It still has a lead of three million viewers over the No. 2 series, “Dancing with the Stars” (about 21 million vs. 18 million).
But “Idol” ratings in the recent past were in the 26 million range – a significant erosion.
“We haven’t got the right personalities at the moment,” Simon Cowell told a reporter over the weekend.
They’re “very media-savvy. They say the right things. They don’t argue with me. It’s too safe at the moment.
“Things are too old-fashioned,” Cowell said.
The theme nights – which recently featured programs based on the music of Neil Diamond and Andrew Lloyd Webber – need to be “more current,” he said.