Will the Mariah Carey/Nicki Minaj Feud Continue?
by Shannon Keirnan
If you watch “American Idol” for more than just the singing, FOX has good news for you. Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey still hate each other.
“People said the passion between the two girls was invented,” said FOX’s reality chief Mike Darnell. “It’s obviously real. That’s an interesting dynamic that we haven’t seen on one of these [singing competitions] shows before.”
If by “passion” Darnell means “violent hatred,” then I get it.
“All I can say is that tonight things get even more interesting,” he said, regarding the January 17th episode.
If viewers are tuning in to watch the tension between the two divas, then they are doing their job well. While “Idol” viewership has been down the past few seasons, it seems that the introduction of the new feuding judges (along with country star Keith Urban) might be giving a much-needed boost to ratings.
Though numbers were still down 18% from last year’s opening show, Wednesday’s premiere was still the most-watched show nationally and locally.
A fact that has Darnell “relieved.”
“The numbers were exactly our expectations. Everything [on broadcast] is down; it could have been worse. It’s still standing very tall considering the competitiveness.”
Darnell is hopeful for the show’s future.
“There’s a new dynamic on our panel that people seem to really like … not to mention we got some really good talent coming. I think we’re going to cut the [ratings] deficit over time. The needle is not moved by the name of the judge but how they perform on the show, and these guys are performing incredible.”
He added, “Some years you don’t have anything to talk about it. Sometimes you have a lot of word of mouth and I think that’s what’s going on. You can feel it. There’s a lot of buzz in the air.”
Are you feeling the buzz, “Idol” fans?