'Idol' producers try to decide what went wrong

Rachel, Kurt, Sue, Artie, Will, Mercedes, Puck, Tina, Finn and Quinn are very much a topic of conversation among teens and 20-somethings these days.

Simon, Kara, Randy, Ellen and Ryan — not so much. Let alone Crystal, Lee and Casey. Whoever they are.

Granted, I've come to this conclusion, in part, by the most unscientific of methods — talking to a few teens and 20-somethings and asking them if anybody they know is talking about "Glee" or "American Idol."

And the answers were invariably "Yes" to "Glee" and "No" to "Idol."

Seemingly everybody has an opinion about Rachel and Finn's relationship; about what songs in the last episode of "Glee"; about where that show is going.

And nobody has an opinion about who's going to be the next "American Idol" because nobody's watching.

How bad have things gotten at "American Idol"? Bad enough so that the show's producers have put a questionnaire online to try to figure out what's wrong with the show.

I could have saved them the trouble by summing it up in three easy answers.

First, the judges and the host have become pretty much insufferable. They're under the impression the show is about them, not the contestants.

Second, those judges have saddled the show with a group of uninspiring, uninteresting and not particularly talented finalists.

And, third, the show has lost its freshness. It's no longer a phenomenon.

For each of the past seven years, "American Idol" has dominated not only the ratings but the headlines as we entered May. (Season 1 ran in the summer of 2002.)

Two years ago, the most written-about person in Utah was "Idol" finalist David Archuleta — and there wasn't even a close second.

I'm not apologizing for all the coverage we gave Archuleta in 2008. It was what a whole lot of people were interested in.

But, at this point, I wonder if much of anybody would care if we had a local in the top three this season.

(C'mon, how many of you could attach last names to this year's final three — Crystal, Lee and Casey?)

It's not unusual for a show to lose steam in its ninth season. As a matter of fact, it's unusual for a show not to lose ratings at that point.