Simon Cowell sets to depart from American Idol

Simon Cowell has been a household name every since American Idol premiered in June of 2002. The Fox Network added the judging style format of a singing contestant show, and viewers responded kindly. The show debuted high, and has been in the number one slot on the Nielsen rating for five consecutive seasons, and is currently the number one show according to the Nielsen charts.
And the success o f the show, in a large part, is due to Mr. Simon Cowell. The blunt, tell-it-like-it-is, no-holds-barred judge. Known for making contestants cry, scream, and cuss, Cowell has brought in the viewers. While some find his truthfulness a bit harsh, it seems to make for good Television.

Season after season, viewers have tuned in to watch Cowell with his co-stars, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, who also was with the show since the beginning. Rather it is to enjoy the circus style auditions during the season premieres or the following of a favorite rising Idol star, the interaction between the three judges has always been a major part of the show.

For the 2009 season, a fourth judge was added. And at the end of the eighth season, it was announced that Paula Abdul would not be back for season nine. In her place would be talk-show host and comedienne Ellen Degeneres.

The adding and subtracting of key players has not affected the ratings. But, news just announced in the previous days regarding a shake- up in the judges table that just might hurt ratings, drastically.

Simon Cowell has announced that season nine will be his last on Idol. He will no longer be a judge on the hit show. Even with large amounts of money offered to him in the form of a huge pay raise, he has still made up his mind to leave.

He is putting all his energy into a new judging reality show, The X Factor, a show that Cowell will be executive producer and judge for. The new show will debut on the Fox Network in the 2011 line-up.

While is in unclear just how Cowell’s exit from the show will affect rating, critics and fans alike speculate that it could be the beginning of the end for the long running Fox hit that is American Idol.