美国国家公共电台 NPR ABC Announces Plan To Revive 'American Idol'

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

It seems like it was only yesterday that my friends here on the show said goodbye to "American Idol¹."

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE²: Fifteen years of bad tryouts.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Singing) Let my people go.

MCEVERS: Catty judges.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL")

SIMON COWELL: You are where you are now for one reason and one reason only - you are a loser.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

SHAPIRO: And lots of over-the-top performances.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL")

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Vocalizing).

MCEVERS: Well, guess what. That goodbye in April of last year was premature³. ABC announced today it is reviving "American Idol," calling it a pop culture staple⁴ that left the air too soon. The singing competition ran on Fox and famously launched the careers of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson. But Fox cancelled the show amid declining ratings and sagging⁵ pop culture status. Here to explain why ABC might want to bring it back is NPR's TV critic Eric Deggans.

Hi, Eric.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: Hey.

MCEVERS: So I'm going to ask the question that a lot of people in social media are asking right now. Why won't this show die?

DEGGANS: (Laughter) I know it's like Dracula or something.

(LAUGHTER)

MCEVERS: The un-dead show.

DEGGANS: You can't put it down, or "The Godfather." You're - just when I thought it was out, they bring it back in. But my short answer is advertisers and brand recognition. Next week, we're going to have this thing called the TV upfronts where the broadcast networks go to advertisers and they sell advertising⁶ spots for the TV season that's about to come. And as much as sophisticated media consumers like you and I want to see new stuff and new stories, advertisers like well-established brands and names that they're familiar with. So this is going to help ABC with the upfronts.

ABC has been trying to develop its own singing competitions, and they haven't had a lot of success there. But they have had some success in reviving these old game shows like "Match Game" or "To Tell The Truth." And they're even doing "The Gong Show." They've got my Mike Myers playing this character who's going to actually host the show, British - a fake British comedian⁷.

MCEVERS: (Laughter).

DEGGANS: So - I know - so there's a sense that in a fragmented media universe, these brand names that people recognize like "American Idol" or "Gong Show" or "Match Game," they have more value than ever.

MCEVERS: ABC executives have promised a bigger, bolder, better-than-ever "American Idol." Is that possible?

(LAUGHTER)

DEGGANS: That's a good question. You know, it seems to me like ABC is in this weird⁸ position, right? If they change the show too much, it's not really going to look or feel like "Idol." But if they don't change it enough, it's going to feel just like that same old tired show that Fox cancelled last year. We don't know if Ryan Seacrest is coming back as host, and he hosted the old "Idol" for 15 seasons. He's the most visible connection to the old show.

The real question is, what kind of show is ABC going to make? Because "American Idol" focused on the singers. And it was successful for a while but then declined. And the new hot singing show is NBC's "The Voice," which focuses on the celebrity⁹ judges. And that makes sense. You know, think about it. I mean, people have heard of people from "Idol" who've gone onto great success like Kelly Clarkson or Jennifer Hudson. But how many people can name anybody who's won NBC's "The Voice?"

MCEVERS: Right. What is the audience for a show like this? I mean, there are a ton of "Idol" fans out there just waiting around for it to come back?

DEGGANS: Well, as you said before, not if you judge by social media because there's a lot of people out there saying they did not ask for this.

(LAUGHTER)

DEGGANS: But it's interesting. ABC has had success with its competition shows like "The Bachelor" and "Dancing With The Stars," with middle-age female viewers. So you might think that "American Idol" would be good with that demographic. But the show, it also has to kind of look hip¹⁰ for young people and for people who really like music. And I'm sure they want to spend less on the show because Ryan Seacrest was supposedly even getting something like $15 million a year to host "Idol." The real question, at a time when there's so much competition for viewers, can ABC revive this important brand that everybody knows that could potentially be another big hit for them?

MCEVERS: NPR TV critic Eric Deggans, thank you.

DEGGANS: Always a pleasure.

(SOUNDBITE OF PICKIN' ON SERIES SONG, "SINCE U BEEN GONE")

1 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

4 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

5 sagging   

下垂[沉，陷]，松垂，垂度

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is continuously sagging. 敌军的士气不断低落。
• We are sagging south. 我们的船正离开航线向南漂流。

6 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

7 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

8 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

9 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

10 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。