Editorials and Articles Archive

Most of WhatNotToSing.com consists of facts and hard data, but we occasionally like to put our two cents in about American Idol. Below is the complete list of editorials and feature articles that have run on our home page; click on any title for the text.

Editorial Archive

  • All things considered, Season 18 was a success...just one we'd like never to repeat
  • Season 18 kicks off tonight, in a year like (almost) no other
  • Something went wrong after AI17 returned from the Aloha State, but we're not exactly sure what
  • American Idol is trending up while WNTS ratings are trending...down?
  • A parable of what happens when you put the wrong people in charge of elections
  • A historically promising Opening Night raises our hopes for Season 17
  • American Idol partied this spring like it was...2014?
  • ...or "Six Weeks to a Fabulous Singing Career". No refunds.
  • Cranking the Idol (and WNTS) machinery back to life
  • American Idol 1.0 ends on the highest of notes. What should AI 2.0 be like?
  • Or: What a long strange trip it's been
  • Billboard released its list of the best Idol performances ever. Here's our take on it.
  • A variety of observations as American Idol's farewell Finals commence
  • Season 14 wasn't good and wasn't awful, but was it ever unlucky
  • American Idol will end after Season 15. And, oddly enough, we're good with that.
  • We put on our detectives cap to theorize on one of AI14's biggest backfires
  • In defense, however weak, of Per Blankens and his changes to American Idol
  • Our readers ask, and we answer...or at least we dodge the question deftly
  • Can the cycle of madness on American Idol be broken?
  • Season Thirteen had its ups, its downs, and one huge group of unsung heroes
  • An old friend checks in with his opinions of the past week's silliness
  • The Fifth Epoch of AI has arrived, and the theme isn't hard to figure out
  • With all the improvements to AI in 2014, why is this season stuck in neutral?
  • Season 13 will be very different for American Idol...and for WNTS
  • The three-year jinx continues, but there's a road forward in 2014...
  • This editorial is brought to you by the letter Z and the number 9...
  • What if you could make only one change to save American Idol from itself?...
  • Even online parodies are smarter than AI's production staff
  • Has American Idol ever reached this low of a low? No.
  • Very little has gone right for S12 thus far. The Judges' Save might be no different.
  • How might American Idol improve the "ratings" that truly matter?
  • Idol's first-ever quarterfinals were a mixed bag, but an old problem remains
  • With AI12 just weeks away, the WNTS team decides to rewrite the AI rulebook
  • There's no time like the present to turn back time...
  • Where S11 ranks in the Idol pantheon depends on what matters most to you
  • Why has Season Eleven thoroughly reversed a longstanding Idol trend?
  • Cheers and jeers at the midpoint of the Season 11 finals.
  • Has the "Guy Bonus" increased since our original Idolmetrics study?
  • Where the songs are old and the competition is...pretty relevant, actually.
  • The AI11 judges are disasters in everything except what matters most
  • American Idol historians, unite!...uh, once we get this software working, that is.
  • Country music fans have the last laugh in Season Ten
  • Which contestants have improved...and regressed...the most during their Idol runs?
  • An informal Idolmetrics study on song genres
  • A thousand pictures are sometimes worth one word: "Wow."
  • In the wake of Pia Toscano's elimination, an intriguing correlation emerges
  • AI needs newer songs for it to remain relevant, but older ones to remain watchable.
  • So far, the AI10 contestants have spread the wealth...but that's not all good
  • 2011 will go down in American Idol lore as the Year Of The Drive-By Semifinals
  • Can the new American Idol win back the jaded hearts of its loyal fans?
  • Why Season Nine makes the case for rebooting America's most popular TV series
  • The recent American Idol opinion survey hints at the future direction of the franchise
  • Reflections on perhaps the strangest night in American Idol history
  • What's the relationship between song familiarity and success on American Idol?
  • The leadoff slot is still most dangerous on American Idol, but another may be closing fast
  • Random thoughts as we approach the halfway point of Season Nine
  • ...or, "The Perils of Mis-Pimping on American Idol"
  • What artists have been butche---....er, covered the most times on AI?
  • A mind-boggling Top 16 Results show puts a damper on AI9...but all is not lost.
  • Week Two of the semifinals brings a little hope and (thankfully) a lot of change
  • OK, so Week One of AI9 wasn't exactly a blockbuster. Give it time.
  • The $%^&* producers of American Idol have finally gone too far....
  • The unpleasant memories of AI8 still cast a gray shadow over AI9
  • Season Eight promises to unfold very differently at Camp Should-A-Been
  • Some candid reflection as we try to make WNTS a better place
  • X marks the spot of where American Idol is headed if Simon has his way.
  • Kris Allen's win presents AI with a golden opportunity. Will the producers take it?
  • How Kris Allen broke American Idol, and why we may all be better off for it.
  • The journey to the AI8 Promised Land has been one to forget. Except we won't allow it.
  • Ever wonder why the producers don't show the backstory of every semifinalist?
  • On American Idol, no good deed goes unpunished
  • 'Tis the season for deaths by mysterious circumstances on American Idol
  • The latest era of American Idol is drawing to a close. What will follow?
  • Is it true that singing lesser-known songs on AI is a risk? It's time to find out.
  • Random thoughts and observations as we reach the halfway pole of the AI8 finals.
  • ...for making good song choices on American Idol
  • An American Idol fairy tale in one long silly act
  • Among the casualties of AI8's tightly-scripted format: memorable moments
  • There's life on AI after a trip to the dreaded B3...but it's probably just temporary.
  • The only people at American Idol who need to be "saved" are the producers.
  • The producers hand-picked the Final 13. Woe be to them if their plants don't bloom.
  • Selling The Drama and Cursing The Darkness on American Idol
  • The new season of American Idol gets off to a slow start for the same old reasons
  • If you think the new semifinals format is awful now, you ain't seen nothing yet
  • Three open letters from the WNTS.com staff at the advent of Season Eight
  • How race and ethnicity affect the voting outcomes on American Idol
  • How the South is getting its revenge on the North through American Idol
  • They say teenaged contestants have a big advantage on AI. They'd be mistaken.
  • What traits might help you succeed on Al? A Y chromosome is a good start.
  • Studying the science of survival on American Idol
  • The return of the Wild Card Show for AI8 isn't exactly a change we can believe in.
  • Kara DioGuardi's addition to the judging panel is a promising start to AI8
  • The belated AI8 audition schedule plus some announced rule changes have us concerned
  • What if American Idol viewers had voted strictly on performance? Let's find out.
  • Everyone has ideas for how to improve American Idol. Here are some of ours.
  • David Cook, 19E, and the Second American Revolution
  • Those great iTunes downloads cost AI fans more than just 99 cents apiece
  • Idol contemplates lowering the audition age to 14. We have a better idea.
  • A requiem for Idol voting rationality
  • Any attempt to improve the AI voting system must keep the Prime Directive in mind.
  • American Idol, Human Nature, and the "Sesame Street Effect"
  • How performance order does (and does not) make a difference on American Idol
  • Will a finalist ever complete their AI run with no below-average performances?
  • Water-cooler moments are becoming scarce as AI evolves
  • A reader's research leads us to muse about the past, present and future of American Idol
  • Does a simple shout-out indicate a worthy attitude adjustment is underway on Idol?
  • Give the devil his due: VFTW has been, on balance, an asset to Idol viewers
  • Two Idols give a lesson on how and how not to handle a performance flub
  • Are you conceding that a guy will win AI7? Not so fast.
  • Tired of the producers' rampant favoritism? This idea ought to set AI7 right.
  • Ouch! It's time to formulate Da Rules for selecting a song on Idol
  • AI7's tweaks lead to a strong opening week (really!), but one change has got to go.
  • One component of the AI machine is still in need of a tune-up
  • The producers have held up their end of the bargain. Now it's up to us viewers.
  • Does web reaction to a purported Top 24 "spoiler" list bode ill for AI7?
  • Talent makes a comeback; will it last?
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