The formula was simple: Discover a new talent.
A 21st Century version of Star Search.
Ten seasons of American Idol later, ratings were sagging. The spark was gone.
Then The Voice debuted. Ratings soared.
Regular worldwide trending on Twitter.
And The Voice in one season did something
American Idol never did in ten seasons:
Debuted its top two finalists at the top of the iTunes charts.
American Idol producers are left with The Curse of Success:
Past success is used to justify resistance to change.
This is true in any organization. "That's not the way we do it!"
Just look at the Walt Disney Company.
Wild success. Then suddenly, Walt dies. The founder is gone.
As new decisions come to the organization, the filter became:
"What would Walt do?"
They didn't know because they were in a new time period!
The Walt Disney Company institutionalized for decades.
And it took a Michael Eisner to tear that down.
The Curse of Success.
Its why American Idol is losing its Voice.
