Fox CEO Peter Rice says 'American Idol' Has Struggled to Get Contestants America Cares About

Assuming you're someone in our age bracket (between 18 and 75), we presume that you remember when Kelly Clarkson won American Idol. And Carrie Underwood. And Jordin Sparks. But that was a really long time ago in the relative nature of television stuff. Fox chairman and CEO Peter Rice admitted to reporters at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that the contestants have gotten boring.

"We haven't found in the last two years a group of kids who've captured the imagination of the public," he said, although he claimed the program was "aging gracefully."

The first part of his statement is true: If American Idol was able to find some more out-of-the-box performers, maybe the flame would be lit anew for the audience that formerly made it the biggest television program in the nation. Even a terrible, viral celebrity performer such as William Hung would draw attention.

The second part of his statement might be more of a problem however. The concept of "aging gracefully" suggests that the show is turning into The Waltons, kind of doing the same thing it always did as the seasons pile up. Sure, it's not jumping the shark but it's not getting any more interesting either.

Our suggestion: Figure out how to get Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson back in the judges' seats. Idol's biggest problem right now is that other vocal competitions such as The Voice and Rising Star are providing new and more interesting alternatives. What American Idol had at its apex was a trio of judges that viewers knew and embraced. The Voice has doubled up on this approach by placing current celebrities (sorry Paula) such as Adam Levine and Blake Shelton at the helm, and replacing outgoing judges like Christina Aguilera with other recognizable performers, such as Shakira. American Idol needs to put a recognizable face back on, with apologies to Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban.