Yes, We Stuck With ‘American Idol’

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/26/arts/music/popcast-american-idol-maddie-poppe.html

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The Popcast is hosted by Jon Caramanica, a pop music critic for The New York Times. It covers the latest in pop music criticism, trends and news.

This week, the new season of “American Idol” — the first on ABC after 15 seasons on Fox and a brief hiatus — came to a close with the Iowa singer-songwriter Maddie Poppe crowned the winner.

But where “Idol” was once the biggest phenomenon on television, its return was slightly deflated. From a ratings perspective, it was met with strong but not overwhelming interest. And some of the changes to the show were disruptive. But the talent level was high, and the finalist group featured several standout singers, including Popcast favorites Catie Turner and Michael J. Woodard.

On this week’s Popcast, Mr. Caramanica speaks with Caryn Ganz, the pop music editor for The New York Times and a fellow longtime “Idol” enthusiast, about the strengths and weaknesses of the show’s new iteration, the merits of the winner and which parts of the show’s initial spirit still remain.

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Email your questions, thoughts and ideas about what’s happening in pop music to popcast@nytimes.com.