American Idol

The producers at "American Idol" wanted to shore up a dramatic slide in ratings for the show's newest season, so they added three star judges and even allowed viewers to vote online for favorites up to 50 times simultaneously. The changes for the 12th season didn't help. Ratings have plummeted by double digits for the second year in a row, down this season by 18%, to 15.8 million total viewers, according to Nielsen. In its fifth season in 2006, "Idol's" average audience was more than twice as large.

Regardless of which singer went home Thursday on "American Idol," we knew we'd be sad to see her go. And while Janelle Arthur was as ripe for departure as any of the women in this season's Top 5, and perhaps a bit more than some, I'll surely miss her upbeat attitude, her glow, her unfailing smile, her twang and her boots. Arthur, who has been uneven of late, had stumbled on her song choices this week, especially in the diva round, when other contenders really hit their strides. As Jimmy Iovine pointed out in his assessment Thursday night, Dolly Parton was the right diva for the diminutive country singer to tackle, but she'd picked the wrong Parton song.

As speculation (and uncertainty) hits the Net over Jennifer Lopez's return to “American Idol,” Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has decided he won't return to the aging competiton for a third season. “After some long ... hard ... thoughts … I've decided it's time for me to let go of my mistress 'American Idol' before she boils my rabbit,” Tyler said in a statement on Thursday. “I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith, and I'm back - - but instead of begging on my hands and knees, I've got two fists in the air and I'm kicking the door open with my band.” Immediately after Tyler inked his deal to join the show, rumors intensified that the rocker was preparing to walk away from the band he's spent nearly 40 years fronting.

Thank you, America. You finally sent home the right guy. Yes, at long last, and after scaring many of us by mysteriously landing in the top three last week, Lazaro Arbos -- lover of bright colors, sweater of anxious sweats, forgetter of lyrics, weeper-turned-shrugger, bearer of Nicki Minaj-bestowed nicknames like "Ricky Ricardo" and "Fonzie," and certainly no judge favorite -- was sent packing Thursday on "American Idol. " That means we won't have to steel ourselves for the 22-year-old Floridian's missed notes and words -- and the judges' resulting awkward responses -- anymore.

In the wake of all the what-went-wrong, post-Pia Toscano hand-wringing (not to mention the Casey Abrams near ouster) in recent weeks, there's been a lot of talk about a need to revisit the way voting works on "American Idol. " And the people doing the talking aren't just fans bereft of their favorite singers. "Idol" producer Nigel Lythgoe recently said the show might consider adopting a system in which "Idol" voters determined the bottom three, and then the judges decided which contestant would be sent home.

She just couldn't let Steven Tyler have all the headlines: Jennifer Lopez announced Friday that she, too, won't be returning to “American Idol.”  Lopez, appearing on Ryan Seacrest's syndicated morning radio program, said that after two years on Fox's veteran singing competition show, “The time has come.” “I really have been torn,” she said. “When I signed on to 'Idol,' I signed on to do one year. I ended up doing two years … It was just such a lovely surprise in my life to do it.” PHOTOS: 'American Idol' judges through the years She continued, “It gets more complicated as the kids get a little bigger.

Adam Lambert's name has surfaced as a possible judge for the next season of "American Idol," the show that made him a star. E! News reports that "Idol" execs are looking at Lambert as they continue to juggle the lineup of judges on the long-running Fox series in the face of competition from NBC's "The Voice" and another Fox music competition show,"The X Factor. " "He personifies the show, and will be a popular choice right from the start," an unnamed source is quoted telling E!

This was supposed to be the year that "American Idol" crashed and burned. How could it not? Everyone knew ex-judge Simon Cowell was the star. Once he packed up and left with his tight T-shirts and brutal one-liners, "Idol" was like a young singer who forgets the lyrics: Living on borrowed time. But turns out the pessimists will have to hang on to those eulogies a little longer. Although "Idol" has continued to decline in the ratings — as it has done every season since 2006 — the loss has been far less than many observers were expecting.

Fox is once again betting on an aging diva to revitalize"American Idol. " Mariah Carey, who in her heyday was one of the most popular singers on the planet, has been tapped to replace Jennifer Lopez as a judge on the musical talent show. In a moment of faux drama, Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly called the pop star Monday on his phone during the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills to share the news with television journalists. "I think it's the biggest recording artist that any of these shows have ever had," said Reilly.

Blame the teenyboppers! "American Idol," everyone agrees, has gone to the dollies. Young women have long been held accountable for pop's occasional loss of reason, from the bobby sox brigade that first embraced Frank Swoonatra to the hordes afflicted with Bieber Fever. Now this perennial crisis has overtaken "Idol. " With only two women remaining in the finalists' pool, critics, fans and even executive producer Ken Warwick have called for a halt to the reign of fast-voting misses and mums, which has thrown the game in favor of anything in three-day stubble.

Candice Glover showed us -- twice -- why she undoubtedly belongs in the top three on "American Idol" on Wednesday night, no matter what Jimmy Iovine and the judges (save for Mariah Carey) said last week. In fact, the South Carolina 23-year-old soul singer proved she's right up there with Kree Harrison (sorry, Angie Miller and Amber Holcomb) as a worthy contender to win the whole thing. If I had to rank the remaining contestants at this point -- in terms of my own favorites-- it would look something like this: 1 and 2 (in no particular order)

Country star and Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood and Casey James, who came in third in Season 9, returned to perform on "American Idol" Thursday night, and one of this year's contenders, Burnell Taylor, was sent packing. Not Lazaro Arbos -- not even close. Even though Arbos was clearly (just ask Jimmy Iovine) the weakest link among the top seven -- repeatedly forgetting words, singing muddily, dressing cheesily and often not handling himself well (tears, anger) -- the voters placed him in this week's top three, along with Kree Harrison and Angie Miller.

Nicki Minaj is not about to calm down, Devin Velez, and she's not afraid to let the world know how she thinks contestants should behave once they're off "American Idol. " The flamboyant judge and recently nuked contestant Velez got into a war of words, with Minaj definitely working the louder public voice online. After first telling reporters in a Friday conference call that he was "not really unfairly" criticized for last week's three-man "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)"

Poor Devin Velez. He didn't deserve to get kicked off "American Idol" just yet - certainly not before that cheesy amateur Lazaro Arbos -- but that's what the "Idol" voters did Thursday night. And the judges, who can't use their one save of the season without agreeing unanimously, did not opt to yank him back and give him another shot next week. It appeared -- although of course we can't be certain -- that Nicki Minaj was the holdout, unwilling to use the save for the gold-haired singer whose solo performance she praised and group number she reviled Wednesday.

The "American Idol" top 8 tackled the music of Detroit on Wednesday. That turned out to mean mostly Motown, but also, incongruously, a song by Madonna -- "Michigan's own Material Girl," Ryan Seacrest reminded us - and a countrified version of it at that. Under the twinkling green eyes of Motown legend and guest mentor Smokey Robinson, it ought to have been a miraculous gem of a show, but alas, while some performers shined, others turned in woefully flawed performances. The judges' critiques too seemed a little off -- either rambling (Mariah Carey)

Jessica Lange played singer Patsy Cline in the 1985 movie "Sweet Dreams" and received an Academy Award nomination. Starting in July, "American Idol" finalist Crystal Bowersox will incarnate the country singer in the Broadway-bound musical "Always… Patsy Cline. " Bowersox appeared on "American Idol" during the Fox singing competition show's 2010 season. She was a finalist and ultimately lost to Lee DeWyze. "Always... Patsy Cline," written by Ted Swindley, is a jukebox musical that features the singer's greatest hits.

If you've managed to keep up with the array of singing competitions on the air without succumbing to exhaustion, kudos. With "American Idol," "The Voice," "The X Factor," "America's Got Talent," "Duets" and more, there's no shortage of series vying for ratings and votes for their would-be superstars. With revamped seasons of "The Voice" - Usher and Shakira are subbing for Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera - and "Idol" underway (expect a reboot for "The X Factor" this fall following the departure of half of its judges)

  The five members of the U.S. women's gymnastics team are coming home from the London Olympics with gold medals. Their success has also unwittingly touched the burgeoning career of "American Idol" winner Phillip Phillips , as NBC has numerous times over the last 12 days shown the likes of Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney discussing their Olympic dreams in a promo piece scored to Phillips' "Home. "  Just as Maroney has her ups and downs on the vault, despite being widely considered the world's greatest at that event, a career after winning "American Idol" isn't exactly a given either.

After the coffee. Before packing matzo for the trip back to Los Angeles. The Skinny: Because I was celebrating Passover last night, I have no idea what absurd thing happened on Fox's "The Following. " No spoilers please. Tuesday's headlines include a couple of profiles of new Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara, a look at the CW Network's new strategy, and the ratings struggles an aging "American Idol" is having this season. Daily Dose: RBC Capital Markets is predicting that advertisers will cut their spending on broadcast TV by about 2% and increase spending on cable by as much as 6%. In June, the broadcast and cable networks will all start selling advertising for the fall TV season.