Ahead of the season 24 “American Idol” premiere, a big teaser about a new method of voting has just emerged.
According to “American Idol,” they are the first series to try what they have in mind.
Social Media Will Play a Big Role in Season 24 of ‘American Idol’
According to Deadline on January 22, “American Idol” will tap into everybody’s love for social media by utilizing it in a new way in the coming season. The media outlet revealed that there will be a live social media voting component available in season 24.
As Deadline noted, the season 23 finale of “American Idol” brought in over 26 million votes from viewers. This broke the show’s previous record, and it represented over twice the number of votes that were cast for the season 22 finale.
Now, “American Idol” is looking to build on this renewed popularity of the show. This is where the live social media component comes into play.
Deadline talked to “American Idol” showrunner Megan Michaels Wolfick, who said she has been tossing around this social media voting concept for five years already.
She acknowledged, “There’s always an immense amount of pressure regarding how we level up. What do we do that’s different?” What Michaels Wolflick has in mind with the social media angle is one of the ways the show plans to level up during season 24.
Michaels Wolfick also explained, “We have to meet the audience where they are.” When the series first began over two decades ago, “texting was the hot thing,” she noted.
Now, she shared, they are upping their game to “meet the technology where it is.”
The goal is to engage “Gen Alpha” and “Gen Z” to a higher degree than in previous seasons by making it as easy as possible for them. She thinks that this “Could tip the scale.”
‘American Idol’ Voting Via Text & Phone Remains in Place for Now
Unfortunately, Michaels Wolfick didn’t break down for Deadline exactly how this live social media voting will work. She did note, “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to vote for their favorites, weigh in from their couch with their second screen, in real time.”
“American Idol” provided a teaser about the voting addition in an Instagram Story. In sharing the report from Deadline, the page promised, “Social voting is a game-changer!”
Luckily, “American Idol” viewers who are not interested in the upcoming social media voting aspect don’t have to worry about losing their ability to vote. Voting via phone and text will continue to be available, at least for now.
Michaels Wolflick suggested, “Maybe in three years’ time, we’ll have a conversation where we’re just doing social voting. But right now, you want to ease the audience into something new.”
According to Deadline, specifics regarding how the live social media voting will be done are still being worked out. Eager “American Idol” fans won’t have to worry about how to embrace the new voting opportunity for a bit yet, with live shows not airing until a bit later in the season.
What does “In real time” mean? Whose “real time” will it be? It sounds like West coast will be left out again. Also sounds like people over 25 may also be left out. 🤔 Bummer.
I totally agree!!