Simon Cowell Is Out & 15 Other Reasons Why 'American Idol' Is Over

American Idol has been Fox's flagship shows and one of the most successful, longest-running shows on television. People just can't seem to get enough of rags to riches stories and tales about people fulfilling their wildest dreams overnight. There have been so many spin-off shows like The Voice and America's Got Talent that people endlessly tune into because the contestants on those shows are so relatable.

Last year, Simon Cowell turned down a spot on the American Idol judging panel because he simply doesn't think that the show works as well as it used to. Currently, he is a judge on The X Factor and he has been candid about where he thinks the direction of American Idol is going. He believes that the focus has become more on the celebrity judges rather than the up-and-coming rising stars.

"You can't go back! We had the best of times when we did it," he told Extra when asked why he wouldn't return to the show.

There are many more secrets that we don't know about American Idol and what really goes on behind the scenes. Reality TV rears its ugly head when we find out that it's not all glamorous when people on the show have to go through hard times in order to be on there. All we see is the edited versions of what the producers want us to see.

Viewers would never tune in without the show's share of drama and suspense. Here are 15 secrets that you didn't know about American Idol that would explain why Simon Cowell just doesn't want to be a part of it anymore.

15 Simon Has Stated That 'American Idol' Is Not What It Used To Be

In 2010, Simon Cowell left American Idol in favor of The X Factor. He even went so far as to claim that he had not even watched American Idol after in his later years after he made the decision to switch. “Last time I watched, it was not the same show, just the same name,” Cowell conceded in an interview with Variety.

“I left for a reason and I never regretted that.”

It looks like he just turned away and never looked back. Variety concluded that Cowell is prevented from joining American Idol due to his exclusive agreement at NBC, where he is a judge and executive producer for America's Got Talent. Simon is smart to know when the ship is sinking and to hop on a more successful venture with these other shows.

14 'American Idol's Ratings Sunk Like The Titanic After 2007

Popular TV shows have their good run for awhile, but then they eventually jump the shark. The show premiered 15 years ago under the direction of Mike Darnell, who is Fox's president of alternative programming. In May 2013, he left that position to join Warner Bros. and the show just hasn't been the same since. In fact, it was at its peak ratings in 2007 but since Simon left the show and judges have been alternated and replaced, it just doesn't have the same spark as it used to. Having new celebrity judges like Jennifer Lopez and Katy Perry keeps people watching and the ratings afloat, but it just isn't what it used to be back in its heyday. In it's prime, the show pulled in 38 million viewers. By the end, the ratings have dipped as low as 8 million viewers.

13 Cowell Refused To Sign A Multi-Year Deal With Fox

Sandy Grushow, the former Chairman of the Fox Television Entertainment Group gave an interview with The Wrap where she revealed the drama behind the scenes in the series finale in 2016.

“As hard as we tried to make a multi-year deal with Simon Cowell, his people, led by Alan Berger at CAA and Sam Fischer, his lawyer at Ziffren-Brittenham, he absolutely refused to go beyond one year,” Grushow said.

“As it turns out, it was a brilliant maneuver on their part. Heaven knows Ira and I tried absolutely everything. We went to the edge of the cliff, but at a certain point in time, we had a TV show to make. I just thought, 'If the show is successful it's a high-class problem to have.'”

It seems like Simon must have known his worth and would not settle for anything less.

12 Judges And Contestants Received Serious Threats

When you decide to take a career in show business, you are exposing yourself to the entire world… including all of the psychos. The more exposure you get, the more mentally deranged individuals notice you and become obsessed. Though people who become famous through reality TV aren't the traditional type of "celebrity", they are still considered famous by the mainstream. Therefore, they are putting themselves at higher risk of being threatened by some random stranger that they have never met.

It has been reported that both contestants and judges alike on American Idol have received threats against their lives from around the country. This creates an obsessive fan base of people who take their passion for one of the contestants or judges too far and threaten their life. And yes, it is all over something that they don't like on a television show.

11 Bad Auditions Are Intentionally Staged By The Producers

So American Idol isn't just a singing competition where talented people are showcased, the reality TV entertainment is a critical element as well.

Though this adds for more viewership, it doesn't do any justice in terms of saving anyone's dignity.

In the name of television ratings, it is important to showcase horrible singers in order to humiliate them in order to keep the viewers at home laughing. That is the cruel reality of reality television. People enjoy watching people making fools of themselves only to be told that their dreams are being crushed right in front of a national audience. Therefore, according to The Daily Beast, producers take it upon themselves to scout out the awful singers around the country in order prior to the show's arrival. American Idol doesn't just look for the best singers in America, but also the worst singers in America.

10 Some Contestants Who Should Have Been Voted Off Weren't

Once American Idol got more and more popular, there were contestants who knew who to make characters of themselves in order to build a fan base. In fact, they made such spectacles of themselves that some viewers just cast their vote for the joke of it. They like the entertainment of the contestant making a fool of themselves week after week. Sanjaya Malakar kept surviving continuously for this very reason. His cheesy persona and ridiculous mohawk kept people wanting more. That is until some American Idol fans just had enough. In fact, according to Access, some fans were staging a hunger strike back in 2007 until Sanjaya would be voted off. It wasn't that he couldn't carry a tune, but that he paled in comparison to the rest of the contestants in the talent department.

9 Current Replacement Judges Are Questionable

So if you have someone who is to judge who the next American Idol is, of course, you want someone who has the chops to do it. You want either someone who has been behind the scenes of the music industry like a producer or someone who has had a successful singing career themselves. From a marketing standpoint, it makes sense to select someone who has a wholesome reputation for family prime time television.

Though Paula Abdul wasn't exactly known to be the best singer in the world, she was still one heck of a performer.

Nicki Minaj is a successful Rap artist, but her lyrics and public persona are questionable. If you listen to her lyrics, it is not necessarily what you want children at home tuning into. So for her to be a judge on American Idol made viewers think that the selection of the judges is questionable.

8 Because Mariah Carey And Nicki Minaj Feuded On The Show

In 2012, American Idol judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj were locked in a nasty catfight. Once these ladies both took spots on the judging table, it was all downhill from there. “Mariah has been saying little things to jab at Nicki from day one of shooting,” an insider told People. “Mariah doesn't think Nicki can sing and doesn't think she should be judging folks. Nicki has been taking all of the jabs, but on this particular day she lost it.” It all ended with Nicki was caught on video by TMZ with a profanity-based outburst talking trash about Mariah. That might have been the final straw of the feud. You have to feel bad for Keith Urban for being in the middle of all that drama.

7 Voter Fraud Allegedly Went Down During The First Few Seasons

As many viewers of American Idol are well aware, the contestants must make a certain number of votes from the American populace in order to stay in the competition. People have the option of either calling or texting specific numbers designated for each competitor, leaving all the power in the fan's hands to keep their favorite idol around for another week. Though this seemed like a good idea, in theory, voter fraud became a thing, according to weeklyworldnews.com.

It was later revealed that almost 100 hackers found a way to rig the voting system by doing what they called power voting.

Each one of these "voters" was able to cast 10,000 votes each time they went to cast their vote.

After the first season, the producers worked relentlessly to ensure that software was implemented to prevent voter fraud from ever happening again.

6 Some Votes Were Based On Prejudice

Unfortunately, race has always been an issue in the media and a hot-button topic that has existed for much longer than it has to. Not only does this type of prejudice affect many people in everyday life, but also on a big-hit television show like American Idol. On season 3 of American Idol, there were three black women including Jennifer Hudson who made it all the way to final seven contestants because of their incredible talent. Out of nowhere, all three of them found themselves on the brink of elimination. Fans were outraged that lesser talented contestants got to go on. However, one of the girls on the chopping block, Fantasia Barrino ended up winning and Jennifer Hudson went on to win an Academy Award in Dreamgirls.

5 There Is Also A Questionable Gender Bias

After the first six seasons on American Idol, the list of contestants was evenly mixed and diverse when it came to gender. After season seven, a trend started to emerge in favor of the men on American Idol.

Over the course of five seasons, most of the winners were good-looking white males who played guitar on the show.

This sets a gender stereotype that only guys can pull off that acoustic guitar act while women have to stick with other genres. When that happened, the show lost ratings because it seemed more like a popularity contest than a singing competition. The streak sort of ended with winner Candice Glover on season 12, but then white guys with guitars won season 13 and 14. This probably made Simon shake his head.

4 Paula Abdul Was Deemed Inebriated While Filming

If you re-watch the episodes, Paula's behavior didn't seem to be like someone who was sober. Throughout the series, it appeared that Paula Abdul was under the influence while she was filming a few episodes. She is often seen slurring her words and having sloppy mannerisms after the performances and it was her turn to give the critique. Fans weren't happy to see someone who wasn't in their clear frame of mind and could not accurately judge a person's performance. Though none of this was ever confirmed nor denied, Saturday Night Live had a field day making fun of Paula Abdul's antics when she appeared to be intoxicated. You have to wonder what it the world she was thinking. This was not the type of professional behavior that Simon would want to return to.

3 Potential Contestants Are Judged Before Going To The Judges

For anyone to try out for American Idol, they will tell you that it is a long and grueling process just to get an on-screen audition in front of Simon Cowell. Though when we actually watch the show, it seems like they just let anyone waltz up to the judging panel and start singing, no matter how talented or untalented they are.

In reality, you have to audition in front of a bunch of producers before you actually audition, so that means many people are turned away before even getting inside the building.

Not only is it challenging to get your ticket to Hollywood, but you have to fight tooth and nail in order to just perform for your ticket. Considering the insanely high volume of people who try out for American Idol, there are only so many people who survive the cut to perform in front of the judges.

2 Because Taylor Hicks Won The Fifth Season Of 'American Idol'

It was obvious that Simon Cowell was never a fan of Taylor Hicks from the very beginning. His cheesy antics and mediocre range of voice made for a huge shock when he won season five. As Taylor just kept surviving week after week, you could see the disappointment on Simon's face. There were people who didn't even make it to the top ten who were arguably better than him.

"[Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson] loved him. I couldn't stand him. I didn't get it," Cowell said during a panel discussion, according to People. "At the end of the day, you have to find a bona fide recording artist. Just because you win the show doesn't mean you will sell a lot of records. Chris [Daughtry] is the one who sold the albums, not Taylor."

1 'American Idol' Was A Spin-Off Of The British Version Anyways

American Idol was a spin-off of the original British series, Pop Idol that only lasted two seasons. For some reason, that show just didn't take off the ground in Britain the way it did in the United States. The short-lived series that started in Britain became a powerhouse machine of a show in America, so you have to wonder what made American Idol so successful and what made British Idol tank.

Simon Cowell was indeed one of the original judges on Pop Idol, so he has always been an essential element to American Idol or any other show judging singers for that matter.

Without Simon Cowell, shows like American Idol, America's Got Talent and The X Factor just don't have that magical spark. Not to disrespect other judges, but many viewers agree that Simon Cowell is the judge of all judges.

References: Digital Spy, E! Online, The Richest, Variety, PPCorn, Reality TV World, Access Online, thedailybeast.com