AMERICAN Idol ratings have dropped by nearly 2 million viewers from the premiere to the Easter episode that the crew felt was ‘inappropriate,’ The U.S. Sun can reveal.
The three-hour Gospel special saw a substantial drop in ratings, which is a far cry from the impressive numbers the singing competition raked in when it premiered in March.
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When Carrie Underwood, 42, made her judging debut alongside Luke Bryan, 48, and Lionel Richie, 75, the premiere amassed nearly 2 million more viewers than it is getting now.
Although the season 23 premiere had the 2025 Oscars leading into it, which helped boost the ratings, the show has continued to decline in viewership in the weeks since.
The post-Oscars premiere of American Idol on March 2 brought in a whopping 5.95 million viewers.
To compare, the most recent episode of the Top 14 reveal that aired on Monday, April 21 had just 4.1 fans tuning in – a nearly 2 million person drop.
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The Easter special, which aired the day before on Sunday, April 20, didn’t fare much better in the ratings as 4.4 million people watched the special.
Ratings for this season have been teetering around 4.5 million viewers each week.
However, certain weeks saw a ratings plummet that brought in less than 4 million eyeballs.
For the first episode of Hollywood week, which aired on March 31, just 3.7 million people tuned in.
The following week, a massive increase was seen when 5.1 million people caught the Showstopper round in Hollywood on April 6.
Just one day later, viewers dropped by a full million again when only 4.1 million fans watched the Head to Head round on April 7.
Another season 23 low came during part two of the Disney-owned network’s Hawaii week at the House of Mouse’s Aulani Resort in Oahu.
Just 3.8 million fans watched that episode – which was a noticeable drop from the 4.65 million fans who tuned into the first Hawaii special the day before.
The season 23 numbers have been slightly less than the average amount of viewers that tuned into season 22 – when Katy Perry, 40, was still on the panel.
The dip in ratings comes after this week’s controversial faith-based episode – which divided both the fan base and the crew members.
Sunday’s Easter episode marked the first time in the show’s 23 seasons that they have done a completely faith-based special.
While Carrie supported the idea, it’s something that divided some of the staffers behind the scenes, an insider claimed to The U.S. Sun.
“It’s the first time they’ve done a faith-based episode and the crew was polarized by it.
“Some didn’t think it’s completely appropriate but felt uncomfortable speaking up about it while others saw no problem with it as it didn’t focus on a specific religion.
“But some people who work on the show liked it primarily because of the religious aspect. Again, a polarizing topic. People felt different ways about it,” the source alleged.
Who are the past American Idol winners?
The previous American Idol winners include:
Kelly Clarkson (2002)
Ruben Studdard (2003)
Fantasia Barrino (2004)
Carrie Underwood (2005)
Taylor Hicks (2006)
Jordin Sparks (2007)
David Cook (2008)
Kris Allen (2009)
Lee DeWyze (2010)
Scotty McCreery (2011)
Phillip Phillips (2012)
Candice Glover (2013)
Caleb Johnson (2014)
Nick Fradiani (2015)
Trent Harmon (2016)
Maddie Poppe (2018)
Laine Hardy (2019)
Just Sam (2020)
Chayce Beckham (2021)
Noah Thompson (2022)
Iam Tongi (2023)
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They added that Carrie was a “big advocate for it” and “pushed to make this night happen.”
“It was really important for her for the show to go through with it. Lionel and Luke were on board, but Carrie was the most vocal about wanting it to make sure it happened.
“She felt it was important to have gospel night after moving to LA where she feels she can’t be as open about her religion and beliefs.
“She’s not the only reason why it happened, but she’s a big reason why it happened,” the source stated.
The insider claimed that the country superstar’s future on Idol is now “uncertain” as she may be “one and done” while she struggles to be away from her family.
American Idol airs on ABC on Sundays and Mondays at 8 pm EST.
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