The 12th season of “Idol,” which concluded with a two-part finale on Wednesday and Thursday on Fox, won’t be remembered as the show’s nadir. That would be the ninth season, won by the characterless, gruff rock crooner Lee DeWyze. But it did mark the definitive end of the era in which “Idol” was as certain as death and taxes.

The stoic soul singer Candice Glover was voted the winner over the roots-country singer Kree Harrison after a showdown that lacked tension or charm. Ms. Glover, who sang with the force and nuance of a cement truck, clearly had the better night during Wednesday’s performance finale, but Ms. Harrison had verve and flexibility that Ms. Glover lacked. Neither was dominant, though Ms. Glover did deliver this season’s definitive performance several weeks ago: a striking version of the Cure’s “Lovesong” (patterned on the stark, woozy version first delivered by Adele) that prompted one of the judges, Mariah Carey, to march onstage and shower her with glitter.

In the first all-female finale since the show’s third season, the battle between Kreedom and Candy Girl, as the judge Nicki Minaj dubbed them, was hardly the conflict that drove this edition, and it fell far short of other memorable “Idol” finale twosomes.

Instead the “Idol” dramas were offstage: a ratings free fall, with the show even coming up short against “Duck Dynasty,” by some measurements, and preliminary numbers indicating that this year’s finale audience was two-thirds the size of last year’s; the public spats between Ms. Minaj and Ms. Carey; the hastily announced exit of another judge, Randy Jackson, the show’s last connection to its first year, not counting the host Ryan Seacrest.

While “Idol” remains a ratings force, it is no longer the standard-bearer for televised singing competitions: “The X Factor” is more modern, “The Voice” is more narratively compelling. “Idol” is a legacy show now, a reminder of simpler times. And never has a season of “Idol” felt more like a karaoke competition than this one. It is not helped by the band, Ray Chew Live, which is well suited to a variety show but not one ostensibly in search of a modern pop star.

But of this year’s contestants, only a couple might have fit that bill, anyway: Angie Miller, the Christian-pop melodramatist who came in third; Janelle Arthur, a country sparkplug who placed fifth. The best male singers, the undervalued but too prim Devin Velez and the technically proficient but shy Burnell Taylor, weren’t broadly appealing.

This year, the five male finalists — including Lazaro Arbos, who suffers from a severe stutter, and was the emotional story-arc bait — were summarily eliminated before any female finalist was cut. It was a reflection of the lopsidedness of the talent pool, as well as what appeared to be careful engineering by the show’s producers to end its dispiriting five-year streak of white, male, guitar-playing winners.

But even though Ms. Glover broke that streak on Thursday night, she came off humbled when tasked with singing alongside Jennifer Hudson, former “Idol” also-ran turned film star, who, to put it politely, ate Ms. Glover for dinner on their duet of Natalie Cole’s “Inseparable.” Ms. Hudson sang with pain and finesse, and Ms. Glover had perhaps heard of those things but never touched them. The more impressive pairing of current contestant with a previous season’s nonwinner on Thursday night was Ms. Miller singing David Guetta and Sia’s “Titanium,” with Adam Lambert, two shamelessly emoting powerhouses going for broke.

One of the signature innovations of “Idol” was a judging panel with its own intrigue, but no matter how boorish Simon Cowell ever got, in the early years the judges’ dynamic never overtook the events onstage. This season, though, the tension between Ms. Carey and Ms. Minaj was at such a high volume that it often drowned out the tepid contestants, and also what those two did well as judges: Ms. Carey had a finely tuned ear and precise critiques; Ms. Minaj was an unexpected nurturer and the class clown. Ms. Carey also seemed grateful for the opportunity to peacock on camera for a few hours each week, even if it came at the price of some dignity. She was redeemed a bit on Thursday night, when she performed a long medley of hits, nailing some of her signature high notes and singing with real warmth. Ms. Minaj did not perform.

Despite some early indications this season that Mr. Jackson might turn into the judging panel’s musical authority, finally out of the shadow of Mr. Cowell and, you suppose, Steven Tyler, he quickly reverted to being the same old boulder in the road he’s always been, a fountain of empty cliché with a taste for pastel paisley. (It’s unclear whether any of the three other judges will return next season, or, if Keith Urban returns, if anyone will notice.)

What passed for musical controversy came a few weeks ago, when Harry Connick Jr., who’s been floated as a possible “Idol” judge in the past, mentored the final four contestants and was troubled by their tendency to oversing without isolating or emphasizing the meaning of a lyric. It’s an old debate, older then “Idol” itself, and it came off like blaming salmon for not reading up on commercial fishing practices before spawning.

Mr. Connick might want “Idol” to be even more old-fashioned than it’s become, but that’s no longer a viable option, and nowhere near an attractive one. Maybe the person with the most insight into the current state of “Idol” was Jennifer Lopez, a former judge who, in the final 15 minutes of Thursday night’s show, returned to deliver a dynamic performance of a ham-handed new song, and also appeared in an ad for Kohl’s. She’s moved on, back to her old careers, knowing full well that “Idol” was a rest stop, not the final destination.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/arts/music/candice-glover-prevails-but-american-idol-is-losing-spark.html?partner=rss&emc=rss