The 12th season of “Idol,” which concluded with a two-night finale Wednesday and Thursday, won’t be remembered as the show’s nadir. That would be the ninth season, in which the winner was 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 named 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 startling version of the Cure’s “Lovesong” (following the stark, woozy version first delivered by Adele) that prompted Mariah Carey, a judge, 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 season, and it fell far short of other memorable “Idol” finale twosomes.

Instead the “Idol” dramas were offstage: a ratings freefall, even coming up short to “Duck Dynasty” by some measurements; the public spats between Ms. Minaj and Ms. Carey; the hastily announced exit of judge Randy Jackson, the show’s last connection to its first season, not counting the host Ryan Seacrest.

Firstly, 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 pure 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 anyhow: 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 this season’s emotional story-arc chum — were summarily eliminated before any woman got cut. It was a reflection of the lopsidedness of the talent pool, as well as what appeared to be careful engineering on the part of the show to avoid a continuation of its dispiriting pattern of white, male, guitar-playing winners, a streak that lasted five years before Thursday night.

But even though Ms. Glover broke that pattern on Thursday night, she came off humbled when tasked to sing alongside Jennifer Hudson, former “Idol” also-ran turned film star, who, politely speaking, 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 this-season contestant with a prior-season non-winner on Thursday night was Ms. Miller singing “Titanium” with Adam Lambert, two shamelessly emoting powerhouses going for broke.

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