Wrapping up in May, season 23 of American Idol brought several firsts. Carrie Underwood became the first former winner to join the judges’ panel, sitting beside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. Jelly Roll joined the show as its first-ever artist-in-residence. And Jamal Roberts is the first Black man to hold the title of American Idol since season 2’s Ruben Studdard. With all these milestones, some longtime viewers are fondly remembering an Idol tradition of yore.
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Back in 2005, no one could escape Daniel Powter’s ubiquitous breakthrough hit “Bad Day.” The Canadian singer-songwriter wrote his first hit on an hourlong ferry ride from Victoria to Vancouver, British Columbia. “Bad Day” made Powter the first Canadian male artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 since Bryan Adams in 1995.
The song gained much of its of traction during season 5 of American Idol, when the show played it over a montage of each contestant shown after their elimination. The Grammy winner even performed “Bad Day” live on the season’s penultimate episode in 2006.
Will ‘American Idol’ Bring Back the Farewell Segment?
During a recent interview with TV Line, American Idol showrunner Megan Michaels Wolflick fielded a question about the potential return of farewell segments.
“The Daniel Powter, if you will?” she said with a laugh. Wolfick then explained that particular feature only worked because Idol once broadcast a results show. Changes to the show’s format in recent years would complicate matters a bit, she said.
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“We had a second show where the whole hour was dedicated to the results, so we could have that moment,” the showrunner said. “Now, with the real-time voting and the coast-to-coast live voting, it’s so difficult to have that proper [goodbye], unfortunately. We want to make sure that the two hours are jam-packed with music and everything else going on.”
Producers apparently cut the segment when Idol went from two episodes a week to one. Previously, viewers had an entire day to cast their votes, with those results airing the next evening. Now, the performances and the voting all take place in the same hour-long live show.
Still, never say never. “But yes, at the end of the day, if we could have an extra two minutes to look back at each person’s journey, that would be lovely,” Wolfick said.
Featured image by Oliver Gutfleisch/imageBROKER/Shutterstock
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