So like remember how adding Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj as judges was going to give Fox TV’s American Idol a badly need boost in the ratings? Well if it wasn’t working when the season began it sure ain’t working now.

This Weds the show pulled in 13.1 million viewers. That may sound like a lot, but it isn’t when you consider that that is the lowest number of viewers ever in the show’s history since it first came on the air in June 2002.

That year the program’s first show premiered to just under 10 million viewers but steadily increased  throughout the season with the final show pulling in over 23 million watchers.

After that the sky was the limit with the show averaging some 30 million viewers a season and hitting a high of 37 million in 2007 for the opening show that year.

However, starting in 2011, numbers began to noticably drop and this season AI premiered to 17.1 million viewers the lowest number since the 2002 premiere. Now with the Weds show hitting an all time low Fox programmers must be sweating bullets since it’s unlikely at this point that the numbers are going to get any better now or in the future.

So why are people turning out? Is it Nicki? Is it Mariah? It is cornball Randy? Is it that country dude whoever he is? Is it because Simon and Paula aren’t there any more? 

Or is it just simply because the show is tired? Nothing stays popular forever and AI’s glory days are long past.