The 15<sup>th season of "American Idol" will be its last.
FOX announced Monday that the pioneer singing reality show in U.S. television will bid goodbye to its audience due to its dwindling ratings over the last few seasons.
Gary Newman, the co-chairman and CEO of FOX Television Group, made the announcement during a conference call with reporters alongside the unveiling of the fall lineup of the network.
"It was not an easy decision. American Idol has been such a vital part of Fox for its run," Newman said.
The cancellation announcement does not come as a surprise, however, since the show has been falling behind on the ratings game for the last five seasons.
During its peak, "American Idol" broke all records in terms of sales, ratings, and popularity. It was a big driving force to boost the dying U.S. music industry, providing opportunities for song publishers and songwriters to earn millions whenever their songs are featured in the show during the competition.
It also managed to reach 30 million viewers at the height of the show's fame in 2006, and the season ended with a whopping 36 million viewers during that time.
But the popularity of "American Idol" sizzled down over the years. For its current season, the show is averaging 9.15 million viewers per episode. This is the lowest number that the show ever recorded since it was aired in 2002.
In Twitter, long-time host Ryan Seacrest expressed his sadness over the cancellation of the show, saying: "yes next year will be our final season of @AmericanIdol :( this show's been a big part of my life for so long... hard to imagine it w/out it."
Seacrest has been on the show since its first season. He was joined by Brian Dunkleman as his co-host, but the latter left him to be the lone host in season 2.
A number of celebrity judges also appeared in the show since it started. The original set of judges included British music and television producer Simon Cowell, singer-actress Paula Abdul, and singer-record producer Randy Jackson. They all appeared in the show for the first eight seasons, and were joined by singer-songwriter Kara DioGuardi as a fourth judge in season 8 until season 10. Abdul left the show in season 9, and she was replaced by TV host Ellen DeGeneres.
Other celebrity judges who appeared in the show include Steven Tyler, Mariah Carey, Nikki Minaj, and the three current judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick Jr.
There are talks between FOX and all the former judges and contestants about making an appearance in season 15 of "American Idol," to air in 2016, which is reported to be the season-long tribute for the show.
