Fox looking to replace American Idol with new singing competition … why?

This just in: The singing competition genre that effectively died off years ago is now getting set to do so all over again at Fox.

According to a new report coming in courtesy of Deadline, Fox is looking to bring in a variation of The Final Four, an Israeli format that spins the entire idea of the genre on its head. The show starts with four worthy finalists as opposed to auditions, and the entirety of the series is about trying to find talent that is good enough to unseat them. People can choose to audition in all sorts of ways, and effectively, this is a way to start the series with great talent only to see if there is anyone out there great enough to actually unseat them and sit atop the singing-show throne.

In a statement describing this further, Armoza Formats CEO Avi Armoza said (per the aforementioned website) earlier this year:

“The Final Four is a new take on the singing competition genre, bringing all the most loved elements of music shows to the table and serving only the best of them in a way that has never been seen before … And because of its unique structure, any viewer who thinks they’re good enough to challenge one of the finalists can do so through the app at any time, involving the audience throughout the season.”

If there were not already a million singing shows out there, (past and present included), maybe this would be a little bit more of an interesting idea. As it is, however, this is a little more dubious of a concept. Who’s going to want to be told they are one of the “final four,” only to be dethroned quickly? The only way that this could work to us is if Fox designs it similar to NBC and World of Dance, where they are bringing in a wide array of well-known singing-show-circuit contestants and utilize their fan bases to see if any of them can unseat their champions. Even then, it’s going to be challenging. All of this feels almost as though Fox is just trying to grasp at straws after losing out on American Idol earlier this year to ABC, which will broadcast a new version at the same time.

Here are some of the singing shows over the years that have aired for short to moderate periods of time: Rock Star, Duets, Rising Star, a new iteration of Star Search, American Juniors, Nashville Star, The X Factor USA, The Sing-Off, The Next, and then modified versions of it like Making the Band and Platinum Hit that focused on some other elements of the industry. There are of course so many more that we’re not even including in here. We’re not even including some of the more familiar series like American Idol, The Voice, or America’s Got Talent because they are still on the air and doing rather well.

For the record, if The Final Four happens it’ll change its name. There’s zero chance that the NCAA allows something to infringe on that.

What do you think: Is there any merit at all to another singing show, even one with such a different format? Share below!

Also, be sure to check out the latest news regarding American Idol and its return to television in the new year. (Photo: Fox.)