"Idol" is tweaking the formatics this year.

There will be only six audition episodes, the fewest since at least season two. Usually, they air eight or nine. This means more Hollywood episodes, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I start getting tired of audition episodes by the third week anyway.

Hollywood will split the men and women all the way to the top 20. The top 40 will get to perform solo for the judges, again split by gender, and will be shrunken to 20 for the first live shows.

In the past, semifinalists numbers 24 to 36 for the live voting shows.

Plus, for the first time since season one, "Idol" will have 10 true finalists, instead of 12 of 13. Nigel Lythgoe says there will be no "returnees" at this stage but this leaves a gap in the schedule for Fox to fill unless there are some twists in the works.

But I'm sure even Nigel knows and MJ wrote about today on his blog, that "Idol" and music reality competition shows in general, are no longer top of mind for anybody. It's not even as popular as "NCIS' or "Big Bang Theory." It's an old show. It's time as part of the pop culture zeitgeist is fading away. It may be the last show ever to average 30 million viewers as audiences continue to splinter.

The show will be lucky to average 15 to 16 million viewers a week this year, I fathom. So far, it's averaging about 17 to 18 million through four episodes.

Tonight's episode features Long Beach, Calif. and San Antonio. Tomorrow: Oklahoma City.

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Forbes estimated the top 10 grossing "Idol" alums from June 2011 to June 2012. Kelly Clarkson topped everyone with $8 million, followed by Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry with $5 million each, then Scotty McCreery ($4 million), Jennifer Hudson ($3 million), Jordin Sparks ($2 million), Adam Lambert ($1.5 million), Kellier Pickler in a tie with Katharine McPhee ($1.1 million each) and David Archuleta and David Cook ($1 million each).

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Season 2 contestant Corey Clark  (the dude who allegedly slept with judge Paula Abdul) keeps suing people. I don't care. If you do, read more here. Give it up Corey.

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Season 11 top 7 finalist Colton Dixon's "The Messenger" Christian pop album is out January 29. His single "You Are" has broached the top 20 on the Christian pop chart, although locally, 104.7/The Fish has not added it yet. Read more here.

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"American Idol" has launched its very own smartphone app probably two years too late. But better late than never, eh?

Press release:

   Unique access to favorite IDOL moments and exclusive content

·        Judge, host and contestant profiles and interviews

·        Fast and easy content sharing to social media

·        Contestant performances and behind-the-scenes footage

·        Live broadcast sync experience during IDOL live shows

·        Voting made easier by casting votes for one or more favorite contestants with just a couple of taps

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