(WTVR) — There’s good news for Candice Glover, who could barely remember her own name after she was crowned this season’s winner of “American Idol” on Thursday night.
Now for the bad news. Ratings for the finale dipped to a record low for the twelfth season of the Fox show.
In fact, Glover’s victory over Kree Harrison was watched by 14.2 million viewers, down 34 percent over last year, according to reports.
Last season previously held the title for the lowest rated “Idol” finale.
And among young adults, much sought after by advertisers, the show was also down about 40 percent versus last year.
Things will likely be different when the show returns next year. The judges panel is just one of the expected changes Fox plans to make to rejuvenate the show.
Meanwhile, the news is much brighter for Glover.
“I’m still trying to process the whole thing, I don’t even know what’s happening,” she told the press backstage. “It feels amazing though that I finally got to this point; I’ve been working for so long.”
The singer, who stunned judges and viewers with a remarkable performance of “Lovesong” earlier in the season, had tried out for “American Idol” twice before, making her third audition truly the charm. Candice, 23, is the first woman to win “American Idol” since season 6’s Jordin Sparks.
Yet “Idol’s” final stretch has been all about the ladies, as the final three included Candice, Kree Harrison and Angie Miller. Although Candice earned enough votes to surpass Kree, the singer said they’re both “super supportive of each other, and I know no matter what I’m going to buy Kree’s album, and I think the whole world will.”
Thursday’s “Idol” finale included performances from former “Idol” judge Jennifer Lopez, current judges Keith Urban and Mariah Carey, and former “Idol” star Jennifer Hudson, who sang “Inseparable” with Candice.
While the new “American Idol” hasn’t started on her album yet, fans have a taste of what’s to come with “I Am Beautiful,” which is Candice’s first single.
“When I first heard the song, I was in tears, because I connect with the song so much. It’s not only about a girl that’s been done wrong by her ex-boyfriend, but, like with me, being attacked all the time, and being told that you’re not good enough, or you’re not as pretty as you should be. … That song is a message to everybody that ever said that to me, as well as all these girls that are growing up and feeling that they’re not beautiful. I think it’s connects with a lot of people in their hearts.”
It took Candice a few tries to get to this point on “Idol,” but the lessons learned along the way were worth it.
“I think I definitely learned how to be confident and how to be myself and be OK with who I am,” she said. “In previous seasons, I was doing what I thought America wanted, or what the judges wanted, but this year I did whatever I wanted to do. Hence why I would do a rapper’s song on the show, or why I would do The Cure when nobody expected me to. In previous seasons, I wouldn’t have done any of that, because I wasn’t comfortable in who I was. But I think that’s the difference between now and other seasons.”
CNN contributed to this report.
