Fox president Mike Darnell calls 'American Idol' 'authentic,' not worried about critics

Critics slammed the newest season of American idol after the premiere ratings fell by nearly 4 million viewers. However, Fox president of alternative programming, Mike Darnell, stands by the programming, telling viewers to just wait and see what the season has to offer.

Describing the judging competition as “authentic” Darnell tells The Hollywood Reporter, “Clearly the dynamic is authentic. That's the best way I can say it, and it gets even more, er, authentic next week in Charlotte.”

The season has been plagued by the controversy surrounding Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, whose ongoing feud has overshadowed the singers during the premiere of season 12.

Still, despite the dip in ratings Darnell stands by the idea that the network is “relieved.” He explained, “Look: the deficit of these shows right now is that there's too many of them and they're hurting each other.”

He adds,” I think I've got a very entertaining panel, and a lot of people don't know what to think until they come in...We beat everybody last night, and we're way ahead of The Voice. It's by far the biggest reality show [and] I feel like there's a real shot at closing that deficit over the next few weeks.”

American Idol continued its second round of auditions Thursday evening.