Are 'white guys with guitars' killing American Idol?

PHOTO: SONY MUSIC

The reality singing show has crowned, in succession, five nice-guy types with a penchant for strumming - and it has also seen its ratings dip.

One of those nice guys, Kris Allen, 26, who beat guyliner-ed Adam Lambert to take home the Idol crown in 2009, told The New Paper in a phone interview that it did seem like an epidemic.

But he doesn’t think the show is being hurt by its seemingly stereotypical winners.

And he said that this year's 'white guy with guitar' winner, 21-year-old Phillip Phillips, was "more genuine and relatable than some of the other folks on the show".