My music-heavy Twitter feed sang a mournful goodbye to a dear friend last night as Maura Johnston logged her last post at Idolator. “Just wanted to let you know that today is my last day as editor of Idolator,” she wrote. “The site will continue on, and I will continue to write about music, but we’ve decided to part ways.” The URL may remain, but it will never be the same mighty blog it was with Maura at the helm.
Editing since the blog’s 2006 internet inception, Maura’s sure taste and depth of industry knowledge crafted a meeting place for the informed and the fan. Idolator grew into a place for fans to watch R.Kelly videos and think about them too. It was smart, and fun, and Maura’s confident voice kind of made it feel like you were talking to her yourself.
Today heralds in a new era of Idolator, and thus far it’s Maura-less future seems bleak. Nine posts in, commenters are enraged (“What the fuck is going on here?” asks one) and fans are unsubscribing. It’s clear that Maura was Idolator for many (if not most) readers, and so it will take time for this Robbie and Becky to grow into the gaping hole she’s left in the blogosphere. An introduction might help build good graces, and until then, this American Idol coverage is good for page hits.