‘Idol’ becomes Super Bowl of talent shows
Taylor Hicks, whose jittery rocking style recalls a hint of Elvis, a dash of Jagger and a whole quivering heap of Cocker, was voted the “American Idol” Wednesday, ending a countdown of talent that transfixed the nation this season as never before on TV’s No. 1 series.
As it finished its fifth and best-rated season yet, “American Idol” grew in stature with Prince, Mary J. Blige and other big names performing in the finale.
The singing competition has actually increased its audience by double-digit percentages this year – a rare feat for any established series and nearly unheard of in a fractured TV universe where the term “mass hit” has become all but extinct.
“The show is going to be strong for years to come because it’s a formula they keep refining,” said Share Anne Brill, an analyst at Carat USA, a New York ad company.
Hicks pumped his fist into the air in victory as host Ryan Seacrest named him the winner of the show’s fifth annual competition. Dismissed by judge Simon Cowell in auditions as a novelty act unworthy of the Hollywood stretch, Hicks persevered in spite of – or perhaps because of – a multitude of quirks.
Twitchy, prematurely gray and prone to grandstand antics in his high-torque performances, Hicks seemed an unlikely darling to loyalists of “American Idol,” which week after week attracts more young viewers than any other program on television and so dominates prime time that it doomed promising upstarts like “Commander in Chief” in the time slot on rival networks.
“Soul Patroooool!” bellowed Hicks when told he had won.
Hicks, 29, is the oldest to win the competition, the latest in a string of “Idol” champions from the South, and the second from Birmingham, Ala., which claims Ruben Studdard, season two’s winner.
He defeated Katharine McPhee, a willowy 21-year-old from the upscale Los Angeles suburb of Sherman Oaks, who in turn outlasted the widely favored Chris Daughtry of McLeansville, N.C.
In all, 63.4 million votes were cast this week, a record for the show.
Host Ryan Seacrest said it was more than any president has ever received, though most jurisdictions frown on multiple ballots, which the show encourages.
In the end, it was McPheever vs. Soul Patrol, fans choosing between the postured, elegant Californian vs. the gyrating, unpredictable engine from Alabama.
In their respective hometowns Wednesday, fans rallied – McPhee’s at Universal Studios, Hicks’s with white powder in their hair.
In the minutes before the results were announced, Hicks and McPhee smiled and danced through a final duet, “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” from the movie “Dirty Dancing.” The other top 10 contestants also returned for the final show and performed solo and en masse.
The season has been full of celebrity coaches, including Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart and Kenny Rogers. More notables from the past took the stage Wednesday, including Blige, Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach. Last season’s “American Idol,” Carrie Underwood, returned as well, singing “Don’t Forget to Remember Me.” Prince was a surprise final performer, taking the stage for two songs, including “Satisfied” – and without an “Idol” contestant alongside.
“American Idol” has become the talent hunt equivalent of the Super Bowl, attracting record prime time audiences weekly and becoming the No. 1 buzz item in the nation.
This season’s “Idol” has been the most-watched TV series of the 21st century. Stubbornly defying the public’s tendency to grow weary of any network offering over time, viewership is up 14 percent this year over last.
The program is attracting an audience of about 30 million and is the No. 1 show among teenagers and young adults, both demographics that advertisers are willing to pay a substantial premium to reach.
Tuesday night’s final performance show was viewed in almost 20 percent of all American households and about a third of all televisions operating between 8 and 9 p.m. that night were tuned to the Fox show.
“Idol” cast its shadow well beyond TV: After the shows on Tuesday and Wednesday night, the 10 finalists will hit the road for a musical tour; former “Idol” winners, such as Kelly Clarkson and Underwood, have released best-selling pop and country albums; “Idol” contestants have gone on to fame and fortune on stage, such as Diana DeGarmo, who just ended a popular run on Broadway as a costar of “Hairspray.” The show even spawned a movie satire this year, “American Dreamz,” which envisioned the U.S. president as an “Idol”-type judge.
The show’s phenomenal popularity has also changed network dynamics. Fox, a perennial fourth-place finisher among TV’s big broadcasters in part because of its limited prime time – two hours nightly rather than three – has passed once invincible NBC in viewers, largely on the strength on “American Idol.”
The show’s finale was timed to land on the last night of May sweeps, the day the 2005-06 ratings season ends, but it was already statistically clear that Fox will be the No. 1 network in the desirable 18 to 49 demographic.