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In its 5th season, when all other shows either taper off or take a noticeable dive, American Idol continues to soar. Why? I will attempt to figure this out.

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NBC, CBS, ABC, UPN, and the WB. Did you get the license plate number of that truck that just ran you over? Well I did and it’s American Idol seasons 1-5. No matter what is put up against it, American Idol continues to rule. The Grammy’s, you know where the professional singers get together and bask in their own glory, got trampled under foot or wheel, this year and it wasn’t even close. I wonder if CBS thought it would be the show that would put Idol in a tail spin. Wake up call to CBS; No. What it looked more akin to, was the dog finally catching the car; head spinning ‘round and ‘round. What is it with this relatively low cost, high profit show that works so well? Well here goes the Idolheaded’s try for an explanation.

There are roughly 90 (hard to believe) primetime shows on TV as we speak, or write. How many of those TV shows can proudly display the TVG rating in the upper left hand corner. Well, just one. American Idol. So what! you say. Here’s what; this is the only program that kids, teens and parents can watch together without worrying about any offensive content (discounting Corey Hall). This is a big deal. While I love watching, Boston Legal, The Closer, Two and a Half Men, Supernatural (yeah I’m the one person that watches that), Lost, all the CSIs, and Bones, I would not want my younger kids watching any of these shows. With all the problems of youths now, a time when families can all sit down together, (the dinner table use to be the place) American Idol provides us this time.

I have owned and run my own business for 6 years now and I go into anywhere from 2 to 5 homes a day, 6 days a week. The household incomes of the homes I go into are all over the scale. Virtually all though, are two parent households with at least 2 kids and some have as many as 8. In almost every home there is in some kid’s room, evidence of American Idol somewhere. Since I am such a fan I will always bring up American Idol in the conversation if the customer doesn’t. The one commonality for the ones who watch is, “This is our family time. We all watch American Idol together.” What more could you want from television? Well how about entertainment.

No matter how much someone says they hate this “karaoke” competition, they know what it is and have watched it. Those who do watch it are enamored with it. I on the other hand am one of the obsessed. If you are reading this article I’m guessing you are too. You know, we are the ones who schedule their, well, schedules around Idol. Overanalyze every song and contestant. (Everyone’s a critic) We tell friends who don’t watch it to give it a try. (Free advertising) We denigrate the voting process. (Get our two cents worth in) We scour the net to find anything about Idol and especially our favorite contestants. And when we really go over the edge, we write about it. Sigh….

Successful TV programs count on obsessive fans. They can not survive without them. The only other show to my knowledge that had as obsessive fans (not the number of) but was not successful was an 11 episode show on Fox called “Firefly”. But even at that Firefly did get a movie called “Serenity” and a slew of websites. To this day the websites are all very active and the show was cancelled 4 years ago. One could only hope it will one day show up on TV again. This is a great example of a TV show you had to “get” or you just didn’t care. But if you “got” it you were not just merely a fan, you were one of the obsessed. American Idol on the other hand is very easy to get. And around 30,000,000 people get it every week. If you Google American Idol you get over 72, 000,000 hits. That’s more than double the population of Canada. Speaking of Canada, American as well as Canadian Idol are as widely popular there. Actually, American Idol is the most popular show in the world. Even Japan picked up the show this year. What does it mean when all of the networks clamor to have the Idols, winners and losers, on their shows? It means, “We might as well get something out of this since they kick our asses every week”. A semi white flag.

Whether you like Katharine, Paris, Ace, Elliott, Chris, Taylor, or Calamari Kellie, you have a favorite and just like your favorite sports team, you root for them and vote to the bitter end. These kids in a sense have become a part of our family for at least two nights a week. And as family members we care about them, hope for them, suffer with them, and cheer for them. Like the Superbowl or the seventh game of the World Series, we are behind them all the way. While we can’t run back a kickoff for a touchdown or hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th, we do have influence on who will win the title of American Idol and this makes it even a more exciting event for us. And this is the last piece of magic that makes American Idol the phenomenon it is.

Many speculate that if Simon were to leave, the show would die and eventually go off the air. There was a point I think that would have been true, but not now. The show has so much momentum and such a monstrous fan base; I think the exit of Simon would be overcome. We sure would miss his honesty and acerbic comments but I think we could survive without them. Besides we know there is a great replacement for him waiting in the wings. I’m sure you’ve heard of him. Does Idolhead Ed ring a bell?

As sure as the sun will come up tomorrow, Idol will continue to bring great happiness (all of the fans) and great sorrow (All other networks) for years to come. I, as well as millions of fans, and dozens of future celebrities the show makes, should be comforted in knowing......" The show will go on".

Is it Tuesday yet?