A month into its fifth season, "American Idol" is averaging 3 million more viewers a night than a year ago, addicts are already committed to their favorites and there's been just the right amount of controversy to generate consistent
Somewhere Simon Fuller is breathing an enormous sigh of relief.
What has been a remarkable start is even more impressive considering just a few months ago, the "Idol" creator was not only still renegotiating a contract with Simon Cowell, he was caught in a potentially ugly lawsuit with the infamous, brutally honest judge
All was settled just in time, but what if it hadn't been? Would "American Idol" still be setting ratings records without the Simon in front of the cameras?
"Definitely!" Cowell's friend and fellow judge Randy Jackson answered. "No, honestly, I think the show works with the cast of the three of us. It's funny, I don't know how they decided to put it together but it really, really works. It would not be the same show without either of us."
Nigel Lythgoe's, one of "Idol's" executive producers, agreed ... to an extent.
"I believe Simon Cowell is extremely important to the success of this show, however, 'Idol' is successful all over the world without Simon," he said. "I certainly don't want to lose him. I think the three [judges] together have a wonderful chemistry. Individualize them and we always are going to lose out. Australia just lost their judge and the show hasn't been as successful." (It's worth noting that the show has gone through only one talent change, and ratings only improved after original co-host Brian Dunkleman left to launch an acting career.)
Simon is "American Idol," contends Jacob Clifton, who covers the show for TV show recap site Television Without Pity. "He's so connected with the roots and production of the show in the audience's minds, and such a huge part of the entire spectacle, it would leave a hole too big for anyone else to fill."
There are those who believe Cowell is too cruel and boycott the show because of that. But within the context of the show, he provides a necessary viewpoint, Clifton says.
"[He represents] the harsh reality of the marketplace, and the depressing reality of the fact that the majority of people are not salable as performers," Clifton said. "The audience would not accept those kinds of decrees from anyone else, because a lot of Simon's persona, history and credentials are about backing up those harsh judgments, and honest praise, that are the show's central appeal."
With Jackson and Paula Abdul so fond of their catchphrases and superlatives, Cowell is also the judge who most often offers constructive criticism. And let's face it: His one-liners are some of the funniest on television.
David Bloomberg, the editor of Reality News Online and Foxes on Idol, suggests that to understand Cowell's importance, one should look no further than the many Cowell-like figures on other reality shows.
"Since 'American Idol' 's success, we've seen other shows with judges that have tried to imitate Simon Cowell and they simply have not succeeded," he said. "So if 'Idol' had tried the same thing, I suspect the results would have been similar. It would have always been somebody trying to be Simon, but never quite succeeding.
"It would have been an interesting experiment to see if the show did as well in the ratings," he continued. "Are people watching for the singing talent or the scathing remarks? I'd like to think it's the talent, but the popularity of bad auditions seems to indicate that a lot of people are watching for the remarks as well."
Perhaps surprisingly, according to an MTVNews.com poll, 68 percent of viewers said "Idol" would do just as well without Simon. Eighteen percent believed it would be worse and 14 percent thought it would actually be better.
The good news, at least according to Ken Warwick, another executive producer, is that Cowell has no intention of ever truly leaving "Idol." Even when he abruptly walked out on the show during the auditions, he called a few hours later to apologize.
"I think underneath that black jumper, somewhere, there is a sense of conscience," Warwick said. "It's his job. I mean, he does enjoy it. He would be a fool not to enjoy it. Nobody in their right mind is going to walk out on the most popular television show in the country for whatever reason, no matter how much money they've got. It's not just money. He loves it and he's good at it. What else is he gonna do? I can't see him selling records in a record shop."
VH1
