I am currently one of the gazillions of Americans who watch American Idol. I don’t consider myself an obsessive fan- I just can’t really afford the five hours per week time commitment that faithful Idol viewership requires these days. But if I’m sitting around with nothing to do I feel no shame in tuning in to American Idol. I would describe my affection for this show as intrigue more than anything. I am absolutely fascinated by the massive success that the show has had. And I do mean massive success. This is evidenced by the tens of millions of viewers who tune in every week and vote, the consistent occupation of the show in the #1 and #2 spots in the ratings, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars advertisers shell out for a 30-second commercial spot on Fox during its time slot. It is now in its 7th season, and this beast is showing no signs of slowing down. I have spent some time pondering the reasons for this type of success, and here’s what I think it boils down to:

1. Kelly Clarkson. Seriously. The tagline of American Idol is “The search for a superstar.” What would have happened if the show’s first winner had not been successful? What would have happened if Justin Guarini had won? The show would have lost a lot of credibility. But in the months immediately following the first season, Kelly Clarkson released “A Moment Like This” and “Miss Independent,” two enormous hits that catapulted her into superstardom that just kept growing. People saw her and figured the show actually had produced a legitimate star, and they tuned into the second season. In the second season the ratings jumped from #30 to #5. In the following several seasons, Kelly Clarkson just kept getting bigger and bigger, releasing her second album Breakaway which made her into a pop icon and earned her much critical acclaim. American Idol was able to continually point to her to justify its legitimacy despite the inability to reproduce her success in the next several seasons. American Idol should thank God every day for Kelly Clarkson.

2. Family-friendliness. This is a show that anyone and everyone can watch. Parents know this, and they are happy to encourage their kids to watch it rather than other, more mature programs. Plus, one should never underestimate the power of the 11-year old female demographic. There are a lot of them, and they form obsessions very easily. They also tend to obsess about the same things (High School Musical, Hannah Montana). This demographic seems to really like American Idol. But don’t count out the older generations. The show doesn’t have 70’s themes for nothing.

3. Viewer participation. A very unique aspect of this show is that the viewers are the ones that actually decide who wins (despite all of the conspiracy theories floating around). This gives the show a lot higher stakes, and involves a personal investment in seeing your favorite do well. If you vote for someone, you are more likely to tune in weekly to see how that person does.

4. Mix of familiarity and variety. This is a balance that American Idol has struck very well. The contestants change every season. Sure, you have a couple archetypes each time around, but generally it has been a very diverse mix. Even all of the winners have been surprisingly different. This makes the show new and exciting each season. Still, there is an element of familiarity in the judges and in the host, Ryan Seacrest. These have not changed in seven seasons (except for the booting of co-host Brian Dunkelman after the first season, thank God), and I think the audience appreciates it. The judges play off each other nicely, and Seacrest is a total pro at what he does. The whole scheme works out really well, and I bet the show would be willing to pay them any sum of money to maintain that element of familiarity.

5. The success of Idol contestants. I already mentioned Kelly Clarkson, but Idol contestants have become a permanent fixture on the charts. Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood have probably had the biggest, longest-lasting, and most legitimate success, and we’ll see how Daughtry does, but there have been hits from other contestants, too, and not just winners. Sometimes you can look at the Billboard Top 100 and find six former Idol contestants. That’s pretty impressive, and again goes to the idea that this show actually produces something outside of itself.

6. Music. This show first came along in the middle of a miserable pop era when America was enduring the studio creations of Britney Spears and The Backstreet Boys. Then American Idol came along and showed us that there are still people in this country that can sing. When Kelly Clarkson hit that high note in “Natural Woman,” America sat up and said “Daaaaaaamnn, girl!” We had forgotten what that sounded like.

So that’s my analysis. I would congratulate the producers of American Idol on their brilliant formulation of the elements of this massively successful television show, but I’m not sure how much of it was planned this way. Part of me thinks a lot of it just came together through sheer dumb luck. Either way, they should be proud. American Idol has had quite the impact on our culture, and I think it’s been mostly positive.

Your response: