American Idol: Why Such a Sensation?

In recent years, reality shows have created a new flavor to America’s prime-time television options. Arguably the most successful is the show American Idol, as “more people watched the 2003 finale...(40 million) than watched the second presidential debate in 2000 between George Bush and Al Gore (37 million)” (Horowitz, E.M., 2007). What is it about this show that makes it so successful?
The answer could the lie in skillful advertising; or, in the value of pure entertainment; or, possibly, the structure of public involvement. Perhaps, the success of American Idol involves a combination of all of these factors.
American Idol is a televised singing competition that began in 2002 with almost instant success. The main idea of the show is to “discover the best young singer in the country, through a series of nationwide auditions,” (Wikipedia, 2008) and then ultimately allowing the American public to decide the winner by voting by phone or text messaging.
There are several elements included in the structure of the show that, by design magnify the inherent advertising qualities and contribute to each season’s decision of who will get the coveted prize of a record contract and the title of ‘American Idol’? First, the show airs live two nights per week. In the first few weeks, the show holds a series of auditions which are held on-site in various cities nationwide. These on-site auditions rally various regions of the country to tune-in and root for their area’s semi-finalists that make it to Hollywood.
At this stage, Tuesday night of airing every week is dedicated to the singers competing with nationwide voting immediately following the broadcast. The very next night (Wednesday) viewers tune in again to gain their voting results. The performer with the least number of votes gets sent home. This approach is brilliant—in America’s ‘instant gratification’ society, if viewers were forced to wait until the next week for results, they would lose interest or forget when to tune-in. Also, Tuesday and Wednesday nights (mid-working week in America) are nights that people are more likely to watch prime-time television.
A few elements act as advertisers and entertainment benefits to the success of the show. One is the “it” factor of the host and panel of judges: Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, and Randy Jackson. Each one brings a different perspective of expertise and fame to the table that collectively electrifies the entertainment value of the show.

Another area that contributes to these phenomena is the variety of musical themes that are presented. Each week (from the semi-finals on) holds a unique style of music, featuring guest appearances of a star from that genre. These include categories ranging from country music to hits of the 21st century, thus attracting a variety of ages to watch (2008, www.americanidol.com). Also appearing, are winners from previous seasons who usually sing one of their record ‘hits’, which by the way, is free advertising itself. Every time a song of an American Idol contestant is played on the radio, it is free advertising for the show. How amazing is that!
Another amazing aspect to the show is how its design has provided a sense of involvement to its viewers. Since Americans love competition, the creators of the show knew they would be quick to participate in the process by calling or texting their votes—especially our technologically savvy adolescent and young adults (who consequently hold the most music buying power in America). They also send a message of fear to the viewers of, “If you don’t vote, the good singers could get sent home!” If the U.S. government took advice from the creators of the show, they could persuade more people to vote.

I think the most successful attribute of the show is that viewers gain a sense of connection when they see “average” people become successful. It gives them hope that the American Dream is still real.
After reflecting on the master-minded design of the show, it is no wonder that American Idol is, “with the exception of the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards…the highest rated (viewed) program on U.S. national television” (Wikipedia, 2008) .

References:

About American Idol. Retrieved February 7, 2008, from http://www.americanidol.com/about/

Horowitz, E.M. (2007). Book Review. [Review of the book Tuned Out: Why Americans under 40 don’t follow the news.]. Journal of Communication 57(1), 175-176.

The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 7, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Idol