Michael Giltz: American Idol Hollywood Week Day Two Ratings Grow http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem-hollywo_b_164350.html [4/5/2009 12:29:47 PM] APRIL 5, 2009 HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING STYLE GREEN WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY 23/6 VIDEO BLOGGER INDEX ARCHIVE Make HuffPost Your HomePage Get Email Alerts Twitter: Follow Us BIG NEWS : Angelina Jolie | Madonna | Chris Brown & Rihanna | Paul McCartney | More...</p><p> LOG IN | SIGN UP Michael Giltz Freelance writer and raconteur Posted February 5, 2009 | 01:41 PM (EST) BIO Become a Fan Get EmailAlerts Bloggers'Index American Idol Hollywood Week Day Two Ratings Grow Read More: American Idol , Pop Music , Reality TV, Simon Cowell , Television , Tv, Entertainment News American Idol continues to dominate during Hollywood Week (which lasts two weeks, oddly enough).</p><p> You can compare this week to last yearor this week to last year's second night ofHollywood Week, but any way you cut it Idol is down a bit but still a monster in the ratings.</p><p> According to MediaWeek's Marc Berman, American Idol scored a 14.5 rating, which is up over Tuesday night but down 5% from the samecalendar week last season.</p><p> By the time you add inDVR watchers, that number will grow and grow.</p><p> Berman puts it another way: Idol drew a bigger audience from 8-9 p.m. than all the other fournetworks combined.</p><p> How big is Idol ? It's poised to be the #1 show on TV for the fifth straight year and only one other show in TV history did that: All In The Family from 1972-1976.</p><p> No other show has been #1 for five years in any way. (Scroll halfway down this Wikipedia entry to see the list of #1 shows by year.) The Cosby Show and Gunsmoke were #1 for four years in a row. 60 Minutes was #1 for four years, just not in a row.</p><p> That's it.</p><p> And is there any doubt Idol will be #1 next season as well? By that standard, American idol is the biggest TV hit in history.</p><p> Other records are far away: Gunsmoke ran for 20 years, 60 Minutes was in the Top 10 for 23 straight seasons.</p><p> But still, there's no getting away from the fact that Idol is a behemoth.</p><p> And a show that big always has controversies.</p><p> Star Magazine reports that ringer Joanna Pacitti has way too many ties to Idol producers and a track record that would give anyone pause.</p><p> When people complain about contestants who scored a record deal but went nowhere, for example, I always counter: have you ever heard of them? It's not like Gwen Stefani is getting in line toaudition.</p><p> But sure, I'm very wary of people who've had substantial success or even shot at success.And Pacitti lived in the same building as two Idol officials, called one of them her manager and best friend, appeared on an MTV documentary, had a major label record debut, and had songs played Be the First to Submit This Story to Digg Get Breaking News Alerts Share Print Comments never spam Popular Stories on HuffPost Fashion Face-Off! Michelle Obama And Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Finally Meet In France (VIDEO, PHOTOS, POLL) *Video, poll and slideshow (to...</p><p> Levi Johnston TalksSafe Sex With Tyra Banks (VIDEO) ***UPDATE*** 8:30pm: People.com is reporting that Sarah Palin hasissued...</p><p> Oscar de la RentaSlams Michelle Obama's Buckingham Outfit As MajorDesigners Feel Ignored While Michelle Obamahas made lesser...</p><p> Verena von Pfetten 7 Lessons To BeLearned From Carla Bruni So here's the thing.There's no shortage ofarticles dedicated to that certain je ne...</p><p> Huff TV Arianna Discusses MichelleObama's "Fantastic" Madonna Jets Out Of Malawi More in Entertainment: Farrah Hospitalized...</p><p> Madonna Tot's Dad Found...</p><p> Choreographer: Rapist?...</p><p> WATCH: SNL: Madonna And Angelina In Weekend Update Adoption-Off Michael Giltz: American Idol Hollywood Week Day Two Ratings Grow http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem-hollywo_b_164350.html [4/5/2009 12:29:47 PM] Michelle Obama's Clothing Has Sean Hannity All Out OfSorts Richard Poplawski, Gunman'Lying In Wait,' Kills 3Pittsburgh Police Officers Dr.</p><p> Rachel Ehrenfeld: DoesIran Harbor Osama binLaden? John Demjanjuk, Ohio ManAccused Of Being NaziGuard, Avoids Deportation Heidi Montag On LC: "We Don't Need...</p><p> Reality Star Jade Goody Buried In Lavish...</p><p> Robert De Niro Nanny Sues For $40,000 Demi Moore's Twitter-Based Suicide Interventionon The Hills and in movies.</p><p> It does get pretty ridiculous.</p><p> And Entertainment Weekly 's Michael Slezak weighs in on Idol's penchant for drama by asking succinctly whether you're more interested in singing or sobbing.</p><p> Of all the tweaks they introduced this season, the group performance coming back was the only one I took issue with.</p><p> It makes for good reality TV but it has very little or nothing to do with being asolo singer and people regularly are drowned by the distraction of an annoying contestant (likebikini girl or Tatiana) rather than sinking or swimming on their own talent.</p><p> My favorite moments last night were not the sobbings and fights, but the (very brief) glimpses of good performances.</p><p> The result was the cutting of 29 more people, including bikini girl, thank goodness.</p><p> The group White Chocolate started the show off in stellar fashion with a terrific performance, though I did think Justin Williams was pulled through by being linked with the other three, superior singers.</p><p> Another stand-out was the group led by Robert Downey Jr. lookalike Danny Gokey and his buddy Jamar Rogers.</p><p> They did an outstanding a capella version of Queen's"Somebody To Love." Jeremy Michael Sarver and Broadway baby Adam Lambert got some air time as well before making it through.</p><p> Of course what I can't help remembering was Tatiana, who is easily the most annoying, tiresome person on the show (and doesn't seem to have a very good voice, either).</p><p> She wrecked havoc on twoteams by jumping from one to the other, showed true star potential by making every conversationand discussion about her , kept singing after the judges told her to stop and yet still got through -- at which point she wept and prayed and thanked Jesus for getting through the round.</p><p> The horriblynamed Team Compromise had Nathaniel and Kristin and poor Nancy Wilson, who had to endurecrying and weeping from her teammates when all she wanted to do was rehearse, only to forget thewords when they performed Duffy's "Mercy" and watch the two kids go through while she was senthome and then be portrayed as the baddie for being angry with them.</p><p> What I won't remember are the performances by a bunch of people I got glimpses of throughout the night.</p><p> The final group fighting for the Top 12 slots is bigger than ever (36, I believe) which means it's even harder for us to get to know them.</p><p> That may be one reason this season feels so frustrating.</p><p> Why oh why don't they just drive tremendous traffic to their website by posting performances online over the weekend? It's literally impossible for them to create a storyline of some sort and show tons of performances in one hour.</p><p> I get it -- the show would not be improved by just showing song after song.</p><p> But there's no reason to hide those performances from us either.</p><p> Did anyone stand out for you? Was anyone sent home that surprised you? Or do you just want to hiss at Tatiana? (See, I complain about their focus on drama but I can't help talking about her.) More in Entertainment...</p><p> HuffPost Stories Surging Right Now Style On CBS' "Washington Unplugged" Arianna was on CBS' "Washington...</p><p> Alex Leo The "Real Housewives Of New York City" Flowchart Of Hate I'm a little embarrassed tolove this show as much as... "BRUNO" TRAILER! Calamity, AfricanBabies, Chase Scenes And More (NSFW VIDEO) IT'S HERE! The trailer forthis July's Sacha BaronCohen...</p><p> NATO Leaders FocusOn Afghanistan, But Most Reject Obama's Plea For Troops(SLIDESHOW) STRASBOURG, France— On the eve of the NATO...</p><p> First Lady Fashion At Friday's NATO Concert (PHOTOS) Another night, another fashion opportunity for NATO leaders and their spouses! See...</p><p> Diana Palin, SarahPalin's Sister-In-Law,Arrested For Breaking Into Home ANCHORAGE, Alaska —Police say Alaska Gov....</p><p> John Oliver Explains The Real Reason You Never Touch The Queen (VIDEO) Obama Teases Reporter From India During Press Conference (VIDEO) Obama held a conference packed with press from around the world on Thursday.</p><p> He called...</p><p> Terrifying Horse And Rider Fall During English Race (SLIDESHOW) A harrowing horse fall atthe John Smith's FoxHunters' Chase...</p><p> Jim Cramer DeclaresThe Depression"Over" (VIDEO) On Thursday's episode of"Mad Money" host Jim Cramer declared that the depression...</p><p> Scientists Find Rocket Fuel Chemical In Infant Formula ATLANTA — Traces of a chemical used in rocket Michael Giltz: American Idol Hollywood Week Day Two Ratings Grow http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem-hollywo_b_164350.html [4/5/2009 12:29:47 PM]Comments 3 Pending Comments 0 Comments are closed for this entry Ads by Google Watch Idol Performances Watch The Idol Performances Free! It's Easy w/the Free Videos Toolbar Videos.alottoolbars.com Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to View Comments: Newest First Expand All Charity See Profile I'm a Fan of Charity permalink i have never understood why this show continues to do the group thing, unless, of course, it is for the drama of it all. this is american "idol" not american "idols." then again, it's an easy cattle-call way ofthinning the herd. what bothers me is sometimes some truly talented kids have a terrible time of it withtheir "group," stay up all night, and by morning, they are mentally and physically broken. it's sad to see,not fun, as the producers would like us to believe by their editing. and frankly, i enjoyed seeing bikini girl jerk the show around on group night(s). i was also a tad surprised at the attitude taken by the two women on the judges panel (and you know their names) towards this young woman who was no worse in her schtick than norman gentle was in his. i mean, really, ladies - you kind of showed your you-know-whats, and if it was supposed to be funny, ahhhh, itwasn't. the best part of all was when bikini girl refused to play along once she was ousted. i loved that the most. 67bug See Profile I'm a Fan of 67bug permalink Thrilled that bikini girl is gone, bummed that Rose is gone, hope that Tatiana will soon be gone :) Furry1968 See Profile I'm a Fan of Furry1968 permalink Great post Michael.</p><p> Thanks for the TV stats that put the show in the proper context.</p><p> Despite dishyblogs on other sites and the always constant "it"s not as good as " comments, it is still one of the most important shows on TV, in which, unlike other reality shows, the prize is evident and truly life-changing.THAT SAID, Tatiana is so insane, and I find it hard to believe that she got through.</p><p> The word you used" "frustrating" " is on the money, it was frustrating knowing so little about so many people.</p><p> THAT SAID, Iam thrilled Adam and India are still there.</p><p> See you next week! (And I totally agree " Nancy Wilson wasthe only bit of sanity in that trio " she should have stayed or they all should have gone, no matterwhose dream it is.) You must be logged in to reply to this comment.</p><p> Log in or Ads by Google Watch Idol Performances Women's Rights Michelle Obama Europe Newspapers Cars War Wire Video Financial Crisis Barack Obama MORE BIG NEWS PAGES » Books by this author A cabin of one's own: New England's MacDowellColony celebrates 100years of artistic utopia.And the gay and lesbianartists who prosperedthere celebrate ... (Thenational gay & lesbiannewsmagazine) by Michael Giltz Affairs to remember:Farley Granger beddedAva Gardner, ShelleyWinters, and LeonardBernstein.</p><p> In hisautobiography, IncludeMe Out, Hitchcock's muse... (The national gay &lesbian newsmagazine) by Michael Giltzfuel were found in samples of...</p><p> HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES www.TheGodMovie.com Ads by Goooooogle Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 11:30 PM on 02/05/2009 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 11:15 PM on 02/05/2009 Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:00 PM on 02/05/2009This Blogger's Books from Michael Giltz: American Idol Hollywood Week Day Two Ratings Grow http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/emamerican-idolem-hollywo_b_164350.html [4/5/2009 12:29:47 PM] HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING GREEN STYLE WORLD CHICAGO COMEDY FUNDRACE ARCHIVE Advertise | Login | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Jobs | FAQ: Comments & Moderation | FAQ: Huffpost Accounts | Contact Us Copyright © 2009 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | Archive | User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type Watch The Idol Performances Free! It's Easy w/the Free Videos Toolbar Videos.alottoolbars.com
