The American Idol mania

How will you know if a show is popular? There’s the ratings. If a whopping 33.2 million viewers tuned in to watch one TV show and that tally was nearly two million viewers higher than the combined average posted by all its five competing networks’ programs that would be one indication that a show is indeed popular.

Another is if people are talking about the same show all the time and there’s a number of websites on or about it and hundreds of news and feature stories going around the Net about this program and the people involved. The more popular a show gets, the more people will talk about it.

American Idol (AI) is now on its fifth season but still going strong and there’s no sign of slowing down, not even close.

It seems like AI judges Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell’s bickering has become a tradition in the show. And it’s getting worse this season.

There’s this article on the Net about Paula admitting that she’s been acting weird lately. And she said it’s all Simon’s fault.

"He’s worse than ever," Abdul told In Touch Weekly. "If they say, ‘Paula is going crazy,’ the reason is Simon is whispering things in my ear, like, ‘What’s the price of beans?’ Things that make no sense at all."

In another interview, Simon was asked by Access Hollywood if his fight with Paula was scripted and he replied, "I see Paula 30 seconds before the show starts. Normally, I’m sitting down, she walks in and I take one look at her face and I can go, this is going to be a rough show. I can just tell if it’s going to be a happy show."

And did you know that Paula almost got kicked out from AI? There’s this talk that the show’s producers came close to firing this former singer earlier this month, and wanted to offer her job to Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson.

Quoting from a contactmusic.com article, "Tensions on the set of the hit TV show were running high and producers were considering firing the former singer for her behavior."

A source told US Weekly, "Paula was being very difficult. (She was) crying all the time and arriving late for meetings." The stress from the situation drove Abdul to seek medical attention and she was treated for "exhaustion and dehydration." According to the source, executives from the show discussed replacing the troubled judge: "(They) liked Jessica (Simpson) a lot. And some were pushing for Britney (Spears)."

Neither star ended up meeting with the show’s producers and they decided to keep Abdul – for now. Abdul’s representative denies the allegations: "Paula is always a joy on the set and everyone loves her. "If they were looking at Britney or Jessica, that’s news to me."

Well, whether it’s true or not, Randy, Paula and Simon are the perfect judges for American Idol. They complement each other’s personality. No other person can replace any one of them.

Simon has made another prediction this season. Remember last year he predicted Carrie Underwood could win the title and she did? Simon’s back at it again, predicting that the three contestants who will make it to the finals are rocker Chris Daughtry, silver-haired Taylor Hicks and country girl Kellie Pickler.

Of these three, Kellie is my least favorite. What’s with her "what’s ballsy" kind of question and "I feel like I have tarantulas on my eyes" statement referring to her false eyelashes?

For four straight years, the American Idol winner has been from a Southern state, and this season could be no exception. With the elimination of New York’s Kevin Covais, 70 percent of the remaining American Idol contestants are from the South. Even more amazing, 30 percent of the remaining American Idol contestants are from North Carolina.

The only three remaining non-Southerners are Colorado’s Ace Young and California’s Katharine McPhee and Lisa Tucker. Of these three, Lisa has found herself in the bottom three twice and Ace Young has found himself in the bottom three once. Katharine, however, is one of the strongest contestants this season.

This week, the top 10 finalists will perform songs of the 21st century. American Idol airs Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 p.m. on ABC 5.