By Catherine Applefeld Olson
But from his position securely offstage, Fuller can revel
in the success of "Idol" as it reaches the May 21 climax of its
seventh season.
"Idol" continues to drive the Fox network to the top of the
ratings. The show, for example, drew 27.8 million viewers the
night of the Super Tuesday presidential primaries in February,
according to Nielsen, easily outdrawing the election coverage
on other networks.
The 2007 finale was seen by more than 33 million viewers,
according to Nielsen, and more than 74 million people voted for
winner Jordin Sparks. (In comparison, President George Bush got
62 million votes in the 2004 election, according to the Office
of the Federal Register.)
From its origins as "Pop Idol" in the United Kingdom,
Fuller's franchise has spread to more than 100 territories on
six continents.
And with its winning formula of unknown talent,
love-'em-or-hate-'em judges and viewers as voting A&R reps, the
show continues to shatter traditional music industry dogma on
discovering new artists.
LEVERAGE ATTAINED
Fuller, while clearly delighted with the success, is not
one given to analytical hindsight or nostalgia.
"'American Idol' was purely invented to give me new
leverage in the music industry, without my having to go cap in
hand to the record companies," he says.
No chance of that now.
The partnership between Fuller's 19 Recordings and Sony BMG
has yielded a string of platinum-plus albums by "Idol" winners
and finalists, according to Nielsen SoundScan: Carrie
Underwood's "Some Hearts" (6.4 million units), Kelly Clarkson's
"Breakaway" (4 million), Daughtry's self-titled debut album (4
million), Clay Aiken's "Measure of a Man" (2.8 million) and
Fantasia's "Free Yourself" (1.8 million). Self-titled debuts by
Taylor Hicks and Jordin Sparks have sold 700,000 and 655,000
units, respectively.
"The beauty of the show is it is truly the American dream,"
says Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Fremantle North America, which
produces "Idol."
"The recording companies are looking for a pop star and the
viewers are looking for a pop star. Everything has been
reinforced; everything was aligned. Some of that is great
execution and very careful care, and some of that is everything
came together at the right moment."
Frot-Coutaz acknowledges that Fuller's multimedia master
plan was evident from the start. "Absolutely, the intention for
Simon was to impact the recording industry and the Internet,"
she says. "It was very much his goal to find that next pop-star
artist. He had a very clear vision this would completely change
the music industry."
Fuller began his flirtation with the small screen in 1999,
when he determined that a sugary pop group he was managing
called S Club 7 would have a better shot at success if he could
only get them into consumers' living rooms.
Thus was born "Miami 7," a sitcom featuring the group
members that drew a global viewing audience of 90 million,
according to 19 Entertainment, and propelled the act to four
No. 1 singles in the United Kingdom.
A few years later, Fuller conceived of "I Dream" for the
latest incarnation of S Club, a musical drama series that bears
more than a passing resemblance to some of the hottest tween
shows on TV almost a decade later.
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Reuters/Billboard
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