It’s an “Idol” World

By Erik Gunther
Originally published Fri, May 19, 2006, 2:58 am PDT

As reality megahit “American Idol” heads into the final week, it gives us pause. No, not because we miss Kevin Covais or even because we want to relive the pain of Kenny Rogers country night. Our pause is prompted by the fact that whatever we say about searches for “Idol” won’t do justice to the influence the show wields on the Buzz. Making household names out of nobodies is old hat for the program, but to see the nobodies become somebodies in Search, year in, year out, is amazing.

It’s spawned buzz for sites that wouldn’t exist without it, like “dialidol” and “vote for the worst.” It’s also revived interest in forgotten songs and artists—without fail, we see spikes for each week’s tunes. So whether you’re searching for “american idal,” “american idle,” or even “american ido,” we know you want more, more, more on the show that keeps the water cooler bubbling nationwide. Here are the top “Idol” searches right now…

  1. American Idol Results
  2. American Idol Voting
  3. American Idol Winners
  4. American Idol Tour
  5. American Idol Predictions
  1. American Idol News
  2. American Idol Poll
  3. American Idol Tickets
  4. American Idol Message Boards
  5. American Idol Spoilers

“Idol” also inspires quirky and offbeat buzz, simply because everything (and everybody) on the show is watched so closely. Here are some of the more interesting spikes we’ve seen this season…

  1. Soul Patrol
  2. American Idol Party Supplies
  3. Chris Daughtry and Fuel
  4. I Hate American Idol
  5. Katharine McPhee Wardrobe Malfunction
  1. Kellie Pickler Prom Dress
  2. American Idol 2007 Auditions
  3. American Idol Contract
  4. Is Elliott Yamin Jewish
  5. American Idol Conspiracy

Finalists Katharine McPhee or Taylor Hicks will sing it out at the Kodak Theater. As for buzz, the only prediction we’ll offer is that Tuesday and Wednesday’s searches will be awash with “Idol” chatter.

Filed under: TV, Reality TV, American Idol