Taylor Swift Is the New American Idol

"You Belong to Me" singer helps Grammys trump Idol in TV rankings for first time since 2003

By Joal Ryan Feb 02, 2010 8:22 PMTags
Taylor SwiftROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

When was the last time the Grammys outdrew American Idol? What was the final score in Conan O'Brien vs. Jay Leno? And why is President Barack Obama NCIS: Los Angeles to President George W. Bush's NCIS?

The answers—and more questions—in the latest TV ratings quiz:  

1. What is Clay Aiken to Taylor Swift and Beyoncé? A reminder of how long it had been since the Grammys really, truly was music's biggest night. Prior to Sunday, the Grammys last trumped Idol in the weekly rankings in February 2003, back when Aiken was still geeky, unknown and in the closet. All that changed when the Swift- and Beyoncé-led telecast scored more viewers (25.9 million) than Tuesday Idol (24.5 million) or Wednesday Idol (25.7 million).

2. Conan or Jay? Overall, Leno's Tonight Show "farewell" outdrew O'Brien's Tonight Show farewell: 11.9 million viewers to 10.3 million, final results show. Now, can we all move on? (Uh, no.)

3. Sarah Palin or Jay? Leno's appearance on Oprah was big, but Palin's remains the talk show's highest-rated episode of the season.

4. Obama or W? Obama's first official State of the Union address was big (48 million combined viewers), but George W. Bush's first one, in 2002, was bigger (51.8 million).

5. NCIS: Los Angeles or NCIS? See above. The new show's big (16.9 million), but its forerunner is bigger (20.2 million), even opposite Tuesday's Idol.

6. What is up with Bachelor Jake? His ratings. Last night's Bachelor averaged an estimated 11.7 million, ABC said, the franchise's latest season high.

7. What happened to Miss America on the way to irrelevancy? She came back! Saturday's ceremony on TLC was cable-big (4.5 million), and the biggest Miss America, audience-wise, since 2004 when the coronation aired on ABC.

8. When will we stop making note of Lindsay Lohan's The Parent Trap? When you people stop watching it. Yet again, the Disney Channel staple was cable's most-watched movie of the week (4.4 million). Other cable hits: Burn Notice (5.3 million); iCarly (5.2 million); Pawn Stars (4.4 million) and, in the spotlight, post-Jersey Shore, MTV's Teen Mom (3.6 million).

Here's a look at the top 10 broadcast network shows for the week ended Sunday, per Nielsen Media Research:

  1. 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, 25.9 million
  2. American Idol (Wednesday), 25.7 million
  3. American Idol (Tuesday), 24.5 million
  4. NCIS, 20.2 million
  5. NCIS: Los Angeles, 16.9 million
  6. House, 14.2 million
  7. Bones, 12.331 million
  8. 60 Minutes, 12.328 million
  9. Two and a Half Men (rerun), 12.1 million
  10. The Big Bang Theory (rerun), 11.5 million

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What made the Grammys a must-see? See for yourself in our 2010 Grammys: Big Moments From the Show gallery.