An "Idol" Summer Draws to Close

But with the inaugural American Idol season officially over, perky Texas winner Kelly Clarkson firmly entrenched on the pop-culture radar and the product-placement folk ready to pounce elsewhere, the big question is: What's next?

For Fox, the network that boasted the It Series of summer 2002, it's all about taking some time to savor the phenomenal buzz and viewership the talent show brought in. Though the network finished behind ratings champ NBC for the traditional 14-week summer TV season, Variety reports that, on the strength of American Idol, Fox's ratings were the most improved from last summer, up 4 percent in the 18-49 demographic, 12 percent in the prized 18-34 category and seven percent in total viewers.

Meanwhile, Verizon Communications said it recorded 107 million calls from viewers phoning in to vote in the interactive contest since the show debuted in June, with more than 15 million calls (58 percent for Clarkson) after Tuesday night's penultimate episode. The Tuesday night sing-off drew more than 18 million viewers.

Fox also averaged 22.8 million viewers for Wednesday's two-hour, filler-packed finale, while the last half hour, during which the winner was finally announced, pulled in 28 million viewers--Fox's all-time best numbers for that time period.

And numbers like that surely have the sly Fox execs looking ahead to February's American Idol 2, with all three judges--cheeky British record exec Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and record producer Randy, Randy, Randy Jackson--returning and a new crop of wannabes that will, undoubtedly, spark a deliciously wicked comment or 200 from breakout star Simon.

Other networks are also trying to get their piece of the Idol-try, with CBS currently developing a remake of Star Search, a show that once included contestants like Britney Spears, Rosie O'Donnell and Justin Timberlake, and USA Network putting together a talent search for the next big country crooner.

As for Clarkson, the 20-year-old former cocktail waitress who beat out 10,000 other hopefuls to win a million-dollar recording contract with RCA Records, the immediate future will include the obligatory media blitz, teen magazine covers, singing the national anthem at the Lincoln Memorial on September 11, her first single, containing both "A Moment Like This" and "Before Your Love" on September 17 (the songs have already been sent to radio stations) and her debut CD on November 26.

"She was head and shoulders above the other guy," judge Cowell told reporters after the show. "No competition."

Clarkson will also reap the rewards of the American Idol group projects, including the official show book, currently available from Bantam Books, an American Idol DVD on October 1, a six-week, 28-city tour, featuring the 10 finalists, that kicks off October 8 in San Diego, an American Idol CD-ROM game (you too can be an American Idol!) in November, and a two-hour Fox special that will reunite the original 30 semifinalists for a Las Vegas performance on September 23.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old runner-up Justin Guarini, who had been Vegas' 5-to-6 favorite to win going into Wednesday's broadcast, is also fielding record deal offers, and will appear with Clarkson on Thursday night's Fox news magazine The Pulse and Friday afternoon's TRL on MTV.

Though the Pennsylvania native and former door-to-door salesman handled the second-place finish like a pro (declaring, "I'm so happy with tonight's decision. No one deserves it more than [Clarkson]"), the night capped off a tough week for him, with Access Hollywood reporting that his mom, Kathy, was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital last Friday for emergency surgery to remove a "large mass" in her stomach area, as well as a kidney.

Mrs. Guarini, who had been an audience fixture throughout the show, is doing well, according to the New York Post, and is scheduled to be released from the hospital Friday.

And us, we're hopping into our Ford Focus and heading off to snag a Coke.