Fox, the network on which 'American Idol' runs, said that a record-breaking 97m-plus votes had been received throughout the final episode, in which 26-year-old David Cook was crowned the winner, but overall audiences for the talent-finding show are down on last year.
An overall audience of 32m tuned in to watch the final, according to Nielsen Media Research -- this figure is higher than for last year's final, but overall the show averaged audiences of 28.1m an episode, down from 30.8m last year.
Research has also showed the audience for 'American Idol' is growing older, a fact that is reflected in some of the 'golden oldie' guest stars such as Donna Summer, Dolly Parton and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Simon Fuller, the British entertainment mogul famous for giving us the Spice Girls, is widely seen as the real winner of the 'Idol' franchise, having created the format. In a report in The Times today, Fuller promises that the next US season of 'American Idol' will see a "big shake-up", amid rumours that a fourth judge will be recruited.
Fuller told the newspaper: "We're still a goliath. We're still bigger than anything else and now David Cook is going to sell millions of records for us."
As with its UK counterparts 'Pop Idol' and 'X Factor', the fortunes of 'American Idol' competitors have varied.
The first winner, Kelly Clarkson, has gone on to have a successful career as a pop star, and another former contestant, Jennifer Hudson, won an Oscar for her performance in 'Dreamgirls'.
But the 2006 winner Taylor Hicks was dropped by his record label Arista at the beginning of this year.
The success of 'American Idol' helped Fox to finish ahead of its more senior rivals, surpassing leader CBS as well as NBC and ABC in this season's ratings for the first time in its 20-year history. CBS took the number two spot tying with ABC.
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