New shows in the works from "Idol" creator Fuller

By Catherine Applefeld Olson

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Could it be? The man behind the show seen in millions of TV homes each week is, himself, camera shy? "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller admits that it's true.

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.