By SAMANTHA ETTUS
Scripps Howard News Service
2-FEB-06

As a hit TV show returns year after year, the stakes increase along with the challenges of maintaining top status by the fifth season, ratings often drop or stagnate, and reenergizing the project is difficult.  But not for American Idol. With this seasons premiere drawing over 35 million viewers, the musical talent contest has become a case study in endurance.  So it is worth taking a look at the three personalities who are unmistakably tied to the American Idol brand and largely credited with its continued success: Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.

Simon Cowell
Cowell continues to define his persona as a ruthless critic of Idol contestants by his almost universally harsh disparagements.  His unabashedly brazen facade is coldly calculating, driving up ratings for the series in which Cowell is so heavily invested. As an acerbic judge on Britains hit show Pop Idol, Cowell became famous for his nasty reproaches.  Realizing the power of the Idol format, Cowell leveraged the shows success and his own fame into a huge contract to serve as a judge on American Idol.  Now, having smartly maintained his Judge Dread character from Pop Idol, Cowell is American Idols most controversial and recognizable talent and an increasingly powerful player in the TV production business.  Yet despite his forbidding veneer, Cowell possesses unquestioned abilities as a savvy identifier of mainstream talent and a coach who, hate him or love him, knows what makes a pop star sing.  The contestants that take his advice often make it to the top while the ones that ignore him inevitably fade away.  Idol wannabes would be wise to ignore Cowells bark and focus on his constructive feedback, but Cowell doesnt make it easy.  This season, his caustic remarks are more cutting than ever, often overshadowing his constructive feedback.  Yet with ratings for American Idol higher than ever, there is no incentive for him to ease up. Cowell is aiming to duplicate the shows success with the launch of his next baby, American Inventor, debuting in March on ABC, as well as Duets on FOX (featuring a competition between pairs of celebrities and professional singers), and an ensemble talent show he just sold to NBC, proving that hes not just judging, but acting on his winning instincts. 

Simon Cowells Celebrity A$$$$ets

Paula Abdul
As the kinder, gentler force on the show, Abdul has certainly succeeded in distinguishing herself from the pack. During tryouts it is usually Abdul who injects some much needed warmth into the room, referring to even the least talented hopefuls as Sweetie.  She looks genuinely concerned for the rejected and has created a reputation for herself as the shows supportive Den Mother.  Even Abduls running feud with Cowell has become increasingly playful and offers viewers a peek at her sense of humor.  Perhaps Abduls empathy is the result of her own hilly career, one marked by survival and reinvention.  Starting out as the choreographer for the Laker Girls, Abdul parlayed her talent into a successful run as a singer with a number of Top 40 hits before disappearing for years and then reemerging as a face of Idol.  She even withstood last years scandal in which contestant Corey Clark alleged that he had an illicit affair with Abdul, unleashing accusations of her bias as a judge.  On the personal side, Abdul has been forthcoming about her battle with bulimia and her struggle with a debilitating pain disorder, and she has been equally frank about her rocky social life. Her gentle on air persona ensures that her fans will be behind her when she puts her heart on the line by enlisting Dr. Phil to help find her a mate on a Valentines Day TV special.  Abdul knows how to extend her brand and she isnt wasting a minute.

Paula Abduls Celebrity A$$$ets

Randy Jackson
Jackson is beginning to appear lucky.  How else to explain his ability to maintain a place at the coveted judges table without any unique personality traits to speak of? Jacksons affable style works well when he plays mediator to Abdul and Cowell, but beyond that he has been unable to establish any qualities that distinguish him from the crowd.  Jackson is arguably the hippest of the judges stylistically, yet five years into his role most Idol fans would be hard pressed to describe his personality with words beyond even-tempered and friendly.  His formerly bloated physique originally pigeonholed him as the fat jolly guy, but after successful gastric bypass surgery he no longer fits this banal stereotype, highlighting the mystery of his indescribable identity.  For Jackson to sustain a career that surpasses the reign of Idol, he needs to surprise his fans, stop playing it safe, and reveal more of himself.  Time will tell if he makes his fifth season the charm.

Randy Jacksons Celebrity A$$ets

Remember: the most dependable road to the top is to treat your brand as your greatest asset.
 
(Samantha Ettus new book, "The Experts' Guide to Life at Home" (Random House) is now in bookstores. She welcomes your questions and comments at Samantha@celebrityassets.com.)