(05/18/10) -

American Idol Fans Predict Victory for Crystal Bowersox This Season

But 61 per cent of respondents say they are “not too likely” or “not likely at all” to watch the show after judge Simon Cowell departs.

But 61 per cent of respondents say they are “not too likely” or “not likely at all” to watch the show after judge Simon Cowell departs.

Crystal Bowersox is the clear frontrunner to win the ninth season of American Idol for show watchers, but a sizeable proportion of Americans say they will be less likely to watch the program without Simon Cowell as a judge, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

The online survey of 1,016 American adults includes a sample of 374 respondents who have watched American Idol this season.

The Ninth Season

About half of American Idol watchers (46%) believe the singers of the current season have been roughly the same as in previous seasons, while 29 per cent deem them as worse, and 14 per cent think they have been better.

Women (32%) and respondents over the age of 55 (37%) are more likely to be critical of this season’s singers.

More than a third of American Idol watchers (35%) say that Crystal Bowersox has been their favorite singer in this season of the show, followed by Lee DeWyze (11%), Casey James (10%), Michael Lynche (5%) and Katie Stevens (5%).

In fact, when asked which one of the remaining three singers will win this year’s competition, 42 per cent of show watchers predict a victory for Bowersox, while DeWyze (15%) and James (11%) are far behind.

Idol Without Cowell?

Simon Cowell will not return as a judge to American Idol next season. Three-in-five respondents (61%) say they are “not too likely” or “not likely at all” to watch the show if Cowell is not a judge—including 43 per cent of sporadic viewers of the show, 20 per cent of casual fans and 15 per cent of hard core fans.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Public Affairs
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From May 13 to May 14, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,016 American adults who are Springboard America panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of the United States.