Typically, the Winter Games' strength is with older women, whereas "Idol" is popular with everybody — men, women, young and old — and with a particular emphasis on young women.

And from a practical standpoint, "Idol" will go head-to-head with the Olympics five times over two weeks but only for an hour or two, making it easy to skip the sports in favor of the singing.

Brad Adgate of Horizon Media, which monitors TV ratings performance, wasn't surprised that "American Idol" topples the Olympics. His daughter, Abigail, 13, is hooked on "Idol."

Still, Adgate says, "I think NBC will win the February sweeps," a ratings period when some local ad rates are set. "But it depends on a lot of ingredients that you can't even guess with sports: the events, how well Americans are doing and other things."

The ability of "Idol" to increase its viewership while maintaining the same formula over the years "defies conventional wisdom," he says.

Conventional network programming theory would say to run it year-round, cashing in on the success. But Fox airs only one "Idol" contest a year.

"It's supply and demand," Adgate says, "and they limit the supply of the show. When it starts again, there's a huge demand."

Demand that big means viewers of all ages are watching. It's consistently a top-10 show among all age groups, and it's also a top-10 show among the advertiser-coveted 18 to 49 group.

But most notably this season, teen girls are really into "Idol" worship. Of the 166 programs over the six primary networks so far this season, "Idol" draws 135 percent more teens than any other show and 134 percent more teen girls.

APPEAL FOR KIDS, TEENS

There are ways to find out whether your daughter is an "Idol" addict, although you probably already know.

Posted on the message board at idolonfox.com is the list "You Know You're Addicted to American Idol When ..." There are 35 different endings, clearly written by, or geared toward, kids.

For example: "You begin to doze off in history class and only snap back to attention when the teacher uses the words 'singing' or 'talent.' " Or: "You claim your favorite movie is the 1997 cheesy TV horror movie 'Touched by Evil,' starring Paula Abdul as a woman attacked by a serial rapist."

"To me, the best part of the show is all the singers," says Kelly Richardson, 16, of Fort Wayne, Ind. "I like to watch them as they try out, and see if I can pick the one that's going to make it all the way."

That's one way the show connects with viewers, especially women, executive producer Ken Warwick says. "It's something that does seem to affect females more than guys. Guys will look at it and go, 'What an idiot. Look at him. Go get a life.' But the girls become involved in the kind of hopes and dreams of the kids who are good and are really flabbergasted by the people who are terrible."

The show and those stories make it cool. "When they go to school the next day, it's become the show to watch, and if they haven't seen it, they've got a problem," Warwick says.

DRAMATIC CONCLUSION

To create buzz, there has to be something to buzz about. Matthew Robinson, author of "How to Get on Reality TV" (Random House), says "Idol" casting directors look for three things in contestants to ensure the show's popularity. "It's called the holy trinity of 'American Idol' casting: good voice, a good look and a good story.

"This season, it seems to be in reverse order: a good story, a good look and a good voice. The back story is so important. There are a million amazing voices in this country. An amazing voice isn't going to get you on the show."

The emotional drama is what hooks viewers, and a perfect "Idol" example this season is the singing cowboy Garrett Johnson, who had never left home and was easily brought to tears, Robinson says. "Not a very good voice, not a very good look, but a great story. They've figured out exactly what works and they've got it down to a science."

Gayle Arnum of Forest Hills, N.Y., and her daughter, Drew, 7, watch together. "Last season, Drew was in love with Constantine (Maroulis), as were many girls of all ages, and actually cried when he got voted off," Arnum says.

The audition segments that kick the show off, featuring odd characters as well as talented singers, are a big draw.

"At the beginning of the season, it's the best comedy on television. Near the end, it's the best drama," says Kevin Kertes, 40, a record company executive in Woodland Hills, Calif.

"It's a spectacle. It's human. It's fascinating," says Tulsa, Okla., resident Tracy LeGrand, 39.

FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE

Let's not forget that it is a talent show. That's why Greg Palmer, 50, a university professor and father of three, tunes in.

"There are a whole lot of people getting recording contracts and making money who don't have the talent to back up the fame. When the occasional flash of brilliance comes along — Kimberley Locke, LaToya London — I want to get behind that talent," Palmer says.

And there is still plenty of talent in the pool.

"This show is in 36 countries now," Warwick says, "and, generally speaking, you find after about the third or fourth series that the talent pool starts to buckle down a little bit. Some countries, like Germany for instance, have said, 'Well, OK, let's give it a year's rest,' and they deliberately cut you off the air for a year and then revisit it two years later, and it's been huge again."

In Season 5, he worried that the talent wouldn't be so great.

"I couldn't have been proven more wrong. The talent this year is fabulous. And there are kids who are being tossed out of Hollywood who would have been in the top five any other year. So you'll just have to leave it up to America to decide who it's going to be."