Fox's American Idol kicked off its fifth season with its best-ever premiere numbers Tuesday night, ahead nearly 10% ahead of last year's score. Its two-hour premiere averaged 35.4 million viewers overall and an incredible 15.2 rating/34 share in adults 18-49.
To put it into perspective, it was the highest-rated primetime entertainment telecast in the demographic since the finale of Friends on NBC in May 2004. It's the second highest-rated "Idol" episode to date behind the May 2003 season two finale.
The only other Fox entertainment program to ever rate higher in 18-49 was the season finale of short-lived reality series "Joe Millionaire" in 2003.
