American Idol (season 8) had Randy Jackson as a judge for the eighth year in a row.
The show itself was popular in the Southern United States, with households in the Southeastern United States 10% more likely to watch American Idol during the eighth season in 2009, and those in the East Central region, such as Kentucky, were 16 percent more likely to tune into the series
 By the fourth season, American Idol had become the most-watched series amongst all viewers on American TV for the first time, with an average viewership of 26

