'Bachelorette' No. 2

Dreadful singing continued to equal ratings magic for Fox's ''American Idol,'' as the second episode of the returning talent contest kept 95 percent of its first-night audience Ð and handily defeated Fox's ''The Bachelorette.'' ''Idol'' had 24.91 viewers Wednesday night, while Trista and friends brought in a comparatively paltry 13.91 million viewers, according to Variety. It was the weakest showing for ''The Bachelorette'' yet.

Meanwhile, Fox's ''That '70s Show'' appeared to benefit from its placement right before ''American Idol,'' defeating ABC's ''My Wife and Kids.'' But ''That '70s Show'' still ran second to yet another talent competition, CBS' ''Star Search,'' according to Variety. In any case, Fox is now the third highest-rated network overall this season, ahead of ABC but behind NBC and CBS, Variety reported.

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