"American Idol" runners-up: How bad is it to finish second?

The surprising win by Kris Allen last night got me to thinking about how Adam Lambert will fare as the runner-up.

MTV.com has rated the success of the last 7 runners-up, with Clay Aiken leading the list.

I think Adam could end up being the most successful runner-up in the history of the show. The key will be whether he can hook up with a successful backing band. I don't see Adam being successful as a solo artist. And of course, he would be a top draw in the right kind of stage or movie musical.

Another thing to consider with Adam is his age. He's five months past his 27th birthday. In this day and age of a youth-obsessed pop culture, that's already getting up there. Sure there are a lot of rockers in their 40s, 50s and 60s, but most of them first achieved stardom in their early 20s or even earlier.

Take the poll and let me know your prediction for Adam's future.

Random news notes

• I want to issue a correction on something I wrote in my live blog last night. When Ryan said there were just under 100 million votes cast, I said that it was less than last year. Well, in fact there were 97.5 million votes last year, so it is very likely that there were more votes cast in this year's finale. But we won't know for sure until the show releases a precise figure.

• The television ratings are in. Here's a complete report. The audience for the finale was 28.8 million viewers, down from 32 million for last year's finale. It was the lowest rated finale since 2004.