HBO ratings: "Curb" has its best finale since 2004 (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – The eighth-season finale of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" averaged 2 million for its premiere Sunday, and another 406,000 for a 12:45 a.m. encore run, marking the Larry David series' best season-wrap numbers since 2004.

Vampire drama "True Blood" also finished its fourth season strong, sucking up 5.1 million viewers on its initial run and another 1.1 million for its encore. It was the Alan Ball-produced series' second-best season finale -- just behind season three's 5.4 million viewer initial-run average.

Meanwhile, the series finale of "Entourage" was the show's most watched episode of the season, averaging 2.6 million viewers at 10:30 p.m.

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'Oprah Winfrey' finale seen by 16 million viewers (AP)

NEW YORK – When Oprah Winfrey told her daytime viewers farewell last month, more than 16 million were watching.

The Nielsen Co. reported Wednesday that the May 25 finale of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" drew 16.4 million viewers. This made the finale the show's most-watched episode in more than 18 years, since the February 1993 airing of its "Why I Love Older Women" episode, which was seen by 17.3 million viewers.

Nielsen says the audience for the surprise farewell episode that aired May 23 drew 12.3 million viewers. The second part of that gala event attracted 13 million viewers when it aired May 24.

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" averaged 8.2 million viewers during May.

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'Oprah' finale scores biggest audience in 17 years (AP)

NEW YORK – Preliminary figures show Wednesday's finale of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" scored its highest audience in 17 years.

The Nielsen Co. said Thursday that the final episode delivered a 13.3 household rating in the nation's metered markets.

It was the highest number since February 1994. That's when an "Oprah" episode called "People Shed Their Disguises" got a 13.4 rating.

Metered market ratings measure roughly half the nation and can't be translated into audience figures. A viewer count for the "Oprah" finale won't be available from Nielsen for two weeks.

The metered market rating for Monday's surprise farewell episode of "Oprah" logged a 10.2. Nielsen said Tuesday's episode got a 10.7.

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Seacrest: Record vote for 'American Idol' finale (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Ryan Seacrest says the "American Idol" contest between two teenage country singers drew a record number of votes.

More than 122 million votes were cast for Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery, "American Idol" host Seacrest said as the finale got under way Wednesday night.

More than three-quarters of a billion votes were cast over the course of the season, Seacrest said.

The finale vote tally may reflect interest in the show's first all-country finale. The 16-year-old Alaina and 17-year-old McCreery also are the youngest pair of finalists.

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'Idol' judges back Lauren Alaina to win finale (AP)

By DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang, Ap Entertainment Writer – Wed May 25, 2:51 am ET

LOS ANGELES – If it were up to the judges, Lauren Alaina would be crowned the next "American Idol."

The show's panel backed the chipper, 16-year-old songbird of Rossville, Ga., to win the grand prize after she faced off against Scotty McCreery in three performances on the Fox talent competition's finale Tuesday.

Jennifer Lopez said Alaina's soaring rendition of the ballad, "Like My Mother Does," may have secured her the title.

"This is a very tight race tonight, but Lauren, with that song, you may have just won," said Lopez.

McCreery, the deep-voiced 17-year-old country crooner from Garner, N.C., was also in it to win it on the Nokia Theatre stage with his own possible future single, "I Love You This Big."

Randy Jackson said his range on the ballad was great because he "sung really low and really high." Both tunes were selected by "Idol" mentor Jimmy Iovine.

"If he brings that Scotty cool tonight, there's no reason that confetti doesn't fall on him," said Iovine, the Interscope Records chairman who will sign the winner to his label.

McCreery, who has solidly maintained his old-school country vibe throughout the competition, has never been among the show's low vote-getters and has long been considered to be one of the 10th season's front-runners. Alaina has also consistently delivered smooth performances this season, but she once found herself at the bottom three weeks ago.

Tuesday's finale began dramatically when host Ryan Seacrest announced that Alaina lost her voice during rehearsals. He brought Dr. Shawn Nasseri on stage to explain that Alaina blew out one of her vocal cords but had been given "a lot of medicine" to be able to sing during the finale.

Alaina insisted at the beginning of the show that she would perform.

"I'm here," she said. "I'm ready to sing, and I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

The ailment didn't seem to deter the vocalist during the first two rounds of the finale, when she performed a rollicking rendition of Carrie Underwood's "Flat on the Floor," which she previously took on during the ninth week of the finals. She later belted out Pam Tillis' "Maybe It was Memphis," which was selected by former "Idol" winner Underwood.

McCreery rigorously reprised his version of Montgomery Gentry's "Gone," which he also performed during the finals' ninth week, before breaking out his acoustic guitar for George Strait's "Check Yes or No," which was picked by Strait.

Lopez and Jackson split those rounds between the pair, but Steven Tyler told McCreery that Alaina edged him out because "she's prettier than you are."

Backstage after the finale, Alaina remained silent and scrawled responses to reporters on a notepad with a black marker. ("This is weird!!" read one note.)

When asked if Alaina was concerned when 20-year-old former finalist Haley Reinhart of Wheeling, Ill., was brought in to rehearse in case Alaina couldn't perform, she vehemently responded no.

"Going into tonight, Scotty definitely had an edge, and he may still have a slight edge," Jackson said backstage before noting that Alaina was "the best tonight."

The singer with the most viewer votes will be revealed Wednesday.

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AP Television Writer Lynn Elber contributed to this report.

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Fox is a unit of News Corp.

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Winfrey finale devoted to fans, her 'safe harbor' (AP)

CHICAGO – There were no free cars or vacations. No favorite things or makeovers. No celebrity guests on stage — though there were plenty in the audience.

The finale of Oprah Winfrey's talk show, taped Tuesday and aired Wednesday, was all about the one thing that made her a billion-dollar success: the unique connection she made with millions of viewers for 25 years. In what she called her "love letter" to fans, she made clear that to her, all those TV friendships went both ways.

"Something in me connected with each of you in a way that allowed me to see myself in you and you in me," Winfrey said. "I listened and grew, and I know you grew along with me."

Winfrey was the only person on stage with little background music and short flashback clips. The show went to commercials with "Twenty-Five Years," a soft song that musician Paul Simon wrote and recorded for her.

She called fans her "safe harbor" and became teary eyed when reflecting on her upbringing in rural Mississippi.

"It is no coincidence that a lonely little girl," Winfrey said, choking up, "who felt not a lot of love, even though my parents and grandparents did the best they could, it is no coincidence that I grew up to feel a genuine kindness, affection, trust and validation from millions of you all over the world."

Winfrey told viewers that sometimes she was a teacher, but more often her viewers instructed her. She called Wednesday's episode her "last class from this stage."

At one point she thanked viewers for sharing her "yellow brick road of blessings" — something she said back in November 2009, when she announced that she would end her show. The program gave rise to a media empire, including a magazine and Winfrey's own cable network, which she launched in January.

Wednesday's show was the last piece of a months-long sendoff, but as the hour wrapped up, Winfrey stopped short of saying farewell.

"I won't say goodbye. I'll just say, until we meet again," she said.

She hugged and kissed her longtime partner Stedman Graham and shook hands with audience members before walking through the halls of Harpo Studios in Chicago, hugging and crying with her staff. She shouted, "We did it!"

The last shot of the finale showed Winfrey walking away with her cocker spaniel, Sadie.

Some fans across the country had parties for the finale. Sharon Evans, 53, of Chicago had pancakes with her mother and girlfriends.

"She was very subdued today and I appreciated that she was taking that last hour not to showcase any celebrities or favorite things," Evans said. "It was truly what she said, a love letter to us."

Amy Korin, 32, of Chicago, was in the studio audience when the show taped on Tuesday. She described Winfrey's monologue as having the feeling of a graduation commencement speech. "It was just amazing to witness," she said.

Celebrities in the audience included Tyler Perry, Maria Shriver, Suze Orman and Cicely Tyson. None of them joined Winfrey on stage. A week earlier, Hollywood A-listers and 13,000 fans bid Winfrey farewell in a double-episode extravaganza at Chicago's United Center.

In the bare-bones final taping there were just 404 audience members, according to Harpo Productions. The show received 1.4 million ticket requests throughout its final season, the company said.

Winfrey became famous over the decades for landing hard-to-get celebrity interviews and her annual giveaway shows, where she bestowed audience members with such stunning gifts as cars and Australian vacations.

Already a television journalist, Winfrey came to Chicago in 1984 to WLS-TV's morning talk show, "A.M. Chicago." A month later the show was No. 1 in the market. A year later it was renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Winfrey opened Harpo Studios on Chicago's West Loop neighborhood in 1990. On Jan. 1 of this year she launched the Oprah Winfrey Network, which is based in Los Angeles.

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Oprah Winfrey focuses on fans during finale (AP)

CHICAGO – In the end, it was just Oprah.

For the final episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" taped Tuesday, the talk show queen appeared alone on her Chicago stage, talking to viewers about what they've meant to her during the show's 25-year run. The finale will air on Wednesday.

Fans leaving Tuesday's taping said Winfrey had tears in her eyes as the television icon said a final thank you.

"She said, `This isn't goodbye. This is until we meet again," said Amy Korin, 32, of Chicago, who was in the audience.

Winfrey then kissed and hugged her longtime partner, Stedman Graham, and made her way through the halls of Harpo Studios, saying goodbye to her staff, audience members said. She kept saying, "We did it! We did it!," Korin said, and giving employees high-fives.

There was a single chair on the stage, but Winfrey stood most of the time, audience members said.

"A lot of crying and hugs, crying and hugs," Korin said.

Audience members described a simply produced series finale filled with a sense of gratitude.

"It was just her the whole time, a recap of what she believed in, what we've given her as viewers and what she hopes she has given us," said Nancy Evankoe, 60, Hoffman Estates, who went to the taping with her daughter.

Winfrey announced in November 2009 that she would end her popular talk show after 25 years. Tuesday's taping comes a week after Hollywood's A-list and 13,000 fans bid Winfrey farewell during a double-episode extravaganza at Chicago's United Center. The shows that aired Monday and Tuesday included Aretha Franklin, Tom Cruise, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jordan and Madonna, among other stars of television, music and movies.

The bare-bones final taping had its share of celebrities in the audience including Tyler Perry, Maria Shriver, Suze Orman and Cicely Tyson, but none of them joined Winfrey on stage.

Hundreds of giddy fans struck by their luck at getting tickets for the final show had gathered outside Winfrey's television studio in Chicago Tuesday morning.

Sarah Cranley, 32, of Chicago waited in line with her mother, who traveled in from Pittsburgh for the taping. Cranley said she felt very lucky to snag tickets to the last show and the prospect of seeing Winfrey live didn't yet feel real.

"You think about how many billions of people around the world watch her and want to be here," Cranley said. "What are the odds?"

Cranley's mother, Sally Mowrey, 59, said Winfrey was a constant in her life when her husband's job transfers had her family move 17 times.

"That was something I could count one, watching Oprah," Mowrey said. "That was one thing that didn't change."

Fans said they went through the normal ticketing process for the final taping by submitting their names online. Some said they wrote letters explaining why they were Winfrey fans.

Winfrey's best friend Gayle King mixed with the waiting fans and interviewed several with a camera phone. For her, the show's end is bittersweet.

"I have such mixed feelings about it," King told fans.

The finale of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" has remained a secret, even as Harpo Studios hyped it as a television event.

In a promotional video posted online May 16, clips of famous television finales plays over a sad song with the lyrics "It's hard to say goodbye." It includes Mary Tyler Moore, Walter Cronkite, Johnny Carson, "M.A.S.H," `'The Cosby Show," and "Cheers."

The video asks viewers "Where were you?" and "Where will you be?" Another promotional video for the final three episodes prompts viewers to "Say farewell."

When Winfrey announced her show would end she promised her viewers she would use the final season to "knock your socks off." On her 25th and final season premiere she danced onstage with John Travolta and told everyone in the audience they were going to Australia.

Other season highlights included interviews with President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, former President George W. Bush and Michael Jackson's family. Winfrey also revealed she found a sister who her mother gave up for adoption.

Already a television journalist, Winfrey came to Chicago in 1984 to WLS-TV's morning talk show, "A.M. Chicago." A month later the show was No. 1 in the market. A year later it was renamed "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Winfrey opened Harpo Studios on Chicago's West Loop neighborhood in 1990. On Jan. 1 of this year she launched the Oprah Winfrey Network, which is based in Los Angeles.

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"Apprentice" ends with lowest-ever spring finale (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – ABC's Billboard Music Awards was all the talk on Sunday, but over on NBC, Donald Trump named the latest winner of "Celebrity Apprentice."

"Celebrity Apprentice" managed to trump the BMAs in viewership, averaging 8.3 million total viewers, but was behind in the adults 18-49 demographic with a 2.9 rating. The two-hour season ender, which saw country star John Rich named the victor, was the franchise's lowest-rated spring finale. The episode dipped 15 percent compared with last season's finale.

"Minute to Win It" (4.2 million, 1.2) and "Dateline" (5 million, 1.3), though, were up double digits. NBC placed third in the demographic.

ABC did top the night in the demographic, averaging a 2.6 rating, with the Billboard Music Awards (7.9 million, 2.9) and "America's Funniest Home Videos" (6.1 million, 1.5), down 17 percent.

Fox's animation block placed second among adults 18-49, with the season finale of "Family Guy" (5.8 million, 3.0) Sunday's highest-rated program. "American Dad" (3.6 million, 1.6) and "Bob's Burgers" (4.3 million, 2.1) slipped slightly, while "The Simpsons" (5.3 million, 2.5) remained steady.

CBS' "60 Minutes" (10.6 million, 1.5), which aired its piece on doping accusations against Lance Armstrong, dipped 12 percent. "Jesse Stone: Innocents Loss" (13.7 million, 1.3), starring Tom Selleck, was Sunday's most-watched program.

(Editing by Chris Michaud)

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