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An "American Idol" lead-in helped boost Fox's unscripted series "Don't Forget the Lyrics" to record highs Thursday night, nearly catching ABC's "Lost" for the hour's lead in demos and winning in total viewers.

According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, "American Idol" dominated the night's opening hour with the second of its three special Thursday results shows (9.1 rating/24 share in adults 18-49, 25.5 million viewers overall), rising about 10% from the previous week and beating the combined demo deliveries in the hour of ABC, CBS, NBC and CW.

CBS' "Survivor" (4.2/11 in 18-49, 12.5 million viewers overall) placed second and was up week to week, followed by NBC's hourlong repeat of "The Office" (1.8/5 in 18-49, 4.1 (4.2/11 in 18-49, 12.5 million viewers overall).

At 9 o'clock, ABC's "Lost" posted its lowest scores of the season (projected 5.4/13 in 18-49, 12.9 million viewers overall) but still narrowly won its hour in demos over Fox's "Don't Forget the Lyrics" (5.2/13 in 18-49, 14.6 million viewers overall). Taking advantage of its "Idol" lead-in, "Lyrics" achieved series highs for the second straight week and won the hour in total viewers. Also, NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" (3.1/8 in 18-49, 7.6 million viewers overall) and CBS repeat drama "CSI" (3.0/7 in 18-49, 11.6 million viewers overall) were both down week to week.

The 10 o'clock drama battle was a tight one in the 18-49 demo, with CBS repeat "Without a Trace" (2.6/7 in 18-49, 10.4 million viewers overall) neck and neck with originals "Eli Stone" on ABC (projected 2.5/7 in 18-49, 7.2 million viewers overall) and "Lipstick Jungle" on NBC (2.5/7 in 18-49, 5.7 million viewers overall). Both "Eli" and "Lipstick" were on par with their previous week's scores.

Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: Fox, 7.2/18; CBS, 3.3/9; ABC, 3.2/8; NBC, 2.5/6; Univision, 1.6/4; CW, 0.6/2.

In total viewers: Fox, 20.2 million; CBS, 11.5 million; ABC, 8.5 million; NBC, 5.8 million; Univision, 3.6 million; CW, 1.7 million.