Not even two bickering pop divas could boost the ratings of the American Idol premiere on Wednesday night.

An average of 17.8 million viewers tuned into the two-hour premiere, a 19 percent decrease compared to last season’s night-one premiere.

But it’s not all bad news for Nicki, Mariah, Keith, Randy and Ryan… slightly fewer people – 16.2 million to be exact – tuned in to night two on Thursday.

But that showing was only down two percent from the night two premiere last year. In past seasons, ratings have dropped 20 percent between the two nights of Idol.

That means more people are coming back to see what could happen next on Idol. And to top it all off, the Idol premieres still secured the night for FOX, who beat all the other major networks both nights.

American Idol airs Wednesdays and Thursdays on FOX.