"American Idol" creator Simon Fuller says the singing competition has "found itself" after losing its "negativity" and becoming more motivational, reports Nellie Andreeva at Deadline.com.

In a clear swipe at the style of  former "Idol" judge Simon Cowell, Fuller said, according to the interview, " ‘American Idol’ has found itself. We wanted to lose the negativity and be more motivational. We understand that this shows success is based entirely on the authentic journey of real people with a passion and a dream, no gimmicks, no spin, no smoke and mirrors. It is this personal relationship with the contestants that American Idol viewers love. The addition of Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez, real stars who also shared that dream, has brought a new level of understanding and empathy to the show, they can identify with each and every one of those contestants and what it really means to have a dream."

Meanwhile, TVbytheNumbers.com reports that though "Idol" dominated the ratings in the 18-49-year-old category on Wednesday night, Feb. 24, 2011 with a 7. 9 rating, that number was sitll

 "[D]own 4% from last Wednesday’s episode and down 12% versus a 9.0 adults 18-49 ratings for last year’s equivalent episode of the cycle on Tuesday, February 23 (also a two hour episode)."