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American Idol is a reality television competition to find new solo singing talent. Part of the Idol franchise, it was created by Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show Pop Idol, of which two series were broadcast between 2001 and 2003. Debuting on June 11, 2002, as American Idol: The Search for a Superstar on the Fox network, the show has since become one of the most popular in the history of American television. It is currently the #1 program in the Nielsen ratings and is the only program to have been #1 for six consecutive seasons, surpassing All in the Family and The Cosby Show, which were both #1 for five consecutive seasons. On June 21, 2010, Idol announced that the age limit would be lowered to 15 for future seasons. Grammy award-winning pop singer and Emmy award-winning choreographer Paula Abdul was a judge for the show's first eight seasons. The format originally featured three judges, with Latin Grammy Award-nominated singersongwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi added as a fourth judge for the eighth season. On September 9, 2009, Emmy Award-winning talk show host Ellen DeGeneres was confirmed to be Abdul's replacement for the ninth season. The show has been renewed for three more seasons. On July 29, 2010, it was announced that Ellen DeGeneres would also leave the show, after only one season on the judging panel. On July 30, 2010, it was announced that Kara Dioguardi had been let go after two seasons on the judging panel. However, in the more recent seasons, for the benefit of the viewers watching on TV, contestants were to skip this stage and go straight through to audition in front of the four American Idol judges. During the first six seasons, contestants select a song from a list to sing for the first round. Semifinals Seasons 13 In the first three seasons, the semifinalists were randomly split into different groups. In season one, there were three separate groups and the top three contestants from each group made it to the finals. In seasons two and three, there were four groups of eight and the top two contestants moved on to the finals. The first three seasons each featured a wildcard show. In season one, only one wildcard contestant was chosen by the judges. However, in seasons two and three, each judge championed one contestant and the public advanced a fourth into the finals. In the third season, the judges eliminated four contestants from the wildcard round before they had the opportunity to sing. Seasons 47, 9 From seasons four to seven, the semifinals were cut down to twenty-four contestants who were divided by gender in order to ensure an equal division in the top twelve. By season 7, contestants were now allowed to play any instrument along with singing their song. Season 8 In season eight, there were thirty-six semifinalists. The finals lasted for eight weeks in season one and eleven weeks in subsequent seasons. From the bottom three, one contestant is sent to safety so that two contestants remain (although these are not necessarily the two contestants with the lowest votes) and finally the contestant who received the lowest amount of votes is eliminated from the competition. During Season 8 and Season 9, the judges were given the ability to perform a "save" if they feel the voting audience made a mistake by having the contestant perform their song again. If they reach a unanimous decision, they can save the contestant for another week, but the following week will eliminate 2 people, and the person saved cannot be saved again (additionally, after the save is used, it cannot be used again for the remainder of the season). When a contestant is voted off the show, a montage of the contestant's experience is played and they give their final performance. For the first season and seasons three-six, the finale was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre, which has an audience capacity of approximately 3,400. In November 2005, executives at Fox Broadcasting and the producers of American Idol reached a new deal, allowing the show to remain on the air through 2011. Season 1
The first season of American Idol debuted without hype as a summer replacement show in June 2002 on the Fox network. She is the first contestant to have two number one albums, the only contestant to have two number one singles on The Billboard Hot 100, have a non-Idol-related single to peak at number one, and to have two singles reach the 2 million mark in digital download sales with Since U Been Gone, and My Life Would Suck Without You. Runner-up Justin Guarini also signed with RCA Records, eventually debuting an album in 2003 after the conclusion of season 2. The musical love story, produced by Idol's Simon Fuller, was filmed in Miami, Florida over a period of six weeks shortly after the season ended. Starting September 30, 2006, the first season of American Idol was repackaged as "American Idol Rewind" and syndicated directly to stations in the US.
Following the success of season 1, the second season was moved up to air in January 2003. In an interview prior to season five, a statement by executive producer Nigel Lythgoe suggested that Aiken had led the fan voting from the wildcard week onward until the finale. American Idol Rewind started re-airing this season in the fall of 2007. Season 3
The third season premiered on January 19, 2004. The third season was also shown in Australia on Network Ten about half a week after episodes were shown in the U.S. In May 2005, Telescope announced that the third season had a total of approximately 360 million votes. Over 65 million votes were cast on the night of the finale, more than the first two seasons combined. She also appeared as a contestant on the first season of CMT's reality show Gone Country. In addition to Fantasia and DeGarmo, Jasmine Trias, LaToya London, George Huff, Jennifer Hudson, and Camile Velasco have released albums since the season ended. The age limit was raised to 28 in this season to increase the variety of contestants. Among those who benefited from this new rule were Constantine Maroulis and Bo Bice, considered to be the eldest and most experienced of the season's contestants. The presence of more rock-oriented contestants continued with Chris Daughtry in Season 5, who was inspired to audition for the show by Bice. In May 2005, Telescope announced that the fourth season had a total of approximately 500 million votes. On February 11, 2007, Underwood became the second winner of American Idol to sweep all three major music awards (American Music, Billboard, and Grammy Awards) in a single season (for 200607), Kelly Clarkson being the first (for 200506). She has become one of the best selling contestant in the show's history and has sold 11.5 million albums in the U.S. Other contestants have also seen success in their post-Idol careers. Fourth-place contestant Anthony Fedorov has appeared in television shows such as Fear Factor and has finished taping several episodes for a new MTV show to air in the fall; Season 5
The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006; It remains the highest-rated season in the show's run so far. The season used the same rules as season 4. A total of 580 million votes were cast in the entire season. Season 6
The sixth season began on Tuesday, January 16, 2007. The premiere episode of the season drew a massive audience of 37.7 million viewers, peaking in the last half hour with more than 41 million viewers. Teenager Sanjaya Malakar was the season's most polarizing and talked-about American Idol contestant, as he continued to survive elimination for several weeks. In April 2007, the show launched the American Idol Songwriter contest which enabled fans to select the "coronation song" to be performed by the final two contestants on the top two performance show and by the winner on the finale. Season 7
American Idol returned for its seventh season on January 15, 2008 for a two-day, four-hour premiere. David Cook was announced the winner of American Idol season 7 on May 21, 2008. Prior to the start of season 7, Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe admitted that season 6 had placed more focus on the guest mentors than the contestants. Changes were planned for season 7 designed to return attention to the contestants by providing more information on their backgrounds and families. (David Cook released an independent solo album and had finished recording a follow-up prior to his audition for the show, but he was never involved with a record label or contract.) Idol rules state that contestants may have had a record deal in the past, but are still eligible as long as they are no longer under contract when Idol begins. Former season 2 contestant Clay Aiken commented during an interview on The View in May 2008 about the general innocence of the contestants, that has increasingly been lost over the years. The American Idol Songwriter contest, launched during season 6, was continued for this season. This season David Archuleta and David Cook joined Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks and Jordin Sparks as the Top 2 contestants to never have been in the bottom 3 or 2. This season's finale was the first time in the show's history where neither one of the top 2 were ever in the bottom 3. Season 8
The eighth season of American Idol began on January 13, 2009. Also, this was Paula Abdul's final season of judging the show. After Fox and producers promised changes to the show, on August 4 showrunner and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe announced he was leaving "Idol" to focus on international versions of his other show So You Think You Can Dance. It was also announced that Idol Gives Back would not return during the season due to the ongoing economic crisis and recession. This season also featured the return of the Wild Card round, last used in season 3. Season 9
The ninth season of American Idol premiered on January 12, 2010. After the season finished, Degeneres announced that she would be leaving the show. This was Simon Cowell's final season on American Idol as well. In addition, guest mentors this season included Miley Cyrus, Usher, Alicia Keys, Shania Twain (who was also a guest judge during the Chicago auditions), Jamie Foxx (who had also mentored the previous season), Harry Connick Jr., and Adam Lambert (who was the first Idol alum asked to be a mentor). This was the second season where neither of the final 2 contestants had been in the bottom 2 or 3. Season 10
The tenth season of the series is slated to premiere on January 12, 2011 on Fox. This will be the first season where teenagers aged 15 will be eligible to audition for the show. Both Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres left the show after season 9, while Kara DioGuardi was fired. Idol showed 4,151 product placements in its first 38 episodes during season 7, according to Nielsen Media Research. (During rebroadcast on ITV in the UK, the Coca-Cola logo is obscured in the shots.) In seasons 1 through 4, after every Wednesday results show, the host and remaining contestants meet in the Coca-Cola Red Room to discuss next week's theme; The red room was removed in season 7 at the beginning of the top 12 when American Idol switched to a new stage. contestants appear in Ford videos on the results shows, and the final two of seasons 4, 5 and 6 each won free Mustangs; During season 8 iTunes has been promoted as the official source to download contestant performances. During the first seven seasons, Kellogg and Pop-Tarts were major sponsors, especially of the cast tour that follows the end of every season. In addition, David Cook and David Archuleta appeared in "Risky Business" inspired Guitar Hero commercials that aired during the season 7 finale. Contestants will occasionally don Old Navy clothing during performances, and celebrity stylist Steven Cojocaru appeared in two previous seasons to assist contestants with picking out wardrobe pieces from Old Navy. Guest judge Elton John called the show 'incredibly racist' in a press conference after African American contestants Jennifer Hudson, LaToya London and Fantasia Barrino received the 3 lowest numbers of votes resulting in the elimination of Hudson. Individual contestants have generated controversy in this competition, such as Season 7 contestant Carly Smithson who had a prior major label record deal MCA Records under the name Carly Hennessy, her maiden name. Joanna Pacitti was originally a top 36 contestant on season 8, but was later disqualified when it was revealed that she had connections to the producers at 19 Entertainment. Kelly Clarkson is the same. Data from Nielsen SoundScan, a music-sales tracking service, showed that of the 47 million CDs sold by Idol contestants through January 2010, 85 percent were by contestants with ties to the American South. The show itself is particularly popular in the American South, with households in the Southeastern United States 10 percent more likely to watch American Idol during the eighth season in 2009, and those in the East Central region, such as Kentucky, were 16 percent more likely to tune into the series. When asked about the appeal of Southern contestants, season 5 winner Taylor Hicks, from the state of Alabama said, "People in the South have a lot of pride ... Idol Gives Back Starting in Season 6 of American Idol, Idol started the annual charity tradition, "Idol Gives Back". Season 7's "Idol Gives Back" featured Robin Williams, Celine Dion, Billy Crystal, Forest Whitaker, Dane Cook, Kiefer Sutherland, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Jennifer Connelly, Elliott Yamin, Miley Cyrus and others. "Idol Gives Back" was not held for Season 8, as producers did not think it appropriate during an economic crisis. In 2010, American Idol received a nomination for the Do Something TV Show Award from the VH1 Do Something Awards. American Idol won a nomination for raising over $45 million during its Idol Gives Back episode. American Idol's consistent dominance of an hour two or three nights a week exceeds the 30- or 60-minute reach of previous hits such as The Cosby Show. However, since season 6, the show has shown a steady decline in viewership. On the season finale of the sixth season, the ratings of American Idol saw a drop of 19% from last year, when Taylor Hicks was crowned as the 2006 Idol. Ratings of the season finale peaked at 34.9 million viewers at 10 pm, just five minutes before Taylor Hicks was declared the winner of Idol. Season 7 coincided with the 20072008 Writers Guild of America strike, which, according to early predictions would help the show's ratings by eliminating scripted competition (Idol, being unscripted, was unaffected by the strike). The performance show featuring the top seven finalist was the lowest-rated Tuesday American Idol show in five years among adults ages 18 to 49. The subsequent results show, in which Kristy Lee Cook was eliminated, delivered American Idol's lowest-rated Wednesday among adults ages 18 to 34 since its first season back in 2002. Overall, ratings for the seventh season were down 10% from last season. Initial numbers for season 8 showed further erosion, as numbers had fallen approximately 15% compared to similar episodes from season 7. Though the Wednesday show continued to hold a dominating lead, on Tuesdays, the show was losing ground to CBS's NCIS, which is coming very close to beating Idol in overall viewers. Idol's extended streak of perfection in the ratings was broken in season 9. During season 9, NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics beat Idol on February 17, with 30.1 million viewers compared to 18.4 million for the results show, the first time Idol had been beaten in six years, and the lowest ratings since 2003. Later in that same season, Dancing with the Stars on ABC drew more viewers than Idol during the last week of March 2010, with Dancing drawing 23 million viewers compared to Idol drawing 21.8 million. Nevertheless, American Idol finished its ninth season as the most-watched TV series for the sixth year running, breaking the previous record of five consecutive seasons achieved by CBS' All in the Family and NBC's The Cosby Show. Australia airs episodes just 5 hours after their US showing, MBC4 another Middle East Channel broadcasts American Idol 19 hours after its showing in the US most people may watch it on MBC4 as it is a free channel unlike STAR World where you have to pay for a showtime package to watch it,and also on MBC4 the finales are live. Top-selling American Idol alumni
Idols in musical theater Many American Idol finalists have turned to musical theatre post-Idol, some even leaving their mark on the Great White Way. These people include:
On February 7, 2008, The Walt Disney Company announced the development of "The American Idol Experience", a live attraction based on American Idol to be built at its Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Those selected then perform on a stage in a 1000 seat theater replicating the American Idol set used during later rounds of recent seasons for an audience of park guests. There are numerous shows each day with the last show combining the winners of previous shows that day to select the overall winner that day. See also
John Pritchett (live shows, 2008) Bruce Gowers (live shows, 20022008, 2009) Nigel Lythgoe (audition shows, 20022008) Ken Warwick, Gregg Gelfland (audition shows)
Randy Jackson Paula Abdul (20022009) Simon Cowell (20022010) Kara DioGuardi (20092010) Ellen DeGeneres (2010) Jennifer Lopez (2011present) Steven Tyler (2011present)
Initial auditions: Various Hollywood auditions: Kodak Theatre Hollywood Semi-finals and finals: CBS Television City Finale: Nokia Theatre
Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
ABC 5 (now TV5) (20042007) QTV11 (2008present), GMA (occational broadcast) STAR World, Fox
ITV2, VTM Anglia, Yasmin Brinklow, ITV Granada, ITV Central, Grampian Television, Scottish Television, HTV West, HTV Cymru Wales, ITV London 2, Yorkshire Television, Five TV Tyne Tees
Further information: List of awards and nominations for American Idol contestants
4 2005 Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist 2005 Artist of the Year 2006 Favorite Pop/Rock Female 2006 Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
5 2006 Breakthrough artist 2007 Artist of the year 2007 Favorite Album (Country) 2007 Country Female Artist 2008 Favorite Album (Country)
5 2007 Best New Artist 2007 Best Female Country Vocal 2008 Best Female Country Vocal 2009 Best Female Country Vocal 2010 Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
4 2007 Breakthrough Artist 2007 Best Adult Contemporary Artist 2007 Best Pop/Rock Album 2008 Favorite Band, Duo or Group- Pop/Rock
Diana DeGarmo Penny Pingleton in Hairspray (Broadway), Brooklyn in Brooklyn (National Tour), Sarah in The Toxic Avenger (Off-Broadway), and Sheila Franklin in Hair (Broadway)
Amy Adams The Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (National Tour)
Constantine Maroulis Sammy in The Wedding Singer (Broadway), Young Soldier in Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (Off-Broadway), Drew in Rock of Ages (Tony Award Nomination, 2009) (Broadway)
Ace Young Kenickie (Broadway) and Danny (National Tour) in Grease, Berger in Hair (Broadway)
Adam Lambert u/s Fiyero in Wicked (National Tour, Los Angeles) (before American Idol)
Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore 2 PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
Randy Jackson Paula Abdul (20022009) Simon Cowell (20022010) Kara DioGuardi (20092010) Ellen DeGeneres (2010) Jennifer Lopez (2011present) Steven Tyler (2011present)
Kelly Clarkson Ruben Studdard Fantasia Barrino Carrie Underwood Taylor Hicks Jordin Sparks David Cook Kris Allen Lee DeWyze
"A Moment Like This" "Flying Without Wings" "I Believe" "Inside Your Heaven" "Do I Make You Proud" "This Is My Now" "The Time of My Life" "No Boundaries" "Beautiful Day"
Justin Guarini Clay Aiken Diana DeGarmo Bo Bice Katharine McPhee Blake Lewis David Archuleta Adam Lambert Crystal Bowersox
Underground Compilation Series Controversies Discography Hot 100 singles Episodes Idol series Magazine Top-selling alumni Alumni awards and nominations Video game The American Idol Experience Idol Gives Back
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