American Idol

American Idol, with the full title American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season only, is an American reality tv show airing on Fox. It debuted on June 11, 2002, and it has since become one of the most popular shows on American television. Part of the Idol franchise, it is a spinoff from the reality program Pop Idol created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller, which was first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom.

The program seeks to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nationwide auditions. The outcomes of the later stages of this competition are determined by public voting by phone. The format features four judges who give critiques of the contestants' performances: record producer and music manager Randy Jackson; pop singer and choreographer Paula Abdul; music executive and music manager Simon Cowell and singer/songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi.^[1] The show is hosted by former children's game show emcee and television personality Ryan Seacrest; comedian Brian Dunkleman co-hosted with Seacrest during the first season. The American Idol band is led by Rickey Minor.

The show usually airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in the US and Thursday and Friday nights in the UK (two days after the US airing).

Initial auditions

Before contestants get the chance to see the show's judges, they go through two rigorous sets of cuts: the first consists of a brief audition in front of one or two of the show's producers with three other contestants. Contestants are then either sent through to the next round of producers or are asked to leave. Only about 100–200 contestants in each city make it past this round, which is a staggering statistic considering that tens of thousands of people show up to audition in each city.

Those few contestants who make it through to the next round of auditions sing in front of another panel of producers, who then narrow the remaining contestants down to about forty singers. The few remaining singers then audition in front of the show's official judges for a chance to make it to Hollywood week. For season 8 the judges are Simon, Randy, Paula and Kara. In order to make it on the show, you have to be either good or bad, viewers find it funny to the terrible singers, and amusing for the talented ones.

Rules

Singers are not permitted to have any current record deals or talent management agreements (though they may have had one at some point in the past). They must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents eligible to work full-time and, for the first three seasons, had to be 16 to 24 years of age on October 19 of the year of audition. Since the fourth season, the upper age limit was raised to 28 with an earlier cutoff date, August 4, to attract more mature and diverse contestants. Also, singers with any previous formal training are turned away during early auditions.

Others who are ineligible to compete include those who have made it into the top 40 contestants in past seasons (or the top 50 of season 7), and people employed by affiliates of Fox, FremantleMedia or 19 Entertainment (including sponsors, subsidiaries and parent companies). Even if a person is eligible, he or she may not have a chance to audition or be seen because the show can see only a limited number of people in each city.

Auditioning contestants must bring with them to the audition a valid proof of age and work eligibility, such as a birth certificate and driver's license or a passport, and those under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. All auditioning contestants are required to print out a copy of the release form (available on the show's web site) to fill out and turn in at the audition in order to grant permission to be seen and heard by the producers' cameras. Contestants who are found to have given false information are disqualified. After auditioning - regardless of the outcome (even if eliminated on the very first cut) - contestants are under contract with the show until three months after the final episode.^[2]

In an interview with Anderson Cooper on the CBS TV current affairs show 60 Minutes on March 17, 2007 (repeated in extended format on CNN's AC 360 program on March 27, 2007), judge Simon Cowell openly declared that the underlying primary purpose of the Idol franchise (including American Idol) was for 19 Entertainment (the parent corporation that produces the Idol TV shows) to discover new singing talent that can be signed to recording agreements that the corporation maintains with a major record company (Sony/BMG), and benefit from the record sales of contestants and winners who are exposed to the worldwide marketplace through the TV shows. Cowell indicated that revenue from recordings by performers associated with the Idol franchise has already exceeded US $100 million. 19 Entertainment also retains exclusive right of refusal for management and merchandising of any contestant. Exercising management rights is at the sole discretion of 19 Entertainment; in the alternative the contestant performer is free to pursue his or her own career.

Hollywood

Once in Hollywood, the contestants perform on different days, with dramatic eliminations by the judges on each day. The first day typically has each hopeful sing a song that they had selected from a list. The next round, the contestants split themselves into small groups and perform a song together. In the final round, the contestants perform a song of their choice a cappella.

Starting in the 2008 season, the structure of the Hollywood round was revamped. There were no longer musical group rounds; rather, the contestants would sing on the first day and if the judges felt the performance was adequate, the contestant moved onto the final Hollywood round. If the performance was not up to par, the contestant would have one more chance to impress the judges before the final round. For the first time, contestants were able to perform with a musical instrument if they had the ability.

Semifinals

In the first three seasons, the semifinalists were randomly split into different groups. Each contestant would then sing in their respective group's night and the top two or three, depending on season, who received the most votes from America in each group would advance to the finals. 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 would move onto the finals.

The first three seasons each featured a Wildcard show in that contestants who failed to make it to the finals would be allowed to perform once more for a chance at a spot. In season one, only one Wildcard contestant would be chosen by the judges. However, in seasons two and three, each judge would champion one contestant and the public would advance the fourth Wildcard contestant into the finals. In the second season, a few hopefuls who had failed to make the semifinals were selected by the judges to compete in the Wildcard round. In the third season, the judges eliminated four contestants from the Wildcard round before they had the opportunity to sing.

From season four and on, 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. The men and women would sing on sequential nights and the bottom two would be eliminated from each group on the results show until the top twelve finalists were left.

Finals

In the finals, which last eleven weeks, each finalist out of all of the contestants performed a song live in prime time from a weekly theme (two songs in later rounds) at CBS Television City in Los Angeles in front of a live studio audience. Themes have included Motown, disco, big band music, and Billboard #1 hits. Some themes are based on music recorded by a particular artist, and the finalists have a chance to work with that artist in preparing their performances. Artists around whom themes have been based include The Beatles, Billy Joel, Neil Sedaka, Mariah Carey, The Bee Gees, Barry Manilow, Rod Stewart, Gloria Estefan, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Neil Diamond, Queen, Bon Jovi, Dolly Parton, and Elvis Presley. Once in the top four and five, the contestants sing two songs each; once in the top three and finale, the contestants sing three songs each.

Following each performance episode, a results show airs that reveals the breakdown of the voting public's decision. The most popular contestants are not typically revealed (although they have been in very rare cases), but the bottom three least popular contestants are typically called to the center of the stage. From the bottom three, the bottom two are revealed, until finally the contestant who received the lowest amount of votes is eliminated from the competition. A montage of the contestant's experience is played and they give their final performance.

In the finale, one remaining contestant is declared the winner. Until the 2008 season, the stage was moved to the Kodak Theatre for the finale showdown, where the two remaining contestants perform for an audience of at least 3,400. In 2008, the venue was changed to the Nokia Theatre, which holds an audience of over 7,000. The winner is announced at the following results show. The winner receives a one million (US) dollar record deal with a major label, and is managed by American Idol-related 19 Management. In some cases, other finalists have also been signed by the show's management company (who has first option to sign contestants) and received record deals with its major label partner.

Season synopses

Season 1

Main article: American Idol (season 1)

The first season of American Idol debuted without hype as a summer replacement show in June 2002 on the Fox Broadcasting Company. Fox, along with other networks, initially rejected the show. However, Rupert Murdoch, head of Fox's parent company, was persuaded to buy the show by his daughter Elisabeth who was a fan of the British version.^[3] The show's co-hosts were Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman. Through word of mouth generated by the appeal of its contestants and the presence of acid-tongued British judge Simon Cowell, the show grew into a phenomenon. An estimated fifty million people watched the Season 1 finale in September 2002. Following such a success, the second season was moved to air the upcoming January. The number of episodes increased, as did the show's budget and the charge for commercial spots.

Winner Kelly Clarkson signed with RCA Records, the label in partnership with American Idol's 19 Management. Immediately post-finale, Clarkson released two singles, most notably the coronation song "A Moment Like This" which debuted at number 52, but marked the biggest jump in Billboard Hot 100 history when it shot to number one, breaking a record set by The Beatles. As part of the promotion planned for the show's first winner, the song had been pre-recorded ready to air on radio stations the day after the finale. (As such, a version of the song was also recorded by runner up Justin Guarini which remains unreleased.) Appearances on numerous entertainment/news shows followed, as did videos for the singles that began airing on MTV's TRL. Clarkson has subsequently had two successful albums: Thankful and Breakaway. She has several hit singles mostly from her more successful second album Breakaway. While her first album failed to sell outside of North America, her second was a global success and garnered two Grammy Awards in 2006 with 12 million albums sold worldwide. Her third album, My December as of November 5, 2008 has sold 777,200 domestically, and approximately over 2 million copies worldwide, and was certified Platinum in Canada and the United States.

The show inspired a 2003 musical film, From Justin to Kelly, featuring Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini. The musical love story, produced by American Idol's Simon Fuller, was filmed in Miami, Florida over a period of six weeks shortly after the season ended. Released several months later in June 2003, the film failed to make back its budget ^[4] during its short run in theatres and is often ranked among the worst movies ever made. A DVD with additional footage was released and the movie airs periodically in the U.S. and other countries.

Besides Clarkson and Guarini, also signed were Nikki McKibbin (3rd), Tamyra Gray (4th), R. J. Helton (5th), and Christina Christian (6th). It is the only year the runner-up did not release a single following the show's finale.

Runner-up Justin Guarini also signed with RCA Records. Contract restrictions required him to reject outside offers received and delay solo projects following the season finale, eventually debuting an album in 2003 after the conclusion of Season 2. RCA dropped him shortly after its debut. Guarini went on to form his own entertainment company, and independently produced a jazz album in 2005, with an album of soul/funk/jazz currently in production. He has also composed/performed music for various projects by other artists, continues to act in independent movies/short films/television, and is a host/commentator for the TV Guide Network. Nikki McKibbin signed with RCA, but quit because she refused to record a country album. She has since made appearances on various Reality TV shows and is working on her debut album. Tamyra Gray was signed to RCA, but was dropped before releasing an album. She then signed with Idol creator Simon Fuller's new label 19 Entertainment. Gray's self-written debut album was released in 2004. In 2005, she was also dropped by that label. She had a supporting role in the 2005 movie The Gospel, and limited guest runs in Broadway's "Bombay Dreams" and "Rent". R. J. Helton released a Christian album, but sales were lackluster. Ryan Starr had trouble getting out of her contract with RCA Records but managed to independently release a single, My Religion, which sold 360,000 downloads via iTunes. Her debut album was expected in 2007, but has yet to be released. Jim Verraros, who came out of the closet after being voted off American Idol, starred in an indie film and released a dance-pop album, charting a dance hit on Billboard. Christina Christian, EJay Day (tenth), and AJ Gil (eighth) have had little success after the show.

Starting September 30, 2006, the first season of American Idol was repackaged as "American Idol Rewind" and syndicated direct to stations in the US.

Season 2

Main article: American Idol (season 2)

In Season 2, Seacrest surfaced as the lone host. Dunkleman reportedly hated working on the show and the studio was dissatisfied with his performance. Kristin Holt was originally announced to be added to the show as a co-host to Ryan Seacrest,^[5] but upon airing, she was introduced as a special correspondent with all of the takes with her acting as a host cut out of the first few shows. This time, Ruben Studdard emerged as the winner with Clay Aiken as runner-up. Out of 24 million votes recorded, Studdard finished 130,000 votes ahead of Aiken. There was discussion in the communication industry about the phone system being overloaded, and that more than 150 million votes were dropped, making the voting suspect.^[6] Since then, the voting methods have been modified to avoid this problem.

In an interview prior to the fifth season, a statement by executive producer Nigel Lythgoe suggested that Aiken had led the fan voting from the wild card week onward until the finale.^[7] Clay Aiken became the first American Idol non-winning contestant to have a U.S. Hot 100 number-one with "This Is the Night", written by British songwriter Chris Braide with Gary Burr and Aldo Nova. Studdard and Aiken both released albums in the fall/winter of 2003, 2004 and 2006. Third place finalist Kimberley Locke's debut album, One Love was released in 2004. Her second album, Based on a True Story, was released in May 2007.

Fourth-place finisher and former Marine Josh Gracin became a country artist. His first album spawned three charted singles, including the number-one U.S. country song, "Nothing to Lose". He is signed with Lyric Street Records.

Sixth-place finisher Carmen Rasmusen signed with independent country record label Lofton Creek Records, and released her debut album and a single in 2007.

After a strong showing during the early stages of auditions, contestant Frenchie Davis was disqualified from the competition when topless photos of her surfaced on the internet. Shortly afterwards she landed a role in the Broadway musical Rent, and continues to work on Broadway.

During the course of the contest, Studdard became known for wearing 205 Flava jerseys representing his area code. Shortly after the end of the contest, Studdard sued 205 Flava, Inc. for $2 million for using his image for promotional purposes. Flava responded by alleging that Studdard had accepted over $10,000 in return for wearing 205 shirts, and produced eight cashed checks to validate their claim. The allegations, if true, indicate a clear violation of the American Idol rules.^[8] The lawsuit was settled out of court.^[9]

Rumor mills concerning Season Two contestants buzzed again when, in 2006, contestant Corey Clark (who producers kicked off the show because of him not disclosing a police record) alleged that he and judge Paula Abdul had an affair while he was on the show and that this contributed to his removal. Clark also alleged that Abdul gave him preferential treatment on the show because of their alleged romance. A subsequent investigation by an independent counsel hired by Fox "could not corroborate the evidence or allegations provided by Mr. Clark or any witnesses".^[10]

American Idol Rewind started re-airing this season in the fall of 2007.

• Neither of the bottom 2 was eliminated on the April 1 results show due to the disqualification of Corey Clark.

Season 3

Main article: American Idol (season 3)

The third season of American Idol premiered on January 19, 2004. American idol was ranked by Forbes as the most successful show of all reality Television shows. By the end of its third season, the network profited more than $260,000,000.^[11] The winner of this season of American Idol was Fantasia Barrino, later known professionally as simply "Fantasia," and the runner-up was Diana DeGarmo. This was also the season that Golden Globe Award- and Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson was discovered.

During the audition process Matt Gamble of Philadelphia, PA was the first prospective contestant to ever be arrested for their actions during their audition. Gamble finished his performance of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" and was told he did not make it to Hollywood. He then became belligerent and started tearing the set apart. He shouted obscenities at the judges while ripping down lighting rigs and knocking over the judges' table. He was finally restrained by security and the authorities were called to take him away. No one was injured but the judges were visibly rattled and had to take a break from the process for a few hours.

The early part of the season introduced William Hung, a UC Berkeley student, who received widespread attention following his off-key rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs." His performance, as well as his positive attitude facing Simon's criticisms (a stark contrast to other hopeful contestants' confrontational, angry reactions), landed him a record deal with Koch Entertainment and made him over $500,000 in record sales. He also starred in a Cingular Wireless commercial with host Ryan Seacrest.

During the season, controversy over the legitimacy of the contest increased as rocker Jon Peter Lewis and young crooner John Stevens stayed afloat while others, such as Jennifer Hudson, who had become a favorite to win,^[12] were unexpectedly eliminated. Jasmine Trias, despite negative comments from Simon Cowell over her later performances, survived elimination and took the third spot over La Toya London. Trias later released a CD and attracted fans in her home state of Hawaii, the Philippines, Singapore, Guam and other South East Asian countries. The third season was also shown in Australia on Network Ten about half a week after episodes were shown in the U.S.

After a nationwide vote of more than 65 million votes in total - more than the first two seasons combined - Fantasia Barrino won the American Idol title over runner-up Diana DeGarmo. She released her first single in June 2004 on the RCA record label. The single included "I Believe" – cowritten by former Idol contestant Tamyra Gray (who also sang backup) – which Fantasia performed on the finale of Idol, the Aretha Franklin hit "Chain of Fools" (released before on an American Idol compilation), and her signature version of "Summertime". The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #1, making Fantasia the first artist in the history of Billboard to debut at number one with their first single.^[13][14] The song remained at the number one for one week (it topped the sales chart for 11 weeks in the US and 10 weeks in Canada). Fantasia's CD, I Believe, went on to become the top selling single of 2004 in the U.S. and has since been certified double platinum by the CRIA and received 3 Billboard Music Awards. In 2006, she received 4 Grammy nominations for her double platinum debut album Free Yourself.

Sales of Diana DeGarmo's first CD, Blue Skies, suffered partly from a lack of promotion by RCA. DeGarmo eventually asked to be released from her RCA record contract. She received a role in the Broadway production of Hairspray, where she played the part of Penny Pingleton from February 7 May 21 to positive reviews. DeGarmo then starred with Melba Moore in the national tour of Brooklyn the Musical through mid-August. On September 8, she returned to the Broadway production of Hairspray to once again assume the role of Penny Pingleton for a six month period. DeGarmo is also working independently on a second album while performing in the musicals. She recently appeared on the CMT reality show Gone Country.

Jasmine Trias signed with an independent label. Although she has failed to achieve commercial success in the mainland USA, she has become a major celebrity in other countries, such as the Philippines and Japan, where she is signed with Universal Records.

La Toya London signed with Peak Records and released an R&B/soul album, "Love & Life," selling 55,000 copies. Her single, "Appreciate/Every Part of Me/All by Myself," charted at number 8 on the Billboard Singles Sales Chart, and her songs, "Appreciate," "Every Part of Me," and "State of My Heart," all received moderate success on urban and adult contemporary radio. She starred in the Los Angeles revival of the retro-musical, "Beehive," and also starred with Angie Stone and Kim Fields in the tour of the play, "Issues: We All Got 'Em." London played the role of Nettie in the touring production of the Broadway musical, The Color Purple, which began with an extended run in Chicago, Illinois in April, 2007. The musical also starred Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child.

George Huff signed with Word Records to release a gospel album and has since had mild success in that genre. John Stevens landed a deal with Maverick Records but was dropped due to low album sales.

Jennifer Hudson starred alongside Beyoncé Knowles and Jamie Foxx in the 2006 feature film Dreamgirls and won several honors and awards, including a Golden Globe for her performance and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film, which also won the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Comedy or Musical), sold 8.8 million dollars worth of tickets to claim the top spot at the box office on its first day in wide theatrical release, which was the single highest daily gross for a musical in motion picture history. The soundtrack to Dreamgirls, featuring Hudson's acclaimed version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," reached Number One on the Billboard Top 200 album chart on January 10, 2007, after five weeks in release. Her latest picture, the hit movie Sex and the City, based on the television series, went on to the number one spot at the box office grossing more than 57 million dollars its first weekend. Hudson played a secretary for Sarah Jessica Parker's character, looking for love. Hudson, who signed a recording contract with Clive Davis' Arista label in late 2006, is expected to release her debut album in September 2008.

Camile Velasco returned to the Philippines in December 2004 after 17 years for a whirlwind tour of television appearances and a concert with Martin Nievera. In 2005, she signed to Motown Records, but left the label after a lack of promotion for her first single. Camile performed at several concerts in Hawaii, California and Illinois, maintaining her ambition to become an artist. In 2006, she appeared in a Black Eyed Peas video and performed in Hawaii, California, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and the Philippines. Camile is now writing and producing her own songs on Up Above Records.

In May 2005, Telescope announced that the third season had a total of approximately 360 million votes.

Season 4

Main article: American Idol (season 4)

The fourth season of American Idol premiered on January 18, 2005. It was the first season in which the age limit was raised to 28, in order to increase variety. All Season 4 contestants had to be between the ages of 16 and 28 on August 4, 2004, born on or between August 5, 1975 and August 4, 1988.^[15][16] Among those who benefited from this new rule were Constantine Maroulis (born September 17, 1975) and Bo Bice (born November 1, 1975), considered to be the eldest and somewhat most experienced of the season's Idol contestants. They were also constantly mentioned by Seacrest and in the media as "the two rockers", since their long hair and choice of rock songs made them stand out from conventional Idol standards. The presence of more rock-oriented contestants continued with Chris Daughtry^[17] in Season 5, who was inspired to audition for the show by Bice.

This season also implemented new rules for the final portion of the contest. Instead of competing in semi-final heats in which the top vote-getters are promoted to the final round, 24 semi-finalists were named; 12 men and 12 women, who competed separately, with 2 of each gender being voted off each week until 12 finalists were left.

Mario Vazquez, who was originally one of the top 12, dropped out of the competition on March 11, just days before the top 12's first performance, citing "personal issues", opening a spot in the final 12 for Nikko Smith (son of Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith), who had been voted off in the semi-finals the previous week.

The winner was Carrie Underwood, a country singer. Carrie Underwood's first single, "Inside Your Heaven", was released on June 14, 2005. The single debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with first-week sales of 170,000 copies, and briefly stopped Mariah Carey's run at #1 with "We Belong Together". One week later, runner-up Bo Bice released his version of the song, which debuted at #2. The B-side of Underwood's CD was "Independence Day", a cover of the Martina McBride hit. On November 15, 2005, Carrie released her debut album, Some Hearts, which both debuted and peaked at #2 on Billboard. Underwood's first single, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was made available for radio airplay on October 18, 2005. The single also debuted at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 where it peaked at #20.

Bo Bice's first single "The Real Thing" has appeared on American Top 40 radio. Although Bice's sales did not match that of Underwood, he stands as the third-most successful recording artist to not win the American Idol title with RIAA platinum status. Third-place contestant Vonzell Solomon landed a role in a film, Still Green and a single on a Christmas album. Fourth-place contestant Anthony Fedorov has appeared in television shows such as Fear Factor, where he competed with Season 2 contestant Carmen Rasmusen, winning second place, and has finished taping several episodes for a new MTV show to air in the fall. Federov will be performing in The Fantasticks on off-Broadway May through July 2007. Sixth-place contestant Constantine Maroulis has redone his rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" for a Queen tribute album, and released his first full-length solo album in 2007. Since August 2006, Maroulis has appeared in the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer and the now closed off-broadway play Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris and has appeared on CBS' The Bold & the Beautiful. Seventh-place contestant Anwar Robinson has released his self-titled EP on an independent label. Twelfth-place contestant Lindsey Cardinale's first single, "Nothing Like A Dream", was released in March 2006.

In May 2005, Telescope announced that the fourth season had a total of approximately 500 million votes.

On February 11, 2007, Carrie Underwood became the first winner of American Idol to sweep all three major music awards (American Music, Billboard, and Grammy Awards) in a single season (for 2006-07).

• None of the bottom 3 on the April 20 results show were sent back to safety before the elimination announcement.

Season 5

Main article: American Idol (season 5)

The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006; this was the first season of the series to be aired in high definition. It remains highest-rated season in the show's run so far. Auditions were in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco, with Greensboro, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada included after the cancellation of the Memphis auditions due to Hurricane Katrina. The season used the same rules as Season 4.^[18][19]

Taylor Hicks was named American Idol on May 24, 2006; he was the fourth contestant to never fall into any week's "bottom three". His first post-Idol single, "Do I Make You Proud", would debut at #1 and be certified gold.^[20] Hicks' album, Taylor Hicks, has sold 702,000 copies to date.

On May 30, 2006, Telescope announced that a total of 63.5 million votes were cast in the finale round. A total of 580 million votes were cast in the entire season.^[21] Taylor Hicks is the second American Idol winner from the city of Birmingham, Alabama (the first being Ruben Studdard), and the fourth finalist with close ties to the city.

The fifth-season contestant with the most commercial success is fourth-place finisher Chris Daughtry, now lead singer of the band Daughtry. Their eponymous debut album has sold over 5 million copies to date - surpassing former winners Studdard and Fantasia's respective two-album totals - and produced two top-ten singles. The album, which spent two weeks at #1 in the US, is also the fastest-selling debut rock album in Soundscan history.^[22]

As of November 2008: Runner-up Katharine McPhee's debut album has sold 374,000 copies; she has two Top 40 Billboard hits. Also notable: sixth-place finisher Kellie Pickler, whose Small Town Girl reached #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and has sold over 795,000 copies. Third-place finisher Elliott Yamin's eponymous debut album was certified gold and produced a platinum-selling single. Eighth-place finisher Bucky Covington's self-titled debut album has sold 384,000 copies and generated a top 20 and two top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Ninth-place finisher Mandisa's True Beauty album earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album in 2007.

• None of the bottom 3 on the April 12 results show were sent back to safety before the elimination announcement.

Season 6

Main article: American Idol (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.^[23] Jordin Sparks was declared the winner on May 23, 2007, at 10:05 EST, with a new record of 74 million votes in the finale against runner-up Blake Lewis.

Teenager Sanjaya Malakar was the season's most polarizing and talked about American Idol contestant,^[24][25] as he continued to survive elimination for several weeks. The weblog Vote for the Worst and satellite radio personality Howard Stern both encouraged fans to vote for Sanjaya. However, on April 18, after over 38 million votes, Sanjaya was voted off.

The season was also notable for featuring the first female rock-orientated contestant, Gina Glocksen (although Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson developed a more rock-oriented style on her second and third albums).

The Top 6 singers performed inspirational music as a part of the first ever "Idol Gives Back" telethon-inspired event which raised more than $60 million in corporate and viewer donations.^[26] None of the singers were eliminated, and the votes from that week were added to the votes from the following week to eliminate two singers. Both weeks saw a two-hour extension of the regular two-hour voting window, and in the end, with a two-week total of over 135 million votes, Chris Richardson and Phil Stacey were eliminated. The next week, Lakisha Jones was sent packing after 45 million votes were cast, a result Simon had successfully predicted. Then, in the top 3, Melinda Doolittle, a frontrunner of the show, was ousted after nearly 60 million votes, despite predictions from Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell that she should be in the finale.

A little over a month earlier, the show had launched the American Idol Songwriter contest which enabled fans to select the "coronation song" to be performed by whichever two contestants made it to the finale. In the songwriting contest, amateur songwriters were able to submit original songs they had written and recorded. A selection committee headed by Idol creator Simon Fuller then narrowed thousands of submissions down to twenty finalists. With "one online vote per fan," fans were able to listen to snippets from each song and rate them. When the ratings were tallied, the winning song was the ballad "This is My Now" co-written by Scott Krippayne and Jeff Peabody.

In the finale, both Jordin and Blake started the night off strong. However, the final song of the night was "This is My Now," the winner of the American Idol Songwriter contest. Since the song had been specifically written for the American Idol finale, neither contestant was allowed much flexibility to make it their own. Some fans complained that this song was written in Jordin's style of singing which would give her an advantange over Blake. In fact, the next night, Simon predicted that Jordin would win purely on this final song. At the end of the episode, Ryan confirmed both Randy's and Simon's predictions announcing Jordin Sparks the Season 6 winner of American Idol, after approximately 74 million votes.

Jordin Sparks first non American Idol single was the top hit (peaking at #8) Tattoo, which received platinum certification. Blake Lewis's single was Break Anotha!, which failed to chart the Billboard Hot 100.

Jordin's second single is the Billboard Hot 100 #3 hit No Air with Chris Brown. The song went to #1 in several countries, and also topped Billboard's Pop Airplay chart. The song had been certified platinum in April but recently passed the 2.5 million copies mark. The song peaked at #2 on Billboard's Pop chart, and became the biggest #2 ever (in terms of bullet). Jordin recently released a third single off her album, One Step At A Time, which has peaked at #17. Making Jordin the only American Idol contestant EVER to have their first 4 singles become a Top 20 Hit. One Step at a Time has so far sold 1 million copies so far and is certified platinum.

Blake's second single "How Many Words" also failed to chart the Billboard hot 100, peaking only at 25 in the Bubbling Under chart (hot 100 equivalent = 125). Shortly afterward, Blake confirmed that he had been dropped by Arista records. His album sales are just over 300,000. The drop also canceled Blake's apparent plans for a third single release.

Phil Stacey, tied for fifth place with Chris Richardson, is now signed to Lyric Street and has released his first single If You Didn't Love Me. Tenth place finalist Chris Sligh recently released a Christian album after signing with Brash Music.

This season of American Idol produced two Top 3 contestants that were never in bottom 2 or 3, Jordin Sparks (the Season 6 winner) and Melinda Doolittle (third place). They are joined by Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks as Top 3 contestants never to have been in the bottom 2 or 3.

Jordin recently signed a deal for a clothing line with Wet Seal. Wet Seal has stated in an interview that Jordin is the perfect teenage role model that kids look up to. The clothing line was released on November 19, 2008 and has sold astonishingly over 5 million dollars of merchandise. With each outfit costing about 50 dollars.

• On the March 21 results show, only the bottom two were announced.
• From the Final 6 onward, only the names of the eliminated contestants were announced, with no mention of a bottom three or two.

Season 7

Main article: American Idol (season 7)

American Idol returned for its seventh season on January 15, 2008^[27] for a two day, four hour premiere. David Cook was announced the winner of American Idol season 7 on May 21, 2008, with a record breaking 56% of the 97.5 million votes. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe revealed small changes for the show upon its return in 2008. It was reported that more attention would be paid to who the contestants are, where they come from, and why fans should care to vote for them. Still, the executive producer owns up to the fact that season 6 took the focus away from the contestants, their backgrounds and their talent, and it needs to get back on track.^[28]

As the return of American Idol drew close a former contestant spoke out about the show's credibility. Season 5 sensation Chris Daughtry was quoted saying "I feel like it's definitely lacking some credibility at this point. I'm sure that it will be used against me, but that's the truth."

On March 11, 2008, American Idol debuted a new state-of-the-art set and stage, along with a new on-air look. The two-night season finale, as announced by Seacrest, was broadcasted live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles last May 20 and 21.

Idol Gives Back raised more than $75 million in 2007 for underprivileged children, and returned on April 9, 2008. It is said that the revenue earned from the April 9, 2008 event is comparable to the amount raised in 2007 and will be distributed by the Idol Gives Back Foundation.^[29]

Former Season 2 contestant Clay Aiken, also 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. Aiken stated that the contestants are "increasingly more experienced than ever before".^[30] This season many of the finalists had previously been involved in record deals or have even released solo albums as noted below.

The media has noted that several of the semi-finalists have previously had record deals, including Kristy Lee Cook, Brooke White, Michael Johns, and Carly Smithson. (Eventual winner 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.

This season of American Idol produced two Top 3 contestants that were never in bottom 2 or 3, David Archuleta and David Cook. They will join Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, and Melinda Doolittle as the Top 3 contestants to never have been in the bottom 3 or 2. David Archuleta and Clay Aiken are the only runner-ups to have never been in the bottom 2 or 3. This season's finale was also the first time in the show's history where neither one of the Top 2 were ever in the bottom 3. Cook, who became known for his rock-oriented cover versions, most of which he arranged himself, was also the first 'rocker' to win the show.

David Archuleta signed with Jive Records and his self-titled debut album was released on November 11, 2008. Archuleta's first single "Crush" debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Digital Songs chart, giving it the highest single debut of 2008. The song has sold over 1,000,000 copies to date, making it one of the most successful singles ever from an Idol runner up.

David Cook's debut album will be released on November 18, 2008 on 19 Recordings / RCA Records. Cook has teamed with Grammy winning producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Kid Rock) on the album. A single for the album, "Light On" has been released.^[31]

¹ None of the bottom 3 on the April 10 results show was sent back to safety before the elimination announcement.
² From the Final 5 onward, only the names of the eliminated contestants were announced, with no mention of a bottom three or two.

Season 8

Main article: American Idol (season 8)

The eighth season of American Idol will begin on January 13, 2009. Auditions began July 17. It has been revealed that this season will feature fewer drawn-out audition episodes and more half-hour result shows.^[32] Mike Darnell, the president of Fox's alternative programming, stated that this season the contestants will be more emotional and viewers will see more of their reality and emotional state.^[33] Also this season will have a fourth judge on the panel: record producer and songwriter Kara DioGuardi.^[34]

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.^[35]

The audition schedule was as follows:^[36]

¹The Cow Palace, the site of the San Francisco auditions, is actually in Daly City, California.
²The Jobing.com Arena, the site of the Phoenix, Arizona auditions, is actually in Glendale, Arizona.

Media sponsorship

American Idol is often noted for advertising its sponsors during the show's runtime. Being the number-one-rated show in the United States, it costs around $700,000 for a 30-second commercial.^[37]

Apple iTunes has joined as a Season 7 major sponsor in the U.S., and Ryan Seacrest notes during the program that all performances are available via iTunes. Video is regularly shown of contestants learning their songs by rehearsing with iPods. Coca-Cola is a major sponsor in the U.S., and all the judges, hosts, and contestants are seen consuming beverages out of cups bearing the Coca-Cola logo, although video evidence suggests there is actually no beverage in the judges' cups at all.^[38] The sponsorship also depicts contestants and host Seacrest gathering for a "Keeping it Real" segment between songs in the "Coca-Cola Red Room," the show's equivalent to the traditional green room. (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 footage of this meeting is shown at the start of the following Tuesday's performance show. The red room was removed in Season 7 at the beginning of the top 12 when American Idol switched to a new stage. Highlights of the show were also featured on the official American Idol web site with a Coca-Cola logo surrounding them.^[39]

Text voting is made possible by AT&T Mobility, formerly Cingular Wireless. AT&T created an ad campaign that centered around an air-headed teenager going around telling people to vote. This kind of branding to American Idol enabled AT&T to become the favored system to vote for many Americans (Jenkins 87).

Kellogg and Pop-Tarts are also two major sponsors, especially of the cast tour that follows the end of every season.^[40] Products from the Ford Motor Company also receive prominent product placement; contestants appear in Ford commercials on the results shows, and the final two of Seasons 4, 5 and 6 each won free Mustangs. Previous contestants Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Hicks have also been tapped to do commercials for Ford. Also, in the top 24's studio, in the red room there is a glass table with a Ford tire inside of it. The camera routinely captures the logo. Carrie Underwood previously did commercials for various chocolate brands. Jordin Sparks, the winner of the sixth installment of 'Idol', filmed a commercial promoting the new "American Idol Experience" section of the Florida theme park, Disneyworld.

Contestants will occasionally don Old Navy clothing during performances,^[40] and celebrity stylist Steven Cojocaru appeared in two previous seasons to assist contestants with picking out wardrobe pieces from Old Navy. Clairol hair care products also sponsors the show, with contestants usually getting Clairol-guided hair makeovers after the first two or three episodes during the round of 12.^[40]

Controversy

Main article: American Idol controversy

• American Idol has come under fire for maintaining what some claim to be total control of the careers of the winners of the contest. Former co-host Brian Dunkleman referred to the show as "owning" the winning contestants, noting that winners sign contracts to only record with companies owned by the show's producers and to allow related agencies to manage their careers.
• During season three, controversy arose at the poor showing during the semi-finals of three highly praised African American contestants, Jennifer Hudson, LaToya London and Fantasia Barrino - collectively known during that season as the 'Three Divas'. After the surprise elimination of Hudson, Sir Elton John, who was a guest judge for that season criticized the vote as 'incredibly racist' in a press conference.^[41] The elimination of both Hudson and London relatively early in the competition has been pointed out as a classic demonstration of vote splitting in the American idol vote.^[42] However, it should also be noted that Fantasia went on to win that season of American Idol.
• Since the 2004 season, American Idol producers have battled online community services such as the websites DialIdol.com, Worldsentiment.com, and VotefortheWorst.com. DialIdol predicts which contestants may be voted off or are in danger of being voted off based on the percentage of times an automatic dialer encounters a busy signal for each contestant; Worldsentiment uses very large samplings and algorithms to predict the outcome of the vote-off; and VotefortheWorst exhorts viewers to vote for what the site deems to be the worst contestant, rather than the best. Some in the media have implied that Las Vegas odds makers exert behind-the-scenes influence in protecting the services.^[43][44]
• Season 7 contestant Carly Smithson has stirred up controversy due to a prior major label record deal she had with MCA Records. It had been reported that MCA spent over 2 million dollars promoting Smithson's previous album "Ultimate High", which she made under the name Carly Hennessy, due to an article's misprint. The album sold 378 copies, but is now available on iTunes. To further complicate things, Randy Jackson worked for MCA during the same period of time that Smithson was signed, and was part of the team that signed her to MCA. The show made no mention of this deal. In addition, contestants Michael Johns and Kristy Lee Cook were also represented by a major record label at one time and have made albums. ^[45][46] Contestant Robbie Carrico was formerly a member of the group Boyz N Girlz United, who had a minor hit in 2000 with the single "Messed Around", as well as opening for Britney Spears in 1999.^[47] This new information raises questions as to whether this year's contestants can be considered "amateur", noting their prior work within the entertainment industry. According to a poll by AOL Television, 63 percent of those polled believed that contestants who have already had record deals should not be contestants on American Idol.^[48]
• In the April 20, 2008 edition of Celebrity Fit Club, Brian Dunkleman made claims that he was not fired from American Idol and he was going to break his silence at that point. With that he made the claims that he left the show "because those kids (the contestants) were not treated in the right way". He then went on to say that leaving American Idol was the biggest mistake of his life.
• Judge Paula Abdul caused controversy on Season 7, top 5 performance night when she slipped up, commenting on two performances when only one was shown. This has been cited by many as proof of American Idol's scripted nature. However, it was reported on the next night that Abdul had listened to some of the contestants' rehearsals and had gotten confused due to the rushed nature of that performance night.
• Judge Simon Cowell stirred up quite a bit of controversy on the night of Dolly Parton tribute week in American Idol (season 7). The first performance of night was sung by Brooke White. When it came to Cowell's time to judge, in a way, he insulted the Idol band's violinist that was down on the stage with White. Later on in the show, contestant Carly Smithson was noted to have one of the best performances that night. However, in a shocking statement that was said by Cowell himself, he commented Smithson on the fact that he "doesn't like how she looks or what she wears" instead of commenting on the performance. The comment about Smithson blew up all over the Internet and upset many Idol fans and Carly Smithson fans worldwide. Cowell later apologized the next day on the results show.

Television ratings

U.S.

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of American Idol on FOX.

Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Unlike most successful television programs, past and present, American Idol has maintained and even grown its audience numbers beyond its first few seasons.

A growing number of television executives have begun to regard American Idol as a programming force unlike any seen before. Jeff Zucker, the new chief executive of NBC Universal, said, “I think Idol is the most impactful show in the history of television.”^[62]

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. As a result, competing networks—whose personnel call the show "the Death Star"^[1]—have often rearranged their schedules in order to minimize losses. Conversely, FOX has used American Idol to help promote other programs on its schedule.^[62]

Season Six: On the season finale of the sixth season, the ratings of American Idol saw a drop of 19%^[63] 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 Jordin Sparks was declared the winner of Idol.^[64]

Season Seven coincided with the 2007–2008 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).^[65] However, the ratings decline continued into season seven, starting with the premiere which was down 11% among total viewers and 13% among adults ages 18 to 49 from last year.^[66] 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.^[67] Overall, ratings for the seventh season were down 10% from last season.^[68] General attrition of television audiences was the primary reason cited for this ratings decline.

International

American Idol is broadcast to over 100 nations outside of the United States; however, these aren't live broadcasts and may be tape delayed by several days or weeks (excluding Australia (most episodes), Canada, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates, where episodes are also aired live). In those instances, the shows are combined into one episode to summarize the results. Australia airs episodes just 5 hours after their US showing and the UK airs episodes 2 days after their US showing on digital channel ITV2. It is also aired in Ireland on TV3 Ireland 2 days after the showing. In Brazil, the show airs 8 days after the showing in the United States.

Currently American Idol is televised on TVNZ in New Zealand, Fox in the United States, CTV in Canada, MNET Series in South Africa, FOX8 in Australia, ITV2 in the UK, Global TV in Indonesia, TV3 Ireland in Ireland, Star World in several parts of Asia, aTV World in Hong Kong, QTV11 in the Philippines, TV3 Viasat in Denmark, TV4 in Sweden and on TV2 in Hungary.

The seventh season of American Idol is exclusively being broadcast direct to Australia via satellite on FOX8.

It also airs in Matamoros, Mexico in English because that market has a Fox affiliate that serve a US market. The broadcast is live, as it is in the Central time zone on XHRIO.

Top-selling American Idol alumni

Main article: Top-selling American Idol alumni

Major award–winning American Idol alumni

Further information: List of awards and nominations for American Idol contestants

On a detailed note, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood are the only two Idols to win at all three of these major music awards shows. Carrie Underwood is the only Idol to sweep up honors at all these awards ceremonies in the same season (2006-2007) (2007-2008), and the only Idol to win Best New Artist at the Grammys. Kelly Clarkson is the only Idol who has received a Grammy Award for an album, as opposed to new artist of the year. Jennifer Hudson is the only Idol to be nominated for and to win an Academy Award. She won the Best Supporting Actress category in February 2007 for her performance as 'Effie' in the hit film Dreamgirls, based on the musical of the same name.

American Idol Hot 100 singles

Main article: American Idol Hot 100 singles

American Idol video games

• American Idol - PlayStation 2, personal computer, Game Boy Advance, mobile phone
• Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol - PlayStation 2
• 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

Spin-offs

• The Next Great American Band^[69]
• American Juniors
• American Idol Rewind
• American Idol Extra
• An American Idol Christmas
• From Justin to Kelly

Theme park attraction

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. The show will be co-produced by 19 Entertainment. Set to open in January 2009, park guests will be able to audition and possibly perform in the live show. Winners will be selected by a combination of audience vote and input from a panel of judges, although the exact format has yet to be decided. Winners each day will have the chance to audition for the real TV series.^[70]

See also

References

External links

• American Idol Official Website (owned by Fox Interactive Media)
• TVWeek.com Producer Shop Talk With Exec Producer Nigel Lythgoe
• homepage

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