List of Idols winners

Countries that have their own versions of Idols. Countries that film their own versions are in blue, while those that take part in a series with other countries are in green

Two hundred four artists have won the television series Idols, a reality singing competition adapted in forty-six regions. The series, originally created by British television executive Simon Fuller as Pop Idol, aims to find the most outstanding independent solo singer. Through mass auditions, a group of semi-finalists is selected by a panel of judges based on their performances. The finalists are then selected amongst a group of semi-finalists by the television audiences and the judges (through wildcard rounds), with the finalist receiving the most number of votes by the television audiences in their weekly performance being declared the winner.

Each winner is given a recording contract, a monetary prize, and a title as that nation's Idol, SuperStar or Star. The first winner of the format was Will Young of the United Kingdom in 2002 and the most recent was Hazem Shareef of Syria on 13 December 2014. Two winners of the series were also able to win for another regional title: Kurt Nilsen of Norway also won World Idol in 2003, and Hady Mirza of Singapore also won Asian Idol in 2007. In addition, Jason Hartman and Sasha-Lee Davids of South Africa were the only two finalists to be declared as co-winners of the format.

Winning the Idols series provides a unique opportunity for the winning artist(s) to launch or further their music careers, due to the surrounding publicity and the recording contract offerings. However, only a few of them have managed to further their international careers. The most notable winner of the series was Kelly Clarkson of the United States, who has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. Other notable winning artists who also have managed to chart internationally include Agnes Carlsson of Sweden, Alexander Klaws of Germany, Nilsen of Norway, Guy Sebastian of Australia, Carrie Underwood of the United States, and Young of the United Kingdom.

Winners

National versions

Region Series title
(alternative title)
Winner
Armenia Hay Superstar
(Հայ Սուպերսթար)
  • Season 1 (2003): Susanna Petrosyan
  • Season 2 (2006–07): Lusine Aghabekyan
  • Season 3 (2008): Lusi Harutunyan
  • Season 4 (2009–10): Raffi Ohanian
  • Season 5 (2011–12): Sona Rubenyan
Australia Australian Idol
Bangladesh Bangladeshi Idol
  • Season 1 (2013): Mong Uching Marma
Belgium Idool
Brazil Ídolos
Bulgaria1 Music Idol
Cambodia Cambodian Idol
(តារាកម្ពុជា)
  • Season 1 (2015): Upcoming season
Canada Canadian Idol
China2 Zhōngguó Mèng Zhī Shēng Chinese Idol
(中國夢之聲 Chinese Idol)
  • Season 1 (2013): XiangXiang "Sean" Li
  • Season 2 (2014): Sinkey Zheng
Colombia Idol Colombia
  • Season 1 (2014): Luis Ángel Racini
Croatia Hrvatski Idol
Hrvatska traži Zvijezdu
Czech Republic Česko hledá SuperStar
Denmark Idols
Estonia Eesti otsib superstaari
Finland Idols
France3 Nouvelle Star
(A la Recherche de la Nouvelle Star)
Georgia Geostar
(ჯეოსტარი)
  • Season 1 (2006): Tiko Chulukhadze
  • Season 2 (2007): Ani Kekua
  • Season 3 (2008): Giorgi Sukhitashvili
  • Season 4 (2009): Nodiko Tatishvili
  • Season 5 (2010): Otar Nemsadze
  • Season 6 (2011): Marita Rokhvadze
Saqartvelos Varskvlavi
(საქართველოს ვარსკვლავი)
  • Season 1 (2012): Luka Zakariadze
  • Season 2 (2013): Nina Sublati
Germany4 Deutschland sucht den SuperStar
Greece5 Super Idol
Greek Idol
Iceland Idol Stjörnuleit
India Indian Idol
Indonesia Indonesian Idol
Kazakhstan SuperStar KZ
Macedonia Macedonian Idol
Malaysia Malaysian Idol
Netherlands Idols
New Zealand NZ Idol
Nigeria Nigerian Idol
  • Season 1 (2010–11): Yeka Onka
  • Season 2 (2011–12): Chinwo "Mercy" Nnenda
  • Season 3 (2012–13): Moses Obi-Adigwe
  • Season 4 (2014): Zibili Evelyn "Evelle" Ibhade
  • Season 5 (2015): Upcoming season
Norway Idol
Pakistan Pakistan Idol
  • Season 1 (2013): Zamad Baig
Philippines Philippine Idol
Pinoy Idol
Poland Idol
Portugal Ídolos
Puerto Rico Idol Puerto Rico
Russia6 Narodniy Artist
(Народный Артист)
Serbia and Montenegro Idol
(Идол)
Singapore Singapore Idol
Slovakia Slovensko hľadá SuperStar
South Africa Idols
Idols
(Idols Afrikaans)
Sweden Idol
Turkey Turkstar
  • Season 1 (2004): Emrah Keskin
United Kingdom Pop Idol
United States6 American Idol
Vietnam Vietnam Idol
(Thần Tượng Âm Nhạc: Vietnam Idol, season 1-4
Thần Tượng Âm Nhạc Việt Nam, season 5)

Multinational versions

Region Series title
(alternative title)
Winner
Arab states8 SuperStar
(سوبر ستار)
Arab Idol
Czech Republic and Slovakia SuperStar
(Česko Slovenská Superstar)
East Africa9 Idols
Latin America9 Latin American Idol
Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia Idol
(Идол)
West Africa11 Idols

Junior competitions

Region Series title Winner
Brazil Ídolos Kids
  • Season 1 (2012): Fernando Franco
  • Season 2 (2013): Julia Tavares
Germany Deutschland sucht den Superstar Kids
India Indian Idol Junior
  • Season 1 (2013): Anjana Padmanabhan
Indonesia Indonesian Idol Junior
  • Season 1 (2014): Johannes Tinambunan
Norway Idol Jr
  • Season 1 (2014): Mathilde Spurkeland
Portugal Ídolos Kids
  • Season 1 (2012): Ana Baptista
Puerto Rico Idol Kids Puerto Rico

Winner competitions

Region Series title Winner
Asia12 Asian Idol
World13 World Idol

Notes

  1. ^ Citizens of Macedonia were eligible to participate in the first season.
  2. ^ Citizens of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are eligible to participate throughout the series.
  3. ^ Citizens of Wallonia and Québec were eligible to participate in the first season.
  4. ^ Citizens of Austria and Switzerland are eligible to participate throughout the series.
  5. ^ Citizens of Cyprus were eligible to participate in Super Idol.
  6. ^ Citizens of Belarus and Ukraine were eligible to participate in the first and second season.
  7. ^ Citizens of Puerto Rico were eligible to participate in the eighth season.
  8. ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include all the member states of the Arab League.
  9. ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include: Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion (a part of France), Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
  10. ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include all of the Latin American countries, with the exception of Brazil.
  11. ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
  12. ^ Winners of Indian Idol, Indonesian Idol, Malaysian Idol, Philippine Idol, Singapore Idol, SuperStar KZ, and Vietnam Idol participated in Asian Idol, in which the winner was determined the greatest percentage of votes.
  13. ^ Winners of inaugural seasons of American Idol, Australian Idol, Canadian Idol, Deutschland sucht den Superstar, Idool, Idols (Dutch version), Idols (South African version), Idol (Polish version), Idol (Norwegian version), Pop Idol, and SuperStar (Arab version) participated in World Idol, in which the winner was determined by the most collective points given by each of the other participating countries (similar to the Eurovision Song Contest).