American Idol

American Idol (also known as American Idol: The Search for a Superstar) is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment, which began airing on Fox on June 11, 2002. Part of the Idol franchise, it is a spin-off from the UK show Pop Idol. The concept of the series is to find new solo recording artists, and has since become one of the most popular in the history of American television. As of January 2011, it is the most-watched TV series in the Nielsen ratings and is the only program to have been number one for six consecutive seasons, surpassing All in the Family and The Cosby Show, which were both number one for five consecutive seasons.

The program aims to discover the best singer in the country where the winner is determined by the viewers. Through telephone, Internet, and SMS text voting, viewers have chosen as winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, and Lee DeWyze (listed in chronological order).

The series employs a panel of judges who critique the contestants\' performances. The original three judges were Grammy Award-winning record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, Grammy Award-winning pop singer and Emmy Award-winning choreographer Paula Abdul and award-winning music executive and music manager Simon Cowell. Since January 2011, the judging panel currently consists of Jackson, award-winning singer/actress and record producer Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith frontman and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Steven Tyler.[1] For all seasons the show has been hosted by radio disc jockey Ryan Seacrest.

The show was described by rival TV executives as \"the most impactful show in the history of television.\"[2] It has also become a recognized springboard for launching the career of many artists as bona fide stars. As Entertainment Weekly puts it, \"It\'s given us Kelly, Carrie, Daughtry, and J. Hud. Idol rules the reality roost because the winners of Fox\'s ratings juggernaut actually do go on to greatness. And Taylor Hicks? He\'s the exception that proves the rule.\"[3]

History
merican Idol was created based on the British show Pop Idol, which was in turn inspired by Popstars, a show TV producer Nigel Lythgoe saw in Australia and brought over to Britain.[4] Using the idea from Popstars of employing a panel of judges to select singers in audition, and adding other elements such as telephone voting by the viewing public, which at the time was already in use in shows such as the Eurovision Song Contest, Simon Fuller then created the show Pop Idol. The show debuted in 2001 in Britain with Nigel Lythgoe as the producer and Simon Cowell as one of the judges, and was a big success with the viewing public.[5]

Simon Fuller and Simon Cowell attempted to sell the Pop Idol format to the U.S in 2001, but the idea was met with poor response from U.S. TV networks.[6] 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 show.[6] The show was renamed American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, debuted in the summer of 2002,[7] and became one of the summer hit shows that year.[8] The show, with the personal engagement of the viewers with the contestants through voting, and the presence of the caustic-tongue judge Simon Cowell, grew into a phenomenon. By 2005 it had become the biggest show on U.S. TV, a position it then held on for six straight years.[9] The show is currently scheduled to remain on air until 2011.[10]
[edit] Judges and presenters

The show had originally planned on having four judges following the Pop Idol format, however only three judges had been found by the time of the audition round in the first season, namely Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.[6] A fourth judge, radio DJ Stryker, was originally chosen but he dropped out citing \"image concerns\".[11] In the second season, New York radio personality Angie Martinez had been hired as a fourth judge but withdrew only after a few days of auditions due to not being comfortable with giving out deep criticism.[12] The show decided to continue with the three judges format until season 8. All three original judges stayed on the judging panel for eight seasons.

In season eight, Latin Grammy Award-nominated singer–songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi was added as a fourth judge.[13] Paula Abdul left the show before season nine after failing to agree terms with the show producers.[14] Emmy Award-winning talk show host Ellen DeGeneres replaced Paula Abdul for that season, but left after just one season.[15] On January 11, 2010, Simon Cowell announced that he was leaving the show to pursue introducing his show The X Factor to the USA for 2011.[16] Kara DioGuardi also left the show on September 3, 2010 after two seasons.[17] On September 22, 2010, it was announced that Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler would join the judging panel.[1]

Guest judges may occasionally be introduced. In season two, guest judges such as Lionel Richie and Robin Gibb were used from the Top 12 to Top 4. In season three Donna Summer, Quentin Tarantino and some of the mentors also joined as judges to critique the performances in the final rounds. Guest judges were used in the audition rounds for seasons four, six and nine, such as Gene Simmons and LL Cool J in season four, Jewel and Olivia Newton-John in season six, Neil Patrick Harris and Shania Twain in season nine.

The first season was presented by Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman. Dunkleman quit after the first season[18] but would have been fired had he not left,[19] and Ryan Seacrest has presented the show alone since.

Judges

* Randy Jackson
* Paula Abdul (2002–2009)
* Simon Cowell (2002–2010)
* Kara DioGuardi (2009–2010)
* Ellen DeGeneres (2010)
* Jennifer Lopez (2011–present)
* Steven Tyler (2011–present)



Presenters

* Ryan Seacrest
* Brian Dunkleman (2002)

* Bold print indicates that the judge/presenter is currently judging/presenting this current season.

[edit] Selection process

In a series of steps, the show selects the eventual winner out of many tens of thousands of contestants.
[edit] Contestant eligibility

The eligible age-range for contestants is currently 15–28 years old. The initial age limit was 16–24 in the first three seasons, but the upper limit was raised to 28 in season 4, and the lower limit was reduced to 15 in season 10.[20] The contestants must be legal U.S. residents, and must not hold any current recording or talent representation contract by the semifinal stage[21] (in previous years by the audition stage).[22]

Initial auditions
Contestants go through three rigorous sets of cuts. The first is a brief audition with three other contestants in front of selectors which may include one of the show\'s producers. The number of auditioners can exceed 10,000 people each city, but only about 100–200 contestants in each city may make it past this round of preliminary auditions. Successful contestants are sent through to audition in front of producers. More contestants are cut in the producers round before they can proceed to audition in front of the judges, which is the only audition stage shown on the show.[23] Those selected by the judges are sent to Hollywood. Between 10–60 people in each city may make it to Hollywood.
[edit] Hollywood week

Once in Hollywood, the contestants perform individually or in groups in a series of rounds. For most years there were eliminations in three rounds by the judges. In the first round the contestants emerged in groups but performed individually. For the next round, the contestants split themselves up into small groups and perform a song together. In the final round, the contestants perform solo with a song of their choice a cappella or accompanied by a band depending on the season. In season 2 and 3, contestants were also asked to write original lyrics or melody in an additional round after the first round. In season 7 the group round was eliminated and, on judges approval, contestants may move directly to the final Hollywood round after a first solo performance where they may perform with an instrument or accompanied by a band. The second round that year resembled the first round of previous years. In Season 10 an additional round at Las Vegas and a further solo round were added. At the end of the Hollywood week, 24–36 contestants were selected to move on to the semifinal stage.
[edit] Audience voting

From the semifinal onwards, the fate of the contestants is decided by public vote. During the contestant\'s performance as well as the recap at the end, a toll-free telephone number for each contestant is displayed on the screen. For a two-hour period after the episode ends (up to four hours for the finale) in each US time zone, viewers may call or send a text message to their preferred contestant\'s telephone number, and each call or text message is registered as a vote for that contestant. Viewers are allowed to vote as many times as they can within the two-hour voting window, however, the show reserves the right to discard votes by power dialer.[24] One or more of the least popular contestants may be eliminated in successive weeks until a winner emerges. Over 110 million votes were cast in the first season, and by season eight the seasonal total increased to 624 million.[25] Voting via text messaging was made available in the second season when AT&T Wireless joined as a sponsor of the show, and 7.5 million text messages were sent to American Idol that season.[26] The number of text messages rapidly increased, reaching a peak of 178 million texts in season eight.[27] Online voting was offered for the first time in Season 10.[28] The votes are counted and verified by Telescope Inc.[29]
[edit] Semifinals

In the first three seasons, as well as season eight and ten, the semifinalists were split into different groups to perform individually in their respective night.[30] In season one, there were three groups of ten, with the top three contestants from each group making the finals. In seasons two and three, there were four groups of eight, and the top two of each selected. In season eight there were three groups of twelve, with three contestants moving forward – the highest male, the highest female, and the next highest-placed singer. In season ten, the girls and boys perform on separate nights and five of each were chosen. These five seasons also featured a wildcard round where contestants who failed to qualify were given another chance. In season one, only one wildcard contestant was chosen by the judges, giving a total of ten finalists. In seasons two and three, each of the three judges championed one contestant with the public advancing a fourth into the finals, making 12 finalists in all. In season eight, four were chosen by the judges to produce a final 13. In Season ten, three wild-cards were chosen, again making a total of 13.

From seasons four to seven, as well as season nine, the 24 semifinalists were divided by gender in order to ensure an equal gender division in the top 12. The men and women sang separately on consecutive nights, and the bottom two in each groups were eliminated each week until only six of each remained to form the top 12.[31]
[edit] Finals

The finals are broadcast in prime time from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, in front of a live studio audience. The finals lasted for eight weeks in season one, eleven weeks in subsequent seasons until season ten which lasts twelve weeks. Each finalist performs a song or songs selected from a weekly theme. The themes may be based on a musical genre such as Motown, disco, or big band, songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley or The Beatles, or more generic themes such Billboard No.1 hits or songs from the contestant\'s year of birth. Contestants usually work with a celebrity mentor related to the theme. In Season ten, Jimmy Iovine was brought in as a mentor in place of weekly celebrity mentor. Initially the contestants sing one song each week, but this is increased to two song from top four or five onwards, then three songs for the top two or three.

The most popular contestants are usually not revealed in the result show, instead typically the three contestants (two in later rounds) who received the lowest number of votes are called to the center of the stage. One of these three is sent to safety, the two remaining however need not both be ones with the fewest votes.[32] The contestant with the fewest votes is then revealed and eliminated from the competition. A montage of the eliminated contestant is played and they give their final performance. However, starting in season eight, the judges may overturn viewers\' decision with a \"Judges\' Save\" – they can save a contestant on a unanimous decision, but two will be eliminated the following week. The save can only be used once, and only before top five.

In the finale, the two remaining contestants perform to determine the winner. For the first six seasons, apart from season two, the finale was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre, which has an audience capacity of approximately 3,400. The finale for season two took place at the Gibson Amphitheatre. From season seven onwards, the venue was changed to the Nokia Theatre, which holds an audience of over 7,000. A special two-hour result show the next night follows where the winner is announced at the end.
[edit] Rewards for winner and finalists

The winner receives a record deal with a major label, which may be for up to six albums in seven years,[33][34] and secures a management contract with American Idol-affiliated 19 Management (which has the first option to sign all contestants), as well as various lucrative contracts. All previous winners reportedly earned at least $1 million in their first year as winner.[34] All the runners-up of the first nine seasons, as well as some of other finalists, have also received record deals with major labels. All top ten finalists earn the privilege of going on a tour where the participants may each earn a six-figure sum.[35] The tenth season is the first season to have eleven finalists going on a tour.