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The following biography
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American Idol is a television show featured
on the Fox Network in the United States, based on the popular British
show Pop Idol. The show is a competition in which viewers can call in
and vote on contestants to determine the best "undiscovered" young
singer in the United States, with the winner receiving a major record
deal, although some runners-up have achieved enough fame to ink record
deals of their own.
American Idol is produced by Fremantle
North America which is owned by German Bertelsmann AG. Each contestant
gets a contract with one of Bertelsmann's many music labels because
Bertelsmann owns a 50/50 stake in Sony BMG. Fremantle North America is
also owned by Nintendo (50%).
* * * *
Overview
Early
auditions
In the show, hosted by Ryan Seacrest,
hopeful contestants, after being screened by preliminary panels which
select for singing talent or humorous potential and human interest,
audition before three judges (Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy
Jackson) in cities across the United States (sometimes a celebrity
fourth judge is added). These are generally held at large convention
centers where thousands of people wait in line for auditions. In order
to be eligible, the contestants are not permitted to have any current
recording or talent management agreements (but may have had one at some
point in the past). Based on turnout and availability, producers select
a certain number from the crowd to audition before the three judges
(this may take several rounds). Contestants are required to sing a
cappella. Those who impress a majority of the judges move on to the
second round auditions which take place in Hollywood (typically only
several dozen out of the thousands in each city move on). The
contestants selected despite lack of singing talent for appearance
before the panel provide a major attraction to the viewing audience as
they simultaneously proclaim their talent while turning out
gut-wrenching performances which are ridiculed by the judges.
One of the most popular portions of each
season are initial episodes showcasing American Idol hopefuls
auditioning before the panel of judges. These early episodes focus
mainly on the poorest performances from contestants who often appear
oblivious to their lack of star talent. These "contestants" have been
selected by the preliminary panels in a negative sense, a typical
combination is lack of singing ability combined with vanity regarding
their "talent." Others are selected for human interest potential, the
2005 auditions featured a "cannibal" who had sampled human flesh in an
anthropology class and an aspiring female prize fighter. Poor singers
often face intense and humbling criticism from the judges, and
especially from Cowell, who can be harsh and blunt in his rejections.
Typically the judges express disgust or dismay or suppressed laughter.
Some poor performances have attained notoriety on their own; these have
included season two's performance of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" by Keith
Beukelaer and season three's rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" by
William Hung.
Contestants must be U.S. citizens and, for
the first three seasons, had to be 16 to 24 years of age. For the fourth
season, the upper age limit was raised to 28 to attract more mature and
diverse contestants. In early 2003, a 50-year-old college professor
named Drew Cummings filed a complaint with the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, charging the show with age discrimination
because producers denied him an audition due to his age. His case was
not taken up by the EEOC.
On to
Hollywood
Once in Hollywood, the three judges narrow
the initial field of several hundred down to a group of 24
semifinalists, divided equally between men and women, who are invited to
perform in the live portions of the show. On three consecutive weeks,
the male semifinalists perform only against the other men, and the women
only against the other women. Each contestant performs live (in the
eastern and central time zones), in primetime, a song of his or her
choice, and receives critiques from the judges, who, from this point on,
serve almost entirely in an advisory capacity, with little direct
influence on the results.
Viewers have two hours following the
broadcast of the show in their time zone to phone in votes for their
favorite contestant by calling a toll-free number (viewers may also send
text messages to vote). Callers are allowed to vote as many times as
they like for any number of contestants. On the following night's
episode the results of the nationwide vote are announced, and the bottom
two vote-getters are eliminated each week. At the end of the semifinal
rounds, the six men and six women who remain advance to the finals.
During the middle seasons, the semifinal
round consisted of 32 semifinalists who were divided into four groups of
eight. In the first season, they were 30 contestants, divided into three
groups of ten. Each week for four (three for season one) weeks, one
group would perform with the top two (three for season one) vote-getters
from each group advancing to the finals. When all the semifinal shows
had been completed, there was a wildcard phase. Each judge chose one
semifinalist to advance to the final round, and a studio audience vote
determined the final wildcard spot, rounding out the field of twelve
finalists. In season 1, 5 contestants were chosen, and judges chose one
to advance to the finals. This was changed to the procedure (see above)
in the 4th season due to the abundace of females (and no males left in
the final 4) in the third season.
Semifinalists (and in some cases, other
contestants as well) must submit to background checks and may be
summarily disqualified for past behavior deemed undesirable, such as an
arrest record. Several finalists have been disqualified for revelations
that surfaced late in the competition. Semifinalists are also subjected
to drug tests, in order to avoid scandals involving drug usage.
Contestants who failed the test have not been allowed to proceed in the
competion.
Also contestants are contracted to be "conclaved"
from the outside world. This stops contestants from using cell phones
(unless between family members or during an emergency), the Internet
(especially chatting and message boards), leaving the Hollywood
jurisdiction, leaving their apartments without consent, watching TV
(especially News and Sports), listening to radio stations, and reading
newspapers during their duration in the competition. This is to keep the
contestants safe from terrorists, epidemics, paparazzi, and to distance
contestants from distractions that might be detrimental to their singing
ability. The only time when a contestant can be free from this rule as
if he or she gets voted out. They can however watch movies, since they
have no known distracting effect on the contestants.
Final
twelve
In the finals, which last eleven weeks,
each finalist performs a song live in primetime from a weekly theme (two
songs in later rounds). 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 Barry Manilow, Gloria Estefan, and Elton John.
When there are three finalists remaining,
themes are no longer used. Instead, each contestant sings three songs:
one of their own choice, one chosen by the judges, and one chosen by
record executive Clive Davis. However in Season Two, in the final three,
one song was chosen randomly from a bowl, with one chosen by the
performer and one by the judges.
In any case, each week on the following
night's live "results" episode, the contestant with the fewest votes is
sent home. The bottom three vote-getters are separated from the
remaining contestants. Over the course of the episode, two are revealed
as being "safe" for the week, and the loser is sent home after
performing one final song to end the episode. This process is repeated
each week until the one remaining contestant is declared the winner.
Spin-offs
A spin-off series called American Juniors
premiered on June 3, 2003 on the Fox Network.
In December 2003, winners of eleven
different national Idol competitions were collected for a World Idol
competition in London, which aired in all territories that show the
format. Kelly Clarkson came in second after Norway's Kurt Nilsen.
The Fox network is scheduled to air the
program Celebrity Idol with all celebrity contestants in the fall of
2005, just ahead of the launch of the fifth season of the regular show.
The announcement came only days after NBC publicized the upcoming show
I'm a Celebrity but I Want to be a Pop Star with a remarkably similar
premise.
Season synopses
The number next to a contestant's name
denotes the number of times he or she was in the "Bottom Three".
Season one
Season 1 Finalists
(with dates of elimination)
Season 1 (2002)
Kelly Clarkson winner
Justin Guarini September 4
Nikki McKibbin August 28
Tamyra Gray August 21
RJ Helton August 14
Christina Christian August 7
Ryan Starr July 31
A.J. Gil July 24
Jim Verraros July 17
EJay Day July 17
In the first season the show was co-hosted
by Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman. Kelly Clarkson won, with Justin Guarini
coming in second. Numerous television specials starring the ten
finalists followed, as well as the box office bomb entitled From Justin
to Kelly. Since winning, Clarkson has gone on to a very successful
recording career, including multiple-platinum albums and a number of Top
10 hit singles.
|
Date |
Theme |
Bottom Two (both eliminated) |
|
July 17 |
Motown |
EJay Day |
Jim
Verraros |
|
|
|
|
Bottom Three |
|
July 24 |
1960s |
A.J.
Gil |
Ryan Starr |
Christina Christian |
|
July 31 |
1970s |
Ryan Starr (2) |
Justin Guarini |
Nikki McKibbin |
|
August 7 |
Big
band |
Christina Christian (2) |
RJ
Helton |
Nikki McKibbin (2) |
|
|
|
Bottom Two |
|
August 14 |
Love songs |
RJ
Helton (2) |
Nikki McKibbin (3) |
|
|
August 21 |
1980s & 1990s |
Tamyra Gray |
Nikki McKibbin (4) |
|
|
August 28 |
|
Nikki McKibbin (5) |
|
|
|
September 4 |
|
Justin Guarini (2) |
Kelly Clarkson |
|
Season two
Season 2 (2003) Finalists
(with dates of elimination)
Ruben Studdard winner
Clay Aiken May 21
Kimberley Locke May 14
Joshua Gracin May 7
Trenyce April 30
Carmen Rasmusen April 23
Kimberly Caldwell April 16
Rickey Smith April 9
Corey Clark disqualified,
April 1
Julia DeMato March 26
Charles Grigsby March 19
Vanessa Olivarez March 12
In season two with Seacrest as the lone
host, Ruben Studdard was the winner with Clay Aiken as runner up. Out of
24 million votes cast, Studdard finished just 130,000 votes ahead of
Aiken, although there remains controversy over the validity of the
reported results. Despite Studdard's win, Aiken has enjoyed more
widespread popularity. Controversy arose when semi-finalist Frenchie
Davis was booted from the show, after topless pictures she had taken
four years before the show aired surfaced. The rumor mills were buzzing
once again in 2005 when Season Two contestant Corey Clark, who was
himself kicked off the show because of a police record he had not
disclosed to the show, alleged that he had had an affair with judge
Paula Abdul. Clark also alleged that Abdul gave him preferential
treatment on the show because of their alleged romance.
|
Date |
Theme |
Guest Judge(s) |
Bottom Three |
|
March 11 |
Motown |
Lamont Dozier |
Vanessa Olivarez |
Julia DeMato |
Kimberley Locke |
|
March 18 |
Movie Songs |
Gladys Knight |
Charles Grigsby |
Corey Clark |
Julia DeMato (2) |
|
March 25 |
Country Music |
Olivia Newton-John |
Julia DeMato (3) |
Kimberly Caldwell |
Rickey Smith |
|
April 1 |
Disco |
Verdine White |
Corey Clark (disqualified) |
|
|
|
April 8 |
Billboard #1 Hits |
Lionel Richie |
Rickey Smith (2) |
Kimberly Caldwell (2) |
Kimberley Locke (2) |
|
April 15 |
Billy Joel |
Smokey Robinson |
Kimberly Caldwell (3) |
Carmen Rasmusen |
Trenyce |
|
April 22 |
Diane Warren songs |
Diane Warren |
Carmen Rasmusen (2) |
Trenyce (2) |
Joshua Gracin |
|
|
|
|
Bottom Two |
|
April 29 |
Neil Sedaka songs |
Neil Sedaka |
Trenyce (3) |
Ruben Studdard |
|
|
May
6 |
Bee
Gees Songs |
Robin Gibb |
Joshua Gracin (2) |
Kimberley Locke (3) |
|
|
May
13 |
|
|
Kimberley Locke (4) |
|
|
|
May
20 |
|
|
Clay Aiken |
Ruben Studdard |
|
Paul Anka made an appearance during the
Season finale.
Season
three
Season 3 Finalists
(with dates of elimination)
Fantasia Barrino winner
Diana DeGarmo May 26
Jasmine Trias May 19
LaToya London May 12
George Huff May 5
John Stevens April 28
Jennifer Hudson April 21
Jon Peter Lewis April 15
Camile Velasco April 7
Amy Adams March 31
Matthew Rogers March 24
Leah LaBelle March 17
The third season of American Idol premiered
on January 19, 2004. After a nationwide vote of more than 65 million
votes in total, Fantasia Barrino won the "American Idol" title and Diana
DeGarmo was runner up. During the season, controversy over the
legitimacy of the contest increased as geeky rocker Jon Peter Lewis and
young crooner John Stevens stayed afloat while others were unexpectedly
eliminated. The third season was also shown in Australia on Network Ten
about half a week after episodes were shown in the US.
|
Date |
Theme |
Guest Judge(s) |
Bottom Three |
|
March 17 |
Soul |
|
Leah Labelle |
Jennifer Hudson |
Amy
Adams |
|
March 24 |
Country |
|
Matthew Rogers |
Camile Velasco |
Diana DeGarmo |
|
March 31 |
Motown |
Nick Ashford,
Valerie Simpson |
Amy
Adams (2) |
Jennifer Hudson (2) |
LaToya London |
|
April 7 |
Elton John |
|
Camile Velasco (2) |
Jasmine Trias |
Diana DeGarmo (2) |
|
April 15 |
Movies |
Quentin Tarantino |
Jon
Peter Lewis |
John Stevens |
Diana DeGarmo (3) |
|
April 21 |
Barry Manilow |
Barry Manilow |
Jennifer Hudson (3) |
Fantasia Barrino |
LaToya London (2) |
|
April 28 |
Gloria Estefan |
Gloria Estefan |
John Stevens (2) |
George Huff |
Jasmine Trias (2) |
|
|
|
|
Bottom Two |
|
May
5 |
Big
Band |
|
George Huff (2) |
Jasmine Trias (3) |
|
|
May
12 |
Disco |
Donna Summer |
LaToya London (3) |
Fantasia Barrino (2) |
|
|
May
19 |
|
Clive Davis |
Jasmine Trias (4) |
|
|
|
May
26 |
|
|
Diana DeGarmo (4) |
Fantasia Barrino |
|
Paul Anka made an appearance in the Season
Finale.
Season four
Season 4 Finalists
(with dates of elimination)
Carrie Underwood winner
Bo Bice May 25
Vonzell Solomon May 18
Anthony Fedorov May 11
Scott Savol May 4
Constantine Maroulis April 27
Anwar Robinson April 20
Nadia Turner April 13
Nikko Smith April 6
Jessica Sierra March 30
Mikalah Gordon March 24
Lindsey Cardinale March 16
The fourth season of American Idol
premiered on January 18, 2005. Auditions were held in Washington, DC,
St. Louis, Missouri, New Orleans, Louisiana, Las Vegas, Nevada,
Cleveland, Ohio, Orlando, Florida and San Francisco, California.
Auditions were held from August to October 2004. While in the past
seasons celebrity guest judges have been invited to participate during
the competition, this was the first season where guest judges were
invited to participate in the auditions. The music celebrities featured
were:
January 18, Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray
January 25, Gene Simmons of KISS
January 26, Kenny Loggins
February 1, LL Cool J
February 2, Brandy
Among the music featured in the program: on
January 19, 2005, "Look At Me" written by Sara Hickman and performed by
her 8-year-old daughter Lily (from the album Big Kid).
The most notable contestant in the early
episodes was Mary Roach, who auditioned in Washington D.C. Her rendition
of Carole King's "I Feel The Earth Move", as well as her comments to the
judges that followed her audition, brought considerable negative
attention (including false rumors of mental illness) and comparisons to
William Hung.
Also noted was Leroy Wells from Grand Bay,
Alabama who auditioned in New Orleans singing Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Got
Your Money". He acquired mild fame by repeatedly yelling, "Can you dig
it?" to the judges and for the inability of the judges (except Randy) to
fully understand him.
This season also implemented new rules for
the final portion of the contest. Instead of competing in semifinal
heats in which the top vote-getters are promoted to the final round, 24
semifinalists 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, who had been voted off in the
semi-finals the previous week.
The winner was Carrie Underwood, the first
winner since Kelly Clarkson to not only win but avoid being in the
bottom two or three for the entire competition.
|
Date |
Theme |
Bottom Three |
|
March 16 |
1960s music |
Lindsey Cardinale |
Mikalah Gordon |
Jessica Sierra |
|
March 24 |
Billboard #1 Hits |
Mikalah Gordon (2) |
Nadia Turner |
Anthony Fedorov |
|
March 30 |
1990s music |
Jessica Sierra (2) |
Anwar Robinson |
Nadia Turner (2) |
|
April 6 |
Musicals |
Nikko Smith |
Scott Savol |
Vonzell Solomon |
|
April 13 |
Music from year of birth |
Nadia Turner (3) |
Bo
Bice |
Scott Savol (2) |
|
April 20 |
Disco |
Anwar Robinson (2) |
Anthony Fedorov (2) |
Scott Savol (3) |
|
April 27 |
2000s music |
Constantine Maroulis |
Anthony Fedorov (3) |
Vonzell Solomon (2) |
|
|
|
Bottom Two |
|
May
4 |
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller/Billboard Top 40 |
Scott Savol (4) |
Anthony Fedorov (4) |
|
|
May
11 |
Nashville Country/Gamble and Huff |
Anthony Fedorov (5) |
Vonzell Solomon (3) |
|
|
May
18 |
Clive Davis' choice/Contestant's choice/Judge's choice |
Vonzell Solomon (4) |
|
|
|
May
25 |
Finale |
Bo Bice (2) |
Carrie Underwood |
|
For the May 18 final three show, a guest
judge, legendary record producer Clive Davis was added. He chose the
first song each performer would sing, many of which he produced in his
career. The second song the performers chose any song from any era. In
an unprecedented move, Bo Bice performed his choice completely a
cappella. For the third and final song of the night, one of the standard
judges (Jackson, Abdul or Cowell) chose each contestant's selection.
Vonzell Solomon was the 10th contestant voted off the Top 12 on
Wednesday May 18th.
The fourth season finale featuring Bo Bice
and Carrie Underwood aired May 24-May 25. It featured appearances by
former auditioners of questionable talent, and celebrity cameos by Kenny
G, Rascal Flatts, David Hasselhoff, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, George Benson,
Billy Preston, Babyface and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The winner of the
competition was Carrie Underwood.
Season five
The fifth season of American Idol will be
held starting in January 2006 with auditions expected to be in the
summer and early autumn of 2005.
As of now, the current list of cities
(tentative) are Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Memphis and
San Diego. One or two more cities may also be added later as there are
usually late additions to the list.
* * * *
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