American Idol
 | The neutrality of this article is disputed. |
| American Idol | |
|---|---|
| File:AmericanIdoltitlecard.jpg American Idol title card | |
| Created by |  Simon Fuller |
| Developed by | Bruce Gowers |
| Starring |  Ryan Seacrest Brian Dunkleman (2002) Paula Abdul Simon Cowell Randy Jackson |
| Country of origin | USA |
| No. of episodes | 25 (season 1) 40 (season 2) 44 (season 3) 43 (season 4) 38 (season 5) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Nigel and Simon Lythgoe Ken Warwick |
| Running time | Varies |
| Original release | |
| Network | FOX |
| Release | June 11 2002 – Present |
American Idol, formally known as American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, is an American television show. It is a replica of the UK show Pop Idol, a singing talent contest to determine the best "undiscovered" young singer in the country. In recent years it has become one of the most highly publicized music competitions in the world.
American Idol is shown on the Fox Network in the United States which is part of News Corporation. It is created by Simon Fuller (manager of the Spice Girls and S Club 7) and Simon Jones (of Thames Television). The directors are Bruce Gowers (director of Queen's original "Bohemian Rhapsody" video), Nigel and Simon Lythgoe (directors of Survivor) and Ken Warwick (Gladiators and Grudge Match).
American Idol is produced by Fremantle North America which is owned by German Bertelsmann. Each contestant may sign a contract with one of Bertelsmann's many music labels because Bertelsmann owns half of Sony BMG. American Idol is managed by 19 Entertainment which is owned by the international joint venture CKX, Inc.
Background
The show won a 2005 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for favorite television show. In the same year the show won the #1 spot on Nielsen Ratings for two years in a row, favored over the NBA Playoffs, NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, and the Olympics. The show's success inspired other nations to produce their own variations and became the subject of numerous parodies.
Album sales
Finalists' prizes
| Finalist | Prize |
|---|---|
| Winner | American Idol title |
| Winner and Runner Up | 5-album major record deal with Sony BMG, Ford Mustang |
| Winner - Final 10 | Summer concert tour |
| Winner - Final 12 | A track on the season's compilation album |
Overview
Early auditions
In the show, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, hopeful contestants are screened by preliminary panels to be selected for singing talent or humorous potential and human interest. Those who pass the prelims are potentially aired on the show. They then audition before the three main judges - Simon Cowell (one of the judges from Pop Idol), Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson - in selected cities across the United States. Sometimes a celebrity fourth judge may be added. These are generally held at large convention centers where thousands of people wait in line for auditions. Past audition cities have included; New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Atlanta, New Orleans, Chicago, Philadelphia, Greensboro, Washington, DC, Houston, Honolulu, Denver, Detroit, St. Louis, Boston, Las Vegas, Orlando, Nashville, Memphis, Dallas, Cleveland and Austin. (Contestants from the season 5 Austin auditions were flown to San Francisco to audition before the judges due to the effect of Hurricane Katrina evacuees on the city.) 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 usually takes 2-4 rounds). Contestants are required to sing a cappella. Those who impress the 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.
Much like the original Pop Idol version, 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. Other examples include a man dressed in pajamas with no shoes (whose comments made Cowell explode with laughter) and a transvestite who kisses Cowell on the cheek after his (or her) audition wraps up. 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 one's portrayal of "Lady Marmalade", 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 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. For 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. 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. Auditioning contestants must bring with them to auditions a valid proof of age (and citizenship) such as a birth certificate and a driver's license or a birth certificate and a passport, and minors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. All auditioning contestants are required to sign on to the Internet at www.americanidol.com and print out a copy of the release form to fill out and turn in at the audition in order to grant permission to be seen and heard by the producers' cameras. Contestants found out to have given false information will be disqualified.
Those who are ineligible are: those who have current talent representation or a recording contract; have made it to a top 30 on season 1, top 32 on season 2 and 3, or top 44 on season 4; or are affiliated with FOX, Fremantle, 19, its sponsors, its subsidies 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.
On to Hollywood
Once in Hollywood, the three judges narrow the initial field of several hundred down to a group of 24 semifinalists (30 season 1, 32 seasons 2 and 3) (complete list). In season 1, the 30 semifinalists were split into 3 groups of ten and the top 3 of each group advanced to the final 10. This left 9, so the 10th finalist was chosen in a wild-card show in which the 5 performers that were originally eliminated but the judges felt deserved a second chance performed again, allowing one to still advance to the golden ten. In seasons 2 and 3, the 32 semifinalists were split into 4 groups of 8, who would compete for 2 slots in the finals. After 8 were chosen, a wild-card round featuring singers who were previously eliminated but whom the judges felt deserved a second chance gave the audience the chance to select one additional contestant through viewer voting, while each judge selected an additional singer to advance to the finals, filling the field of 12. It is worth noting that the season 2 runner up, Clay Aiken, was the viewers' wild card choice, having originally fallen short to eventual winner Ruben Studdard and third-place finisher Kimberley Locke in the second round of 8. Starting with the 4th season, the semifinalists were split into male-only and female-only. 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 with Cingular Wireless cell phones (Cingular is the official cellular service provider for American Idol) may also send text messages to vote. Callers are allowed to vote as many times as they like for any number of contestants, as long as they vote within the voting window for the time zone assigned to their phone's area code. (Cell phone voters who have tried voting while on business/vacation/etc. in other time zones have reported on various fan forums that their votes were rejected if they tried to vote outside the time zone assigned to their cellular number.) 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.
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 competition.
Under terms of the personal release contract, contestants agree to be "conclaved" from the outside world. This ceases 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, communicating with third-parties, watching TV (especially News and Sports), listening to radio stations, and reading newspapers during their duration in the competition.
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) at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California 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 Billy Joel, Neil Sedaka, The Bee Gees, Barry Manilow, Gloria Estefan, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Queen and Elvis Presley.
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. The stage is moved to the Kodak Theatre for the finale showdown, where the 2 remaining contestants perform for an audience of at least 3,400.
Season synopses
Season one
The first season of American Idol debuted without hype as a summer replacement show in June 2002 on the Fox Network after being rejected by numerous other networks. 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 ending with a finale viewed by an estimated fifty million viewers in September 2002. Following such a success, the second season was moved to air the upcoming January during the higher profile 2003 fall schedule. 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 #52, but marked the biggest jump in Billboard history when it shot to #1, breaking a record set by The Beatles. As part of the promotion planned for the show's first winner, the song had been prerecorded ready to air on radio stations the day after the finale. 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, and 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.
The show inspired a 2003 movie musical, 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 [1] during its short run in theatres. A DVD with additional footage was released and the movie airs periodically in the US and other countries.
Season One is the only season 19 Management signed contestants other than the top two finishers. Also signed were Nikki McKibbin (3rd), Tamyra Gray (4th), and Christina Christian (6th). It is also 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 Two. RCA dropped him shortly after its debut. Guarini formed his own entertainment company and independently released a second album in 2005, with a third album and an independent movie scheduled for release in 2006. Nikki McKibbin signed with RCA, but was dropped when she refused to record a country album. She has since made appearances on various Reality TV shows, and is finishing her debut album. Tamyra Gray was signed to RCA, but was dropped when she demanded to write the album. She then signed with American Idol's Simon Fuller's new label 19 Entertainment, and her self-written debut album was released in 2004. She was dropped by the label in 2005. She had a supporting role in the 2005 movie The Gospel. RJ Helton released a Christian album, but sales were lackluster. Ryan Starr had trouble getting out of her contract with RCA Records, but independently released a single "My Religion", which sold 360,000 downloads via iTunes. She is expected to release her debut album in 2006 or 2007. Jim Verraros the first openly gay contestant to appear on 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.
Season two
In season two, Seacrest surfaced as the lone host, since Dunkleman reportedly hated working on the show, and the studio was dissatisfied with his performance. Kristin Holt was a special correspondent. This time, Ruben Studdard emerged as the winner with Clay Aiken as runner-up. Out of 24 million votes recorded, Studdard finished just 130,000 votes ahead of Aiken, although there remains controversy over the accuracy of the reported results. There was much discussion in the communication industry about the phone system being overloaded, and that more than 150 Million votes were dropped, making the voting invalid. [2] Since then the voting methods have been modified to avoid this problem. In an interview prior to the start of the fifth season, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe revealed for the first time that Aiken had led the fan voting from the wild card week onward until the finale. [3] Despite Studdard's victory, Aiken has enjoyed more widespread popularity, emerging as one of the season's true breakout stars, even being the first to have a U.S. Hot 100 number 1 with "This Is The Night". Ruben's next album is rumored to be released in 2006. Kimberley Locke has also enjoyed radio success after American Idol, with her debut album, "One Love". Her next album is also rumored to be released in 2006.
Fourth-place finisher and former Marine Josh Gracin has had some success as a country artist, signing with Lyric Street Records, and his first album spawned three hit singles, including a number one song, "Nothing to Lose".
One contestant, Frenchie Davis, was disqualified and removed from the competition after topless photos of her surfaced on the internet. She later appeared in the Broadway musical Rent.
During the course of the contest Ruben became known for wearing 205 Flava jerseys representing his area code. Shortly after the end of the contest, Ruben sued 205 Flava, Inc for $2 million for using his image for promotional purposes. Flava responded by alleging that Ruben had accepted over $10,000 in return for wearing 205 shirts, and produced 8 cashed checks to validate their claim. The allegations, if true, indicate a clear violation of the American Idol rules. [4] The lawsuit was settled out of court. [5]
The rumor mills were buzzing once again in 2005 when Season Two contestant Corey Clark, who was kicked off the show because of a police record he had not disclosed earlier, alleged that he had an affair with judge Paula Abdul. Clark also alleged that Abdul gave him preferential treatment on the show because of their alleged romance. A subsequent investigation by Fox found no evidence to support Clark's charges. [6]
Season three
The third season of American Idol premiered on January 19, 2004.
The early part of the season introduced William Hung, a UC Berkeley student, who became popular following his rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs". His performance as well as his attitude facing Simon's criticisms (which was a stark contrast to other contestants' confrontational, angry reactions) landed him a record deal with Koch Entertainment Records making over $500,000 in record sales.
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 were unexpectedly eliminated. Jasmine Trias, despite some negative comments from Simon Cowell survived elimination and took the third spot over Latoya London. Jasmine later released a CD and attracted fans in her home state of Hawaii and in 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 US.
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 and Diana DeGarmo was runner up. Fantasia has enjoyed commercial success and has been labeled by many respected individuals as a future musical legend. Fantasia has also taken part in writing and acting projects. These include her life memoir, "Life is Not a Fairy Tale", and an original Lifetime movie about her life story, scheduled for a Summer 2006 release on the cable network. Fantasia was a major contender for the role of Effie White in the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls, but she was turned down in favor of fellow season 3 contestant Jennifer Hudson [7]. Fantasia also guest starred on an episode of The Simpsons as a younger version of herself named Clarissa Wellington. Her character came in third on the American Idol parody, Li'l Starmaker.
Diana DeGarmo's first CD, Blue Skies, was not a commercial success due to a lack of promotion by RCA and she was eventually dropped from RCA. She has since received a role in the Broadway production of Hairspray. Diana wasn't the only non-winner of the season to land herself a record deal, however. Jasmine Trias signed with an independent label, and 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. Latoya London signed with Peak Records and released an album of slow jams, which didn't sell well. George Huff signed with Word Records to release a gospel album and has since had mild success in that genre. John Stevens, the red-haired crooner who many say made it farther than he should have, landed a deal with Maverick Records, but was dropped due to low album sales. Jennifer Hudson is starring alongside Beyonce and Jamie Foxx in the upcoming Dreamgirls movie, and is expected to release her album sometime in 2007. Camile Velasco was once signed to Motown Records, but left the label after her first single flopped. Still, like Jasmine, she has become somewhat popular in the Philippines. Eleventh place contestant Matthew Rogers is now a TV personality, starring alongside Mikalah Gordon on "Idol Extra," which goes behind the scenes of the current American Idol season.
Ironically, the amusingly unmusical also-ran William Hung became a bigger star than any of the finalists.
Season four
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.[8] [9] Among those who benefited from this new rule were Constantine Maroulis (born September 17) and Bo Bice (born November 1), 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-orientated contestants has continued with Chris Daughtry in season five, 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 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, a country singer, the first winner since Kelly Clarkson to not only win but avoid being in the bottom three for the entire competition. Bo Bice came in first runner-up. Her 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. Underwood's version was shunned by country radio reaching a peak of #59 on the country charts. The B-side is "Independence Day", a cover of the Martina McBride hit. Underwood's second single, "Jesus, Take The Wheel" was made available for radio airplay on October 18, 2005. It received so much airplay that it debuted at #39 on the Billboard Country Chart in its first week, setting a record. As it climbed it finally reached #1 for 6 consecutive weeks, and was only two weeks shy of Connie Smith's record of an 8 week run back in 1964-1965. The single also debuted at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 where it reached a peak of #20. Underwood's third single, "Don't Forget to Remember Me", released for radio in 2006, has peaked at #15 on the Hot Country Charts, as well as, #84 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Meanwhile, 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 second-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. Sixth-place contestant Constantine Maroulis has redone his "Bohemian Rhapsody" rendition for a Queen tribute album, and has announced his pre-production debut album's release in the fall of 2006, as well as to star in an ABC television sitcom and an independent feature film. Seventh-place contestant Anwar Robinson has released his self-titled EP on an independent label. Mario Vazquez and Nikko Smith will each have a new single by the summer of 2006. 12th-place contestant Lindsey Cardinale has recorded her first single, "Nothing Like A Dream" (B-side "Drive") in the summer of 2005 on an independent label, and released in March 2006.
Season five
The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006. 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. Contestants had to be between the ages of 16 and 28 on August 15 2005, being born on or between August 16 1976 and August 15 1989. [10] [11]
Although this season had little controversy in comparison to the four prior seasons, various troubles have emerged. Derrell and Terrell Brittenum were twins who auditioned together in Chicago. Derrell had threatened to, and did quit when he had mistakenly heard his brother was cut. After realizing his error, Derrell pleaded to the judges to let him reclaim his spot in the competition, much to their consternation. They gave Derrell and his brother another chance, but the twins were later disqualified in January of 2006 due to a prior arrest in relations to identity theft.
Finalist Bucky Covington also had prior troubles with the law. Coincidentally, Covington's crimes involved himself and his twin brother, Rocky. The two had allegedly switched spots in 1998 to avoid the other getting into troubles with the law, thus confusing the police. However, this prior crime had no effect on Covington's time spent on American Idol, and he was voted off on April 12.
The winner of the season was Taylor Hicks with runner up Katharine McPhee. Taylor Hicks joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood as the only winners of American Idol to never be in the bottom three or two. Taylor was named American Idol on May 24, 2006 at 9:56 PM (EDT). Taylor Hicks is the second American Idol winner from the city of Birmingham, AL, and the fourth finalist with close ties to the city. The finale was seen by some as the best yet, with surprise performances from stars such as Live, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton singing duets with the members of the Final 12. An additional performance by Prince was generally seen as a statement of Idol's acceptance in the music world. The introduction of the "Golden Idol" awards brought back memories from the auditions, such as the return of "Crazy Dave" and even the foul-mouthed Rhonetta Johnson, while providing comic relief in the midst of the suspense. For example, Michael Sandecki was an auditioner that closely resembled season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken at his original audition, but unlike Clay, Michael was not a good enough singer to be accepted to Hollywood. He appeared on the finale to receive a Golden Idol for "Best Impersonation", and was asked to sing. He started to sing Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, albeit poorly, and much to his joy and surprise, the real Clay Aiken came out on stage and finished the song with him.
Season six and beyond
The show has since been renewed for five more years, meaning it is expected to air until at least 2011, running for a total of at least 10 seasons.
The Idols
Idol Ranks
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kelly | Justin | Nikki | Tamyra | RJ | Christina | Ryan | A.J. | EJay | Jim | ||
| 2 | Ruben | Clay | Kimberley | Josh | Trenyce | Carmen | Kimberly | Rickey | Corey | Julia | Charles | Vanessa |
| 3 | Fantasia | Diana | Jasmine | LaToya | George | John | Jennifer | JPL | Camile | Amy | Matthew | Leah |
| 4 | Carrie | Bo | Vonzell | Anthony | Scott | Constantine | Anwar | Nadia | Nikko | Jessica | Mikalah | Lindsey |
| 5 | Taylor | Katharine | Elliott | Chris | Paris | Kellie | Ace | Bucky | Mandisa | Lisa | Kevin | Melissa |
Product placement
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 $705,000 for a 30-second commercial. 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, while contestants and host Ryan 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.) After every Wednesday results show, the remaining contestants and host 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. Voting is made possible by Cingular Wireless, and viewers who cast votes on Cingular Wireless cellular telephones benefit from lower billing costs. Kellogg and Pop-Tarts are also two major sponsors, especially of the cast tour that follows the end of every season. Products from the Ford Motor Company also receive prominent product placement; contestants appear in Ford commercials on the results shows, and the final 2 of seasons four and five each won free Mustangs. In addition, the American Idol logo strongly resembles the Ford Motor Company logo (both are blue ovals featuring cursive script). Contestants will occasionally don Old Navy clothing during performances, and celebrity stylist Steven Cojocaru has appeared in 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.
Jaded Journalist
Beginning with the second season of American Idol, the show's website has hosted satirical news coverage by the "Jaded Journalist." The often sardonic Jaded Journalist has written recaps (summaries) of the show, run an email feedback column, and conducted video interviews of finalists in Hollywood as well as interviews of auditioners in other cities.
Some have proposed that the purpose of the Jaded Journalist is to bring edginess and humor to the otherwise saccharine image that American Idol tends to promote for itself. The identity of the Jaded Journalist, whose face was obscured or hidden in videos, was kept relatively secret from the character's inception until 2004, when his identity was revealed to be Michael Krogmann.
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 cohost 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.
- Former contestant Corey Clark told reporters in April of 2005 that he and Idol judge Paula Abdul had a "secret affair," prompting an internal Idol investigation. [12]
- Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino included a controversial song on her first album titled "Baby Mama" about single motherhood that has received widespread criticism. Although the song has been thought of and labeled by Fantasia herself as an inspirational anthem for single mothers everywhere by many, others see the song as an example of poor "family values".
- The show is known for encouraging favoritism within the contestants and having viewers vote for their "favorite" rather than singing ability. This treatment of music places social status above musical aesthetics.
- Since the 2004 season, American Idol producers have battled services like DialIdol.com, Worldsentiment.com, and VotefortheWorst.com. DialIdol predicts the winner of each week's contest based on how often 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.
Spin-offs produced by same company
Imitations produced by other companies
This series has been imitated by many other shows, among them Nashville Star. Nashville Star still airs and has had a successful run. In the fall of 2004, VH1 launched a music reality talent-search series In Search of the New Partridge Family, in which aspiring actor-singers competed for the roles of Keith, Laurie, Danny, and Shirley Partridge. A pilot episode was aired in early 2005, but the show didn't get picked up. Rock Star: INXS is a rock competition that premiered on CBS in the summer of 2005.
The WB aired a parody series entitled Superstar USA, in which the worst singers were picked to move on without knowing that it was a search for the worst rather than the best.
American Idle[13] by Dustball is an animated parody of the Numa Numa Dance.
Super Girl hosted by HNTV of China also imitated it.
The Idol series, with Simon Cowell, referenced in Shrek 2; Cowell himself has appeared on The Simpsons. Simon Cowell also appeared in "Scary Movie 3" at a rap off.
American Idol was parodied on the children's television show All That in the sketch American Idiot. Kyle Sullivan played an essentially useless host named Brian Peefest. Giovonnie Samuels played the judge Mandy Snackson, whose frequent catch phrase was "You did your thing, dog," cuing a pack of dogs to enter the stage and attack the "idiot." Jack DeSena played an overly cruel judge, Slimon Bowell. Chelsea Brummet played an overly nice judge, Pauly Baboo.
Far Far Away Idol is an imitation found on the Bonus Features of the Shrek 2 DVD. Almost all of the characters sing a song of sorts, and then the viewer at home can vote for their favorite using their remote.
On NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live, there were at least two parody episodes: One with celebrities (Some impersonations being Finesse Mitchell as Kelis, Jessica Simpson as Britney Spears, Amy Poehler as Madonna and Nick Lachey as Scott Stapp from Creed), and another with people with physical problems. Simon Cowell was portrayed by Chris Parnell. Justin Guarini and Taylor Hicks were briefly parodied (Guarini during the host's opening monologue, and Hicks during Weekend Update).
The Spanish language television network Telefutura, owned by Univision, also shows a Puerto Rican-American version of the show, called Objetivo Fama [14] ("Objective Fame").
Dutch independent martial arts filmmakers Baaah Productions have parodied the Dutch version of the show, under the name Kungfu Idol.
The film American Dreamz satirizes the show, the American people (contestants and viewers), the George W. Bush Administration and Mandy Moore stars as the Carrie Underwood character.
In the American Nicktoon series The Fairly OddParents the episode "Fairy Idol" is a parody this show.
Most likely inspired by Idol's success, in 2003 CBS revived "Star Search", the long-running syndicated program. Arsenio Hall took over for Ed McMahon as host, and the show also featured celebrity judges such as Ben Stein and Naomi Judd, with Judd assuming the "brutally honest judge" role similar to Simon Cowell on Idol. Although more of an overall talent competition, the show only could garner middling ratings before being cancelled after the 2004 season.
Predecessor Shows
Though it was a predecessor, not an imitator, of American Idol, and though it had a somewhat different format, the 1950s TV show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts was a #1 rated program that launched the careers of many famous entertainers. Godfrey's show was in turn a contemporary of and (at least in part) inspired by "Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour", which started out as a radio show.
Additionally, AI's showcasing for entertainment value of extremely poor acts - most of whom were oblivious to just how bad they were - mirrored The Gong Show and other shows such as Best of the Worst
See also
- American popular music
- Music of the United States
- List of songs performed on American Idol
- America's Most Talented Kid
- Schadenfreude
- Star Search
- Superstar USA
- Teen Idol
- Music competitions
External links
- American Idol Official Website
- Template:Myspace - show page on MySpace.com, courtesy of News Corporation. Includes video recaps, contestant interviews and other exclusive videos.
- American IdolVideo Collection
- 2000s fads
- 2000s TV shows in the United States
- American Idol
- American programs based on British programs
- CTV network shows
- Fox network shows
- Game shows
- Kids' Choice Awards winners
- Idol television series
- Interactive television
- ITV television programmes
- Nielsen Ratings winners
- Reality television series in the United States
- Singing competitions
- FremantleMedia TV shows