American Idol
From Idol series wiki
American Idol is on the Fox Network in the United States, often compared unfavorably to Chuck Baris' The Gong Show of the 1970s. It was created by Simon Fuller (manager of the Spice Girls and S Club 7) 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). There are also several producers (including Simon Jones), associate producers, sound and lighting technicians, casting director, contestant coordinator and script coordinators.
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.
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[edit] Overview
[edit] 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 which 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 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. 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 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.
[edit] 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.
During the second and third 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 abundance 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 competition.
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, talking to third-parties, watching TV (especially News and Sports), listening to radio stations, and reading newspapers during their duration in the competition.
[edit] 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 and Queen.
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.
[edit] Season synopses
[edit] Season one
- Main article: American Idol (Season 1){{#if:
In the first season the show was co-hosted by Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman. Winner Kelly Clarkson has had two successful albums, "Thankful" and "Breakaway". While her first album failed to sell outside of North America, her second set was a global success and garnished two Grammy Awards in 2006. Other Season One contestants have released albums, without similar promotion or commercial success. From the start viewers in Ireland were able to watch the show live on TV3. Seventh place finisher Ryan Starr has yet to release an album, citing American Idol's restrictive contract as the reason, but has appeared on numerous television shows. Her debut album is due out in 2007.
The show also inspired a 2003 movie, From Justin to Kelly, featuring Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini in a musical love story. The film failed to make back its budget[1].
[edit] Season One Contestants
| Singer | Semifinals Group 1 | Semifinals Group 2 | Semifinals Group 3 | Wild Card | Night 1; Week 1 | Night 2; Week 2 | Night 2; Week 3 | Night 2; Week 4 | Night 2; Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly Clarkson | Did not Perform | TOP 10 | Did not Perform | Did not perform | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WINNER |
| Justin Guarini | Did not Perform | TOP 10 | Did not Perform | Did not Perform | SAFE | SAFE | BTM2 | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | LOSE |
| Nikki McKibbon | Did Not Perform | Did Not Perform | TOP 10 | Did Not Perform | BTM3 | SAFE | BTM3 | BTM3 | BTM2 | BTM2 | ELIM | |
| Tamyra Gray | TOP 10 | Did Not Perform | Did Not Perform | Did Not Perform | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | ||
| RJ Helton | Did Not Perform | Wild Card | Did Not Perform | TOP 10 | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | BTM2 | ELIM | |||
| Christina Christian | Did Not Perform | Did Not Perform | TOP 10 | Did Not Perform | SAFE | BTM3 | SAFE | ELIM | ||||
| Erin "Ryan" Starr | TOP 10 | Did Not Perform | Did Not Perform | Did Not Perform | SAFE | BTM2 | ELIM | |||||
| Jim Verrasaos | TOP 10 | Did Not Perform | Did Not Perform | Did Not Perform | ELIM | |||||||
| EJay Day | Did Not Perform | Did Not Perform | TOP 10 | Did Not Perform | ELIM
This Chart does not include semifinalists and Wild Cards |
