American Idol (2002– )
"American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (original title)

Twelve finalists and/or future singers (six men and six women) who were selected from America, compete in a talent contest in which they were asked to sing any song they like on this "Star ... See full summary »

Creator:

Simon Fuller

Stars:

Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell

Won 8 Primetime Emmys. Another 36 wins & 105 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Ryan Seacrest	...	Himself - Host (400 episodes, 2002-2013)
Randy Jackson	...	Himself - Judge (397 episodes, 2002-2013)
Simon Cowell	...	Himself - Judge (314 episodes, 2002-2010)
Paula Abdul	...	Herself - Judge (272 episodes, 2002-2010)

Storyline

Twelve finalists and/or future singers (six men and six women) who were selected from America, compete in a talent contest in which they were asked to sing any song they like on this "Star Search" clone. After each song that was sung, the judges, Abdul, Jackson and Cowell, then critique that finalist's chosen song. After each show's ending, America must vote for a finalist to whom they really think their performance is good using this AT&T (now Cingular Wireless) or any other cellular phone to cast votes with. Once the votes are locked in, the judges and America decides who has the most and the least amount of votes, and the contestant with the least amount of votes is eliminated, and it goes on each week's show until the winner is crowned as "American Idol," where he/she wins a recording contract worth up to $1,000,000. The rest of the other finalists to whom they have been voted off before (the runner-up) also get recording contracts, too.

---

Plot Keywords:

manufactured pop | based on british tv series | singing | audition | music reality | 

---

Taglines:

Dare to Dream.

---

Genres:

Game-Show | Music | Reality-TV

---

Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Broadcasting Company [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 June 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

American Idol 10

Filming Locations:

Alex Theatre - 216 N. Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fremantle Media North America, Fremantle Media, 19 Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Top 12 Rankings (2004):

• Winner: Fantasia Barrino,
• 2nd place: Diana DeGarmo,
• 3rd place: Jasmine Trias,
• 4th place: La Toya London,
• 5th place: George Huff,
• 6th place: John Stevens,
• 7th place: Jennifer Hudson,
• 8th place: Jon Peter Lewis,
• 9th place: Camile Velasco,
• 10th place: Amy Adams,
• 11th place: Matthew Rogers,
• 12th place: Leah LaBelle

---

Quotes

[says this catchphrase everytime before the intro credits begin]
Ryan Seacrest: This... is "American Idol"!

---

Crazy Credits

Portions of this program not affecting the outcome have been edited.

---

Connections

Referenced in Late Show with David Letterman: Episode #17.76 (2010)

User Reviews

Used to like it, but now it is really formulaic, tired and predictable

No doubt there are some really talented singers such as David Cook, Chris Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson, but others were ludicrously bad. Then there were others with annoying personalities, Tatiana I am looking at you. However, while I was addicted to it at first mainly because of the hilarious auditions, I stopped watching it after it became increasingly formulaic, tired and predictable.

Simon's put downs no longer became funny, instead they became increasingly insulting, and Paula became increasingly inaudible over the screaming audience. The choreography was often under-rehearsed, the singers sometimes pick the wrong songs for their voice(a huge danger when it comes to singing), the lighting was dim, the clothes that some contestants wear either in auditions(ie. Bikini Girl and the guy in the Pink Rabbit suit) or on the live shows(ie. Carly) are either too revealing or unflattering and I am not a fan of Ryan Seacrest's presenting. Also the show is very exploitative, I know the X Factor is quite exploitative, but this brings the meaning of exploitation to a whole new level. It is not entirely the show's fault though, the media are mostly to blame too. Then there are those who don't make it through Hollywood or the live shows, they cry and say that American Idol is their life. Give me a break, I am not trying to sound insensitive, but there are many many good things you can do with your life other than go on American Idol, if you really want to sing, join a pop band, a musical theatre or opera group, you may find they are better in terms of time value.

Overall, formulaic, tired and predictable, not to mention exploitative. 2/10 for the auditions. Bethany Cox