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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Thousands audition... Millions vote.... One wins.

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Genres:

Game-Show | Music | Reality-TV

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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

Constantine Maroulis, lead singer for the hard rock band Pray For The Soul Of Betty, auditioned for Season 4 in Washington, D.C. without telling his bandmates. When he qualified for the Hollywood rounds, Ryan Seacrest took the show's cameras to a Betty practice session to break the news to the band. Though Maroulis' bandmates were generally supportive of him, drummer Hamboussi expressed visible disdain towards the show and finally left the practice room in a huff.

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Quotes

[says it at times during the auditions]
Randy Jackson: Singing is not your thing.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Edited into American Idol Rewind (2006)

User Reviews

Most pointless show ever made...

I can't believe that people willfully watch this show. It's such a waste of time watching people embarrass themselves on national television. Shows like this one are the reason why America is full of morons and the reason why the Chinese and Japanese are going to own this country in the coming decades. The only reason shows like this are even on t.v. is the fact that corporate television executives are so greedy that instead of making t.v. shows that at the very least give a wholesome message or bring awareness to the public about a certain issues they look for any way to squeeze every penny they can and stick it in their own pockets instead of spending it on something worthwhile or educational. Don't watch shows like this. Read a book instead. Spend time with your kids. Get an education. Do something worthwhile with your life.