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 & 106 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Ryan Seacrest	...	Himself - Host (429 episodes, 2002-2013)
Randy Jackson	...	Himself - Judge (429 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:

Everyone dreams. Idol delivers.

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Genres:

Game-Show | Music | Reality-TV

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Broadcasting Company [United States]

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

The rapping male nanny featured on the 2005 San Francisco auditions was actually comedian Chris Wylde in disguise. Wylde adopted a nerdy persona as a nanny, donned clunky black glasses and auditioned under his real name, Christopher Noll. Instead of singing, he performed a humorous original rap about judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and guest judge, Brandy. Abdul and Brandy praised his performance, which was panned by Cowell. After getting rejected, Wylde spewed out a mouthful of obscenities. According to the New York Post, Idol producers were unaware the audition was a stunt.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Production will have in place weekly monitoring procedures designed to prevent individuals from unfairly influencing the outcome of the voting by generating significant blocks of votes using technical enhancements. The producers reserve the right to remove any identified "power dialing" votes.

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Connections

Referenced in The House Bunny (2008)

User Reviews

Popular yes, but that doesn't make it good . . .

Sure the show pulls high ratings, provokes fevered discussion and might even be fun for its viewers. They've assembled a tight trio of judges with good natured rapport and enough of a comprehensive critical eye to weed through the shallow, fame-craving riff-raff . . . however . . . I am here to bury Idol, not to praise it! At most the show is a guilty pleasure, as hollowly insubstantial as it is trite. It's best fit as passive, ultimately forgettable recreation for a preadolescent audience with no other life concern except perhaps their schoolwork. The final irony is that all of the "American Idols" picked by the judges and the viewers, with the possible exception of Carrie Underwood, have sooner or later vanished from the formerly adoring public eye that created them! Despite this repeated repudiation of its mere existence, the ungainly behemoth that is American Idol nonetheless slouches towards us each seasonal cycle, waiting to be born anew in all its false idolatric 'splendor' . . .