IMDb > "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002)
"American Idol: The Search for a Superstar"
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"American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002) More at IMDbPro »TV series 2002-????

Photos (see all 1506 | slideshow) Videos (see all 14)
"American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002): :  -- Here's a first look at the top 36 contestants on "American Idol."
"American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002): :  -- US Home Video Trailer from 20th Century Fox
"American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002): Season 8: Episode 19 -- The "American Idol" finalists talk to "The Insider" at their photoshoot!
"American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002): :  -- Former "American Idol" contestant Chris Daughtry and his band perform their new single, "Over You," from the self-titled CD, "Daughtry."
"American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002): :  -- Hannah Storm chats with "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson about his battle with diabetes and how he changed his lifestyle for the better.

Overview

User Rating:
4.9/10   6,477 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Creator:
Contact:
View company contact information for American Idol on IMDbPro.
Seasons:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | unknown full episode list
Release Date:
11 June 2002 (USA) more
Tagline:
Thousands audition... Millions vote.... One wins. more
Plot:
Twelve finalists and/or future singers (six men and six women) who were selected from America, compete... more
Awards:
Won 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 29 wins & 70 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(5927 articles)
Adam Lambert Hits High Notes In ‘American Music Awards’ Rehearsal Footage
 (From OnTheFlix. 22 November 2009, 10:14 AM, PST)

Celebrity Biography: Adam Lambert
 (From PopStar. 22 November 2009, 9:51 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Yer basic love/hate relationship more (126 total)

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 4 of 258)

Ryan Seacrest ... Himself - Host / ... (194 episodes, 2002-2009)
Simon Cowell ... Himself - Judge / ... (194 episodes, 2002-2009)

Paula Abdul ... Herself - Judge / ... (194 episodes, 2002-2009)
Randy Jackson ... Himself - Judge / ... (194 episodes, 2002-2009)
more

Additional Details

Also Known As:
American Idol (USA) (new title)
American Idol 2 (USA) (promotional title)
American Idol 3 (USA) (alternative title)
American Idol 4 (USA) (fourth season title)
more
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Malaysia:U | Singapore:PG | Australia:G (some episodes) | Australia:PG (some episodes) | USA:TV-G | USA:TV-PG (audition segments)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
David Archuleta, 'Diana Degarmo' and Jordin Sparks are the three youngest contestants to make the Final Two. more
Quotes:
[says this catchphrase everytime before the intro credits begin]
Ryan Seacrest: This... is "American Idol"!
more
Movie Connections:

FAQ

Who is the best selling contestant of American Idol?
Was Simon Cowell going to quit if Sanjaya won season 6?
What is 'Idol Gives Back'?
more
17 out of 26 people found the following comment useful.
Yer basic love/hate relationship, 25 April 2007
4/10
Author: Rogue-32 from L A.

I've watched every episode of this show from its inception, and, sadly but not surprisingly, I have seen it become more and more cheesy as the years go by.

For starters, Seacrest has to go. If you look up the word smarmy in the dictionary, you will see his picture. And the judges are all a joke at this point - they've become caricatures of themselves, it seems, and nothing they have to say means anything, nor do the viewers' votes actually count, since I believe the producers of the show will not have someone win whom they do not approve of (meaning someone they can't control). The contestants are still good, though, which is why I still watch: I'm a sucker for a talent show and I do love seeing someone do really well, as Jordin is doing this year. And let's face it, the show is an incredible spectacle - the modern equivalent of, say, the gladiators in the Colosseum.

Last night, they kicked off the "Idol Gives Back" thing, where, for every vote cast, ten cents would be donated by the shows' sponsors - Ford, Coca Cola, and A T & T - toward the world's hunger crisis. Seacrest stood there, in all his sanctimonious smarminess, preaching to us about how we were not just voting this week, we're "saving lives." I'm all for ending hunger in all countries of the world, beginning with our country, don't get me wrong, but this to me feels like a very underhanded and sleazy way to obtain more publicity for the show.

The corporations in question have enough money to fully end all world hunger if they wanted; they do not need our votes to contribute to that cause. And it would be a tax write-off for them, to boot. By telling people they are "saving lives" by voting, the producers of the show (and Seacrest, as their shamelessly pathetic talking head - he's like Max Headroom without the soul) are implying that the opposite is true, as well: if you don't vote, you are NOT saving lives.

About the show itself: the worst thing is how they never let the contestants sing a whole song, they have to condense their song into a minute and a half, and then they get criticized for not having enough feeling or enough conviction or enough personality, blah blah blah. A song has to be complete in order for it to legitimately 'live' - the emotion or feeling of it has to build and you cannot genuinely do that when you're forced to cut out most of it. They have time on the show for all sorts of crap, but they can't make time for the performers to actually SING. I commend anyone who can come on week after week and manage to give a credible performance under these conditions, something the judges don't seem to acknowledge or appreciate.

Where will it all end? I predict a few more seasons, and then hopefully the network will take the show off before it deteriorates into an even tackier circus than it's already become.

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