American Idol
American Idol is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to April 7, 2016, for 15 seasons. It was on hiatus for two years until March 11, 2018, when a revival of the series began airing on ABC.
For the current season, see American Idol season 22.American Idol
American Idol: The Search for a Superstar
- Andy Scheer (2002)
- Bruce Gowers (2003–2006, 2008)
- Ken Warwick (2007, 2011–12)
- Bill DeRonde (2009, 2014–15)
- Gregg Gelfand (2010, 2013)
- Louis J. Horvitz (2014)
- Phil Heyes (2015–2016, 2018–present)
- Julian Gingell
- Barry Stone
- Cathy Dennis
United States
English
22
693 (list of episodes)
- Simon Fuller (2002–16)
- Cecile Frot-Coutaz (2002–2016, 2018)
- Simon Jones (2002–03)
- Nigel Lythgoe (2002–08, 2011–13, 2016 finale)
- Ken Warwick (2002–13)
- J. Brian Gadinsky (2002)
- Charles Boyd (2009–16)
- Trish Kinane (2013–2016, 2018–present)
- Jesse Ignjatovic (2014)
- Evan Prager (2014)
- Per Blankens (2014–15)
- David Hill (2015–16)
- Megan Wolflick (2015–2016, 2018–present)
- Jessica Castro (2016)
- Jennifer Mullin (2018–present)
- Phil McIntyre (2018)
- Chris Anokute (2019)
- Brian Burke (2021–present)
22–104 minutes
June 11, 2002 –
April 7, 2016
March 11, 2018 –
present
It started as an addition to the Idols format that was based on Pop Idol from British television, in which the programme's first series, which was won by Will Young, ended over four months before the show began, as it later became one of the most successful shows in the history of American television. The concept of the series involves discovering recording stars from unsigned singing talents, with the winner determined by American viewers using phones, Internet platforms, and SMS text voting. The winners of the first twenty-one seasons, as chosen by viewers, are Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze, Scotty McCreery, Phillip Phillips, Candice Glover, Caleb Johnson, Nick Fradiani, Trent Harmon, Maddie Poppe, Laine Hardy, Just Sam, Chayce Beckham, Noah Thompson, and Iam Tongi.
American Idol employs a select panel of judges who critique the contestants' performances. The original judges, for seasons one through eight, were record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, singer and choreographer Paula Abdul, and music executive and manager Simon Cowell. The judging panel for the last three seasons on Fox consisted of singers Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, and Harry Connick Jr.[1] Season sixteen brought three new judges: singers Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. The show has been hosted by radio personality Ryan Seacrest throughout its run, apart from the show's inaugural season when comedian Brian Dunkleman joined Seacrest as co-host.
The success of American Idol has been described as "unparalleled in broadcasting history".[2] A rival TV executive said the series was "the most impactful show in the history of television".[3] It became a recognized springboard for launching the career of many artists as bona fide stars. According to Billboard magazine, in its first ten years, "Idol has spawned 345 Billboard chart-toppers and a platoon of pop idols, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Adam Lambert, and Jordin Sparks while remaining a TV ratings juggernaut."[4] For an unprecedented eight consecutive years, from the 2003–04 television season through the 2010–11 season, either its performance show or result show was ranked number one in U.S. television ratings.[5]
Reception[edit]
U.S. television ratings[edit]
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of American Idol. It holds the distinction of having the longest winning streak in the Nielsen annual television ratings; it became the highest-rated of all television programs in the United States overall for an unprecedented seven consecutive years,[175] or eight consecutive (and total) years when either its performance or result show was ranked number one overall.[5]
Cultural impact[edit]
Television[edit]
The enormous success of the show and the revenue it generated were transformative for the Fox Broadcasting Company. American Idol and other shows such as Survivor and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire were credited for expanding reality television programming in the United States in the 1990s and 2000s, and Idol became the most watched non-scripted primetime television series, which it remained for almost a decade, from 2003 to 2012, breaking records on U.S. television (dominated by drama shows and sitcoms in the preceding decades). On several occasions, notably in 2003 and 2008, American Idol overtook the Academy Awards as the most-watched non-sports entertainment event on U.S. television, marking the most recent time as of 2024 that a live regular non-sports primetime series has garnered such viewership in the country.[300]
The show pushed Fox to become the number one U.S. TV network in overall viewers in 2008 and among adults aged 18–49,[301] the key demographic coveted by advertisers, for an unprecedented eight consecutive years from 2005 to 2012.[302] Its success also helped lift the ratings of other shows that were scheduled around it such as House and Bones, and Idol, for years, was Fox's strongest platform primetime television program for promoting eventual hit shows of the 2010s (of the same network) such as Glee, New Girl and Empire.[3] The show, its creator Simon Fuller claimed, "saved Fox".[303]
The show's massive success in the mid-2000s to early 2010s spawned a number of imitating singing-competition shows, such as Rock Star, Nashville Star, The Voice, Rising Star, The Sing-Off, and The X Factor.[304][305] The number of imitative singing shows on American television had reached 17 by 2016.[306] Its format also served as a blueprint for non-singing TV shows such as Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, most of which contribute to the current highly competitive reality TV landscape on American television.[307]
