American Idol

American Idol is a television show featured on the Fox Network in the United States, based on the popular British show Pop Idol. The show is a competition in which viewers can call in and vote on contestants to determine the best "undiscovered" young singer in the United States, with the winner receiving a major record deal, although some runners-up have achieved enough fame to ink record deals of their own.

Overview

Early auditions

In the show, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, hopeful contestants, after being screened by preliminary panels which select for singing talent or humorous potential and human interest, audition before three judges (Simon Cowell (one of the judges from Pop Idol), Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson) in cities across the United States (sometimes a celebrity fourth judge is added). These are generally held at large convention centers where thousands of people wait in line for auditions. In order to be eligible, the contestants are not permitted to have any current recording or talent management agreements (but may have had one at some point in the past). Based on turnout and availability, producers select a certain number from the crowd to audition before the three judges (this may take several rounds). Contestants are required to sing a cappella. Those who impress the majority of the judges move on to the second round auditions which take place in Hollywood (typically only several dozen out of the thousands in each city move on). The contestants selected despite lack of singing talent for appearance before the panel provide a major attraction to the viewing audience as they simultaneously proclaim their talent while turning out gut-wrenching performances which are ridiculed by the judges.

Related Topics:
Ryan Seacrest - Simon Cowell - Pop Idol - Paula Abdul - Randy Jackson - United States - A cappella - Hollywood

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One of the most popular portions of each season are initial episodes showcasing American Idol hopefuls auditioning before the panel of judges. These early episodes focus mainly on the poorest performances from contestants who often appear oblivious to their lack of star talent. These "contestants" have been selected by the preliminary panels in a negative sense, a typical combination is lack of singing ability combined with vanity regarding their "talent." Others are selected for human interest potential, the 2005 auditions featured a "cannibal" who had sampled human flesh in an anthropology class and an aspiring female prize fighter. Other examples include a man dressed in pajamas with no shoes (whose comments made Simon explode with laughter) and a transvestite who kisses Cowell on the cheek after his (or her) audition wraps up. Poor singers often face intense and humbling criticism from the judges, and especially from Cowell, who can be harsh and blunt in his rejections. Typically the judges express disgust or dismay or suppressed laughter. Some poor performances have attained notoriety on their own; these have included season two's performance of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" by Keith Beukelaer and season three's rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" by William Hung.

Related Topics:
Madonna - Like a Virgin - Keith Beukelaer - Ricky Martin - She Bangs - William Hung

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Contestants must be U.S. citizens and, for the first three seasons, had to be 16 to 24 years of age. For the fourth season, the upper age limit was raised to 28 to attract more mature and diverse contestants. In early 2003, a 50-year-old college professor named Drew Cummings filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, charging the show with age discrimination because producers denied him an audition due to his age. His case was not taken up by the EEOC.

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On to Hollywood

Once in Hollywood, the three judges narrow the initial field of several hundred down to a group of 24 semifinalists (complete list), divided equally between men and women, who are invited to perform in the live portions of the show. On three consecutive weeks, the male semifinalists perform only against the other men, and the women only against the other women. Each contestant performs live (in the eastern and central time zones), in primetime, a song of his or her choice, and receives critiques from the judges, who, from this point on, serve almost entirely in an advisory capacity, with little direct influence on the results.

Related Topics:
Complete list - Eastern - Central time zones

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Viewers have two hours following the broadcast of the show in their time zone to phone in votes for their favorite contestant by calling a toll-free number (viewers may also send text messages to vote). Callers are allowed to vote as many times as they like for any number of contestants. On the following night's episode the results of the nationwide vote are announced, and the bottom two vote-getters are eliminated each week. At the end of the semifinal rounds, the six men and six women who remain advance to the finals.

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During the middle seasons, the semifinal round consisted of 32 semifinalists who were divided into four groups of eight. In the first season, they were 30 contestants, divided into three groups of ten. Each week for four (three for season one) weeks, one group would perform with the top two (three for season one) vote-getters from each group advancing to the finals. When all the semifinal shows had been completed, there was a wildcard phase. Each judge chose one semifinalist to advance to the final round, and a studio audience vote determined the final wildcard spot, rounding out the field of twelve finalists. In season 1, 5 contestants were chosen, and judges chose one to advance to the finals. This was changed to the procedure (see above) in the 4th season due to the abundace of females (and no males left in the final 4) in the third season.

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Semifinalists (and in some cases, other contestants as well) must submit to background checks and may be summarily disqualified for past behavior deemed undesirable, such as an arrest record. Several finalists have been disqualified for revelations that surfaced late in the competition. Semifinalists are also subjected to drug tests, in order to avoid scandals involving drug usage. Contestants who failed the test have not been allowed to proceed in the competion.

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Also contestants are contracted to be "conclaved" from the outside world. This stops contestants from using cell phones (unless between family members or during an emergency), the Internet (especially chatting and message boards), leaving the Hollywood jurisdiction, leaving their apartments without consent, watching TV (especially News and Sports), listening to radio stations, and reading newspapers during their duration in the competition. This is to keep the contestants safe from terrorists, epidemics, paparazzi, and to distance contestants from distractions that might be detrimental to their singing ability. The only time when a contestant can be free from this rule as if he or she gets voted out. They can however watch movies, since they have no known distracting effect on the contestants.

Related Topics:
Internet - Hollywood - Terrorists - Epidemics - Paparazzi

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Final twelve

In the finals, which last eleven weeks, each finalist performs a song live in primetime from a weekly theme (two songs in later rounds). Themes have included Motown, disco, big band music, and Billboard #1 hits. Some themes are based on music recorded by a particular artist, and the finalists have a chance to work with that artist in preparing their performances. Artists around whom themes have been based include Barry Manilow, Gloria Estefan, and Elton John.

Related Topics:
Motown - Disco - Big band - Billboard - Barry Manilow - Gloria Estefan - Elton John

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When there are three finalists remaining, themes are no longer used. Instead, each contestant sings three songs: one of their own choice, one chosen by the judges, and one chosen by record executive Clive Davis. However in Season Two, in the final three, one song was chosen randomly from a bowl, with one chosen by the performer and one by the judges.

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In any case, each week on the following night's live "results" episode, the contestant with the fewest votes is sent home. The bottom three vote-getters are separated from the remaining contestants. Over the course of the episode, two are revealed as being "safe" for the week, and the loser is sent home after performing one final song to end the episode. This process is repeated each week until the one remaining contestant is declared the winner.

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