American Idol (titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar in the first season) is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted on June 11, 2002, and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television. Part of the Idol franchise, it is a spinoff from the reality program Pop Idol, which first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom.The program seeks to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nation-wide auditions. Through phone voting America has chosen past winners Kelly Clarkson (Season One), Ruben Studdard (Season Two), Fantasia Barrino (Season Three), Carrie Underwood (Season Four), Taylor Hicks (Season Five), Jordin Sparks (Season Six), David Cook (Season Seven), and Kris Allen (Season Eight).In order to aid voters, the judges give critiques of the contestants" performances: Grammy award-winning record producer and music manager Randy Jackson; award-winning music executive and music manager Simon Cowell; and Grammy award-nominated singer-songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi. Grammy award-winning pop singer and Emmy award-winning choreographer Paula Abdul was a judge for seasons one through eight.http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118006911.html?categoryId=2848&cs=1 The format originally featured three judges with DioGuardi added in the eighth season.For all the show"s seasons, it is currently hosted by veteran television personality and former children"s game show host, Ryan Seacrest. Comedian Brian Dunkleman co-hosted with Seacrest during the first season. The American Idol band is led by Rickey Minor.The show usually airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in the United States and Canada, Wednesday and Thursday nights in Australia and Asia, Thursday and Friday nights on digital television in the United Kingdom Friday and Saturday nights in Israel, and Saturday and Sunday nights in Latin America.



Selection process

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Initial auditions

Before contestants get the chance to see the show"s judges, they go through two rigorous sets of cuts. The first is a brief audition with three other contestants in front of one or two of the show"s producers. Contestants are then either sent through to the next round of producers or asked to leave. Out of the thousands of people who show up to audition, only about 100–200 contestants in each city make it past this round. The remaining contestants audition in front of the four American Idol judges, and those who advance are sent to Hollywood.

Hollywood

Once in Hollywood, the contestants perform on different days, with eliminations by the judges on each day. During the first six seasons, contestants select a song from a list to sing for the first round. For the next round, the contestants split themselves into small groups and performed a song together. In the final round, the contestants performed a song of their choice a cappella.