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.
It started as an addition to the Idols format that was based on Pop Idol from British television, and 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, and SMS text voting. The winners of the first twenty-two 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, Iam Tongi, and Abi Carter.
American Idol employs a panel of vocal judges who critique the contestants' performances. The original judges, for the first through eighth seasons, 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. The sixteenth season brought three new judges: singers Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie. Beginning in the twenty-third season, Underwood will replace Perry, alongside returning judges Bryan and Richie. The show has been hosted by television presenter 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". A rival TV executive said the series was "the most impactful show in the history of television". 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."
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.
Series overview[]
| Season | Originally aired | Channel | Winner | Runner-up | Host | Judges (chair order) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| 1 | June 11 – September 4, 2002 | Fox | Kelly Clarkson | Justin Guarini | Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman | Simon Cowell | Paula Abdul | Randy Jackson | N/A |
| 2 | January 21 – May 21, 2003 | Ruben Studdard | Clay Aiken | Ryan Seacrest | |||||
| 3 | January 19 – May 26, 2004 | Fantasia Barrino | Diana DeGarmo | ||||||
| 4 | January 18 – May 25, 2005 | Carrie Underwood | Bo Bice | ||||||
| 5 | January 17 – May 25, 2006 | Taylor Hicks | Katharine McPhee | ||||||
| 6 | January 16 – May 23, 2007 | Jordin Sparks | Blake Lewis | ||||||
| 7 | January 15 – May 21, 2008 | David Cook | David Archuleta | ||||||
| 8 | January 13 – May 20, 2009 | Kris Allen | Adam Lambert | Kara DioGuardi | |||||
| 9 | January 12 – May 26, 2010 | Lee DeWyze | Crystal Bowersox | Ellen DeGeneres | |||||
| 10 | January 19 – May 25, 2011 | Scotty McCreery | Lauren Alaina | Steven Tyler | Jennifer Lopez | N/A | |||
| 11 | January 18 – May 23, 2012 | Phillip Phillips | Jessica Sanchez | ||||||
| 12 | January 16 – May 16, 2013 | Candice Glover | Kree Harrison | Keith Urban | Nicki Minaj | Mariah Carey | |||
| 13 | January 15 – May 21, 2014 | Caleb Johnson | Jena Irene | Jennifer Lopez | Harry Connick Jr. | N/A | |||
| 14 | January 7 – May 13, 2015 | Nick Fradiani | Clark Beckham | ||||||
| 15 | January 6 – April 7, 2016 | Trent Harmon | La'Porsha Renae | ||||||
| 16 | March 11 – May 21, 2018 | ABC | Maddie Poppe | Caleb Lee Hutchinson | Lionel Richie | Katy Perry | Luke Bryan | ||
| 17 | March 3 – May 19, 2019 | Laine Hardy | Alejandro Aranda | ||||||
| 18 | February 16 – May 17, 2020 | Just Sam | Arthur Gunn | ||||||
| 19 | February 14 – May 23, 2021 | Chayce Beckham | Willie Spence | ||||||
| 20 | February 27 – May 22, 2022 | Noah Thompson | HunterGirl | ||||||
| 21 | February 19 – May 21, 2023 | Iam Tongi | Megan Danielle | ||||||
| 22 | February 18 – May 19, 2024 | Abi Carter | Will Moseley | ||||||
International broadcasts[]
| Country | Channel |
|---|---|
| United States | Fox, ABC, Hulu |
| Asia | Star World |
| Latin America | Sony Entertainment Television |
| Middle East | MBC 4 |
| Australia | Fox8 |
| Brazil | Sony Channel |
| Canada | CTV |
| Croatia | RTL Televizija |
| Denmark | TV3 |
| Estonia | TV3 |
| Finland | MTV3 |
| France | M6 |
| Hong Kong | ATV World |
| Hungary | TV2 |
| Indonesia | Global TV, RCTI |
| Ireland | TV3 |
| Israel | Channel 1, HOT Family, yes stars Base, Hot 3, Channel 33, yes Drama, Star World |
| Italy | Sky Uno |
| Japan | Fox Life, Fox, BS11 |
| Malaysia | 8TV |
| New Zealand | TVNZ |
| Norway | TV 2 Zebra |
| Philippines | ABC, QTV, GMA Network, Fox |
| Portugal | Fox Life |
| Romania | AXN |
| Singapore | MediaCorp Channel 5 |
| Slovakia | Jednotka |
| South Africa | M-Net Series |
| Spain | LaSexta, Telecinco, Cosmopolitan TV |
| Sweden | TV4 |
| United Kingdom | ITV2 |