About American Idol
The Phenomenon Continues

Television's No. 1 show, American Idol, returns for its seventh season when it premieres in January. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the hit series empowers viewers to discover America's next solo singing superstar by voting for their favorites to win the coveted American Idol title.

Every year, tens of thousands of hopefuls from across the nation audition for a shot at stardom and a chance to be the next American Idol. The show's judges - Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson - winnow down the competitors to a select group of semifinalists who sing their hearts out each week for the studio audience and the television viewers. The judges have their say after every performance, but it's the viewing public that determines who will advance to the next round of the competition and who will go home. Voting via telephone and text messaging begins immediately after each performance show, and the results are announced during the following night's broadcast.

Themes such as country music, hits of the 21st century and Elvis Presley songs add spice to the performance shows, along with appearances and mentoring by legendary artists like Tony Bennett, Jennifer Lopez, Martina McBride and Bon Jovi. These guest performers not only share their expertise with the contestants, they enable audience members to experience a variety of musical styles.
The Winners

Eventually the competition is narrowed down to two finalists who compete for a major recording contract and the American Idol title. Past winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks and recently crowned Jordin Sparks already have risen to the top of the recording industry.

Last season, AMERICAN IDOL entered the philanthropy arena with "Idol Gives Back," which raised more than $75 million to fight extreme poverty in the U.S. and Africa. The special was honored with the prestigious Governors Award, the Television Academy's highest accolade, at the 2007 Creative Arts Emmy® Awards.

Emmy-nominated AMERICAN IDOL is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, founder of 19 Entertainment; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Nigel Lythgoe, President, 19 Television; and Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.

American Idol is a American televised singing competition, which began its first season on June 11, 2002. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the reality program Pop Idol created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller, which was first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom.

The program seeks to discover the greatest young singer in the country, through a series of nationwide auditions. The outcomes of the later stages of this competition are determined by public voting by phone. The format features three judges who critique the contestants' performances in order to facilitate the voting: record producer and bass player Randy Jackson; former pop star and choreographer Paula Abdul; and music executive Simon Cowell. The show is hosted by former children's game show emcee and television personality Ryan Seacrest; comedian Brian Dunkleman cohosted with Seacrest in season one. The American Idol band is led by Rickey Minor. The show usually airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in the US and Thursday and Friday nights in the UK (two days after the US airing). In its six seasons, its six winners have been, in order of their season, Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, and Jordin Sparks. The first five American Idols are from the Southern United States of America (U.S) and the sixth, Jordin Sparks, is from the Southwest. Hicks was the oldest winner at 29, Sparks the youngest at just 17.

American Idol is televised on Fox in the United States, ITV2 in the UK, FOX8 in Australia, CTV in Canada, on TV3 in Ireland and on Q11 for the 7th season, in the Philippines. The Idol series was first created by Simon Fuller (manager of the Spice Girls and S Club 7. The director is Bruce Gowers (director of Queen's original "Bohemian Rhapsody" video) and executive producers are Nigel Lythgoe (a judge on So You Think You Can Dance) and Ken Warwick (Gladiators and Grudge Match).