American Idol

Only Nashville Star still remains as a returning series and is the most popular. Major championship shown in bold. This series has been imitated by many other shows, among them Cupid, Superstar USA and Nashville Star (hosted by LeAnn Rimes). Note:Mickelson won as an amateur in 1991 and therefore did not receive any prize money. One or two more cities may also be added later as there are usually late additions to the list. In 2004, Forbes Magazine estimated his annual income at $20 million. As of now, the current list of cities (tentative) are Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Memphis and San Diego. Being a very popular golfer as well as a successful one, Mickelson is able to earn far more from endorsements than he does in prize money.

The fifth season of American Idol will be held starting in January 2006 with auditions expected to be in the summer and early autumn of 2005. However, it does not count in the record books because the Grand Slam of Golf does not count as an official event, so there are only 4 golfers to record "official" 59s. The winner of the competition was Carrie Underwood. His 59 came at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf at Poipu Bay Golf Course on November 24, 2004. It featured appearances by former auditioners of questionable talent, and celebrity cameos by Kenny G, Rascal Flatts, David Hasselhoff, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, George Benson, Billy Preston, Babyface and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Mickelson is also one of only 5 golfers (Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, David Duval, Annika Sörenstam) to have ever shot 59 in competition, and is the only left-hander among them. The fourth season finale featuring Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood aired May 24-May 25. His Masters win made him only the third golfer with a left-handed swing to win a Major, the others being New Zealander Sir Bob Charles who won the British Open in 1963 and Canadian Mike Weir who won the Masters in 2003.

Vonzell Solomon was the 10th contestant voted off the Top 12 on Wednesday May 18th. Before the victory, he was considered to be the best golfer in the world who had not won a Major, often having been accused of "choking" in such events. For the third and final song of the night, one of the standard judges (Jackson, Abdul or Cowell) chose each contestant's selection. However, despite his victories (21 as of 2004), he had yet to win a major tournament until his victory at The Masters in '04. In an unprecented move, Bo Bice performed his choice completely a cappella. Mickelson continued to win many PGA tournaments, winning at the Byron Nelson Golf Classic and the World Series of Golf in 1996, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in 1998, the Colonial in 2000 and the Greater Hartford Open in 2001 and again in 2002. The second song the performers chose any song from any era. By 1991, he had won his first PGA TOUR tournament at the Northern Telecom Open as an amateur, becoming the first to do so since Scott Verplank at the 1985 Western Open.

He chose the first song each performer would sing, many of which he produced in his career. Amateur title.
For the May 18 final three show, a guest judge, legendary record producer Clive Davis was added. In 1990, Mickelson became the first left-hander to win the U.S. The winner was Carrie Underwood, the first winner since Kelly Clarkson to not only win but avoid being in the bottom two or three for the entire competition. Born in San Diego, California and raised in Arizona (graduating from ASU), Mickelson began playing golf at a very young age. Mario Vazquez, who was originally one of the top 12, dropped out of the competition on March 11, just days before the top 12's first performance, citing "personal issues," opening a spot in the final 12 for Nikko Smith, who had been voted off in the semi-finals the previous week. Philip Alfred "Phil" Mickelson (born June 16, 1970) (nicknamed "Lefty" for having a left-handed swing despite being right-handed), is an American professional golfer who won The Masters in 2004.

Instead of competing in semifinal heats in which the top vote-getters are promoted to the final round, 24 semifinalists were named -- 12 men and 12 women, who competed separately, with 2 of each gender being voted off each week until 12 finalists were left. 2005 FBR Open, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, BellSouth Classic. This season also implemented new rules for the final portion of the contest. 2004 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, The Masters. He acquired mild fame by repeatedly yelling, "Can you dig it?" to the judges and for the inability of the judges to fully understand him. 2002 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Canon Greater Hartford Open. Also noted was Leroy Wells from Grand Bay, Alabama who auditioned in New Orleans singing Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Got Your Money". 2001 Buick Invitational, Canon Greater Hartford Open.

The most notable contestant in the early episodes was Mary Roach, who auditioned in Washington D.C. Her rendition of Carole King's "I Feel The Earth Move", as well as her comments to the judges that followed her audition, brought considerable negative attention (including false rumors of mental illness) and comparisons to William Hung. 2000 Buick Invitational, BellSouth Classic, MasterCard Colonial, The Tour Championship. Among the music featured in the program: on January 19, 2005, "Look At Me" written by Sara Hickman and performed by her 8-year-old daughter Lily (from the album Big Kid). 1998 Mercedes Championships, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The music celebrities featured were:. 1997 Bay Hill Invitational, Sprint International. While in the past seasons celebrity guest judges have been invited to participate during the competition, this was the first season where guest judges were invited to participate in the auditions. 1996 Nortel Open, Phoenix Open, GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic, NEC World Series of Golf.

Auditions were held from August to October 2004. 1995 Northern Telecom Open. Louis, Missouri, New Orleans, Louisiana, Las Vegas, Nevada, Cleveland, Ohio, Orlando, Florida and San Francisco, California. 1994 Mercedes Championships. Auditions were held in Washington, DC, St. 1993 Buick Invitational of California, The International. The fourth season of American Idol premiered on January 18, 2005. 1991 Northern Telecom Open.

Paul Anka made an appearance in the Season Finale. The third season was also shown in Australia on Network Ten about half a week after episodes were shown in the US. During the season, controversy over the legitimacy of the contest increased as geeky rocker Jon Peter Lewis and young crooner John Stevens stayed afloat while others were unexpectedly eliminated. After a nationwide vote of more than 65 million votes in total, Fantasia Barrino won the "American Idol" title and Diana DeGarmo was runner up.

The third season of American Idol premiered on January 19, 2004. Paul Anka made an appearance during the Season finale. Clark also alleged that Abdul gave him preferential treatment on the show because of their alleged romance. The rumor mills were buzzing once again in 2005 when Season Two contestant Corey Clark, who was himself kicked off the show because of a police record he had not disclosed to the show, alleged that he had had an affair with judge Paul Abdul.

Controversy arose when semi-finalist Frenchie Davis was booted from the show, after topless pictures she had taken four years before the show aired surfaced. Despite Studdard's win, Aiken has enjoyed more widespread popularity. Out of 24 million votes cast, Studdard finished just 130,000 votes ahead of Aiken, although there remains controversy over the validity of the reported results. In season two with Seacrest as the lone host, Ruben Studdard was the winner with Clay Aiken as runner up.

Guarini's self titled album was a flop, selling just 130,000 copies to date. Since then it has sold nearly 2 million copies, and includes such hits as "Since U Been Gone" (#2 on Billboard) and "Breakaway" (#6 on Billboard). Her first album Thankful debuted at #1, went double-platinum, and spawned the grammy-nominated hit "Miss Independent." Her sophomore album Breakaway debuted in November 2004 at #3 on the Billboard Charts. Since winning, Clarkson has gone on to a successful musical career.

Numerous television specials starring the ten finalists followed, as well as the box office bomb entitled From Justin to Kelly. Kelly Clarkson won, with Justin Guarini coming in second. In the first season the show was co-hosted by Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman. The number next to a contestant's name denotes the number of times he or she was in the "Bottom Three".

Kelly Clarkson came in second after Norway's Kurt Nilsen. In December 2003, winners of eleven different national Idol competitions were collected for a World Idol competition in London. A spin-off series called American Juniors premiered on June 3, 2003. This process is repeated each week until the one remaining contestant is declared the winner.

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. The bottom three vote-getters are separated from the remaining contestants. In any case, each week on the following night's live "results" episode, the contestant with the fewest votes is sent home. 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.

Instead, each contestant sings three songs: one of their own choice, one chosen by the judges, and one chosen by record executive Clive Davis. When there are three finalists remaining, themes are no longer used. Artists around whom themes have been based include Barry Manilow, Gloria Estefan, and Elton John. 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.

Themes have included Motown, disco, big band music, and Billboard #1 hits. In the finals, which last eleven weeks, each finalist performs a song live in primetime from a weekly theme (two songs in later rounds). They can however watch movies, since they have no known distracting effect on the contestants. The only time when a contestant can be free from this rule as if he or she gets voted out.

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. 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. Also contestants are contracted to be "conclaved" from the outside world. Contestants who failed the test have not been allowed to proceed in the competion.

Semifinalists are also subjected to drug tests, in order to avoid scandals involving drug usage. Several finalists have been disqualified for revelations that surfaced late in the competition. 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. 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.

In season 1, 5 contestants were chosen, and judges chose one to advance to the finals. 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. When all the semifinal shows had been completed, there was a wildcard phase. 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.

In the first season, they were 30 contestants, divided into three groups of ten. During the middle seasons, the semifinal round consisted of 32 semifinalists who were divided into four groups of eight. At the end of the semifinal rounds, the six men and six women who remain advance to the finals. On the following night's episode the results of the nationwide vote are announced, and the bottom two vote-getters are eliminated each week.

Callers are allowed to vote as many times as they like for any number of contestants. 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). 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. On three consecutive weeks, the male semifinalists perform only against the other men, and the women only against the other women.

Once in Hollywood, the three judges narrow the initial field of several hundred down to a group of 24 semifinalists, divided equally between men and women, who are invited to perform in the live portions of the show. His case was not taken up by the EEOC. 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. For the fourth season, the upper age limit was raised to 28 to attract more mature and diverse contestants.

citizens and, for the first three seasons, had to be 16 to 24 years of age. Contestants must be U.S. 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. Typically the judges express disgust or dismay or suppressed laughter.

Poor singers often face intense and humbling criticism from the judges, and especially from Cowell, who can be harsh and blunt in his rejections. 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. These early episodes focus mainly on the poorest performances from contestants who often appear oblivious to their lack of star talent. One of the most popular portions of each season are initial episodes showcasing American Idol hopefuls auditioning before the panel of judges.

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. Those who impress a 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). Contestants are required to sing a cappella. 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).

These are generally held at large convention centers where thousands of people wait in line for 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, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson) in cities across the United States (sometimes a celebrity fourth judge is added). Each contestant gets a contract by one Bertelsmann's many music labels because Bertelsmann owns a 50/50 stake in Sony BMG. American Idol is produced by Fremantle North America which is owned by German Bertelsmann AG.

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. American Idol is a television show featured on the Fox Network in the United States, based on the popular British show Pop Idol. American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers (2005). American Idol Season 3: Greatest Soul Classics (2004).

"What the World Needs Now" (single) (2003). "God Bless The U.S.A." (single) (2003). American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics (2003). American Idol Season 2: All Time Classic American Love Songs (2003).

American Idol Greatest Moments (2002). February 2, Brandy. February 1, LL Cool J. January 26, Kenny Loggins.

January 25, Gene Simmons of KISS. January 18, Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray.