(Fox) |
Channel: Fox (locally shown
on Star World and ABC-5)
Genre: Interactive reality talent show
Creator: Simon Fuller
Started: June 11, 2002
Status: Running (currently season 6)
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American Idol is an annual American
televised singing competition, which began its first
season on June 11, 2002. Part of the Idol franchise,
it originated from the UK reality program Pop Idol.
The program seeks to discover the best young singer
in the country, through a series of nationwide auditions.
The outcomes of the latter stages of this competition
is wholly determined by public voting. The format
features three judges who critique the contestants'
performances in order to facilitate the voting.
These are: record producer and bass player Randy
Jackson; former pop star Paula Abdul; and producer
and manager Simon Cowell. Ryan Seacrest is the current
lone host.
In an interview with Anderson Cooper on the CBS
TV current affairs show 60 Minutes on March 17,
2007 (repeated in extended format on CNN's AC 360
program on March 27, 2007, judge Simon Cowell openly
declared that the underlying primary purpose of
the Idol franchise (including American Idol) was
for 19 Entertainment (the parent corporation that
produces the Idol TV shows) to discover new singing
talent that can be signed to recording agreements
that the corporation maintains with a major record
company (Sony/BMG) and benefit from the record sales
of contestants and winners who are exposed to the
worldwide marketplace through the TV shows. Cowell
indicated that revenue from recordings by performers
associated with the Idol franchise has already exceeded
US $100 million. 19 Entertainment also retains exclusive
right of refusal for management and merchandising
of any contestant. Exercising management rights
is at the sole discretion of 19 Entertainment; in
the alternative the contestant performer is free
to pursue his or her own career.
American Idol is televised on the Fox Network in
the United States and on Fox Network and CTV in
Canada. The Idol series was first created by Simon
Fuller (manager of the Spice Girls and S Club 7)
and developed by Simon Jones of FremantleMedia.
The directors are Bruce Gowers (director of Queen's
original "Bohemian Rhapsody" video), Nigel
Lythgoe (a judge on So You Think You Can Dance)
and Ken Warwick (Gladiators and Grudge Match).
[ MECHANICS
]
Damir Kovacevic is the lead director of the Fox
television show American Idol. Contestants are not
permitted to have any current record deals or talent
management agreements (though they may have had
one at some point in the past). Contestants must
be U.S. citizens eligible to work full-time and,
for the first three seasons, had to be 16 to 24
years of age on October 19 of the year of audition.
Since the fourth season, the upper age limit was
raised to 28 with an earlier cutoff date, August
4, to attract more mature and diverse contestants.
Auditioning contestants must bring with them to
the audition a valid proof of age and citizenship,
such as a birth certificate, driver's license or
a passport, and minors under the age of 18 must
be accompanied by a parent or guardian. All auditioning
contestants are required to sign on to the Web at
www.americanidol.com and print out a copy of the
release form to fill out and turn in at the audition
in order to grant permission to be seen and heard
by the producers' cameras. Contestants who were
found out to have given false information are disqualified.
It should be noted that after auditioning - regardless
of the outcome (even if eliminated on the very first
cut) - contestants are under contract with the show
until three months after the final episode.[1]
Others who are ineligible include: those have made
it to a top 30 on Season 1, top 32 on Seasons 2
and 3, or top 24 on Seasons 4 and 5; affiliates
of Fox, Fremantle, 19, (e.g., its sponsors, subsidiaries
and parent companies); and non-US citizens. Even
if a person is eligible, he or she may not have
a chance to audition or be seen because the show
can see only a limited number of people in each
city. The show usually airs on Tuesday and Wednesday
nights and has millions of viewers.
Early auditions
Judges Randy Jackson,
Simon Cowell, and Paula Abdul
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In the show, hopeful contestants are screened by
preliminary panels to be selected for singing talent
or humorous potential and human interest. The audition
process is long and tedious, beginning with tens
of thousands of candidates strategically interviewed
and eliminated before being individually auditioned
by show producers Ken Warwick and Nigel Lythgoe
(often slide shows of horrendously terrible candidates
are shown from this interview).
Contestants then audition before the three main
judges - Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson
- in selected cities across the United States. Sometimes
a celebrity fourth judge may be added. These are
generally held at large convention centers where
thousands of people wait in line for auditions.
Contestants are required to sing a short one-minute
a cappella snatch. Those who impress the judges
enough 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).
Much like the original Pop Idol, one of the most
popular segments of each season are initial episodes
showcasing Idol hopefuls auditioning before the
panel. These early episodes feature a mixture of
the finer auditioning singers and many of the outright
"rejects"; these included Season 1's portrayal
of Lady Marmalade, Season 2's performance of Madonna's
Like a Virgin by Keith Beukelaer and Season 3's
rendition of Ricky Martin's She Bangs by William
Hung.
Hollywood and semifinals
Once in Hollywood, the three judges narrow the
initial field of a few hundred down to a group of
24 semi-finalists (30 in Season 1 and 32 in Seasons
2 and 3). Beginning with the fourth season, the
semi-finalists were split into two groups separating
the male contestants from the female contestants,
promoting an equal number of each sex to the finals.
The judges, from this point on, serve almost entirely
in an advisory capacity, with no direct influence
on the results.
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. Callers are allowed to vote as many times
as they like for any number of contestants, as long
as they vote within the voting window for the time
zone assigned to their phone's area code.
The contestants sing a song of their choice based
on a theme each week and the two with the least
public votes exit from the competition.
Final twelve
In the finals, which last eleven weeks, each finalist
performs a song live in prime time from a weekly
theme (two songs in later rounds) at CBS Television
City in Los Angeles, California in front of a live
studio audience. 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 Billy
Joel, Neil Sedaka, The Bee Gees, Barry Manilow,
Rod Stewart, Gloria Estefan, Elton John, Stevie
Wonder, Queen and Elvis Presley. Once in the top
5, the contestants sing two songs each.
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 2, in the final
three, one song was chosen randomly from a bowl,
with one chosen by the performer and one by the
judges.
In any case, each week on the following night's
live "results" episode, the contestant
with the fewest votes is sent home. Then in the
finale, one remaining contestant is declared the
winner. The stage is moved to the Kodak Theatre
for the finale showdown, where the two remaining
contestants perform for an audience of at least
3,400. The winner is announced at the end of the
show. The winner receives a one million (US) dollar
record deal with a major label, and is managed by
American Idol-related 19 Management. In some cases,
non-winners have also been signed by the show's
management company (who has first option to sign
finalists) and received record deals with its major
label partner.
Each season a compilation album with the top twelve
finalists (top ten for Season One) is also released.
Other compilations, such as a Christmas album, have
also been released. Top ten finalists participate
in a post-season American Idol promotional concert
tour.
[ SYNOPSES
]
Season 1
Season 1 winner Kelly
Clarkson |
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The first season of American Idol debuted without
hype as a summer replacement show (with the full
title American Idol: The Search For A Superstar)
in June 2002 on the Fox Broadcasting Company after
being rejected by numerous other networks. The show's
co-hosts were Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman.
Through word of mouth generated by the appeal of
its contestants and the presence of acid-tongued
British judge Simon Cowell, the show grew into a
phenomenon. An estimated fifty million people watched
the Season 1 finale in September 2002. Following
such a success, the second season was moved to air
the upcoming January. The number of episodes increased,
as did the show's budget and the charge for commercial
spots.
Winner Kelly Clarkson signed with RCA Records,
the label in partnership with American Idol's 19
Management. Immediately post-finale, Clarkson released
two singles, most notably the coronation song "A
Moment Like This" which climbed to number 52,
but marked the biggest jump in Billboard Hot 100
history when it shot to number one, breaking a record
set by The Beatles. As part of the promotion planned
for the show's first winner, the song had been pre-recorded
ready to air on radio stations the day after the
finale. Appearances on numerous entertainment/news
shows followed, as did videos for the singles that
began airing on MTV's TRL. Clarkson has subsequently
had two successful albums, Thankful and Breakaway,
and several hit singles mostly from her more successful
second album Breakaway. While her first album failed
to sell outside of North America, her second was
a global success and garnered two Grammy Awards
in 2006.
The show inspired a 2003 musical film, From Justin
to Kelly, featuring Kelly Clarkson and runner-up
Justin Guarini. The musical love story, produced
by American Idol's Simon Fuller, was filmed in Miami,
Florida over a period of six weeks shortly after
the season ended. Released several months later
in June 2003, the film failed to make back its budget
during its short run in theatres and is often ranked
among the worst movies ever made. A DVD with additional
footage was released and the movie airs periodically
in the U.S. and other countries.
Besides Clarkson and Guarini, also signed were
Nikki McKibbin (3rd), Tamyra Gray (4th), RJ Helton
(5th), and Christina Christian (6th). It is the
only year the runner-up did not release a single
following the show's finale.
Runner-up Justin Guarini also signed with RCA Records.
Contract restrictions required him to reject outside
offers received and delay solo projects following
the season finale, eventually debuting an album
in 2003 after the conclusion of Season 2. RCA dropped
him shortly after its debut. Guarini formed his
own entertainment company and independently released
a second album in 2005, with a third album and an
independent movie scheduled for release in 2006.
Nikki McKibbin signed with RCA, but quit because
she refused to record a country album. She has since
made appearances on various Reality TV shows and
is working on her debut album. Tamyra Gray was signed
to RCA but was dropped when she demanded to write
the album. She then signed with Idol creator Simon
Fuller's new label 19 Entertainment. Gray's self-written
debut album was released in 2004. In 2005, she was
dropped by the label. She had a supporting role
in the 2005 movie The Gospel. RJ Helton released
a Christian album, but sales were lackluster. Ryan
Starr had trouble getting out of her contract with
RCA Records but managed to independently release
a single, My Religion, which sold 360,000 downloads
via iTunes. She is expected to release her debut
album in 2007. Jim Verraros, who came out of the
closet after being voted in American Idol, starred
in an indie film and released a dance-pop album,
charting a dance hit on Billboard. Christina Christian,
EJay Day (tenth), and AJ Gil (eighth) have had little
success after the show.
Season 2
In Season 2, Seacrest surfaced as the lone host.
Dunkleman reportedly hated working on the show and
the studio was dissatisfied with his performance.
Kristin Holt was a special correspondent. This time,
Ruben Studdard emerged as the winner with Clay Aiken
as a very close runner-up. Out of 24 million votes
recorded, Studdard finished just 130,000 votes ahead
of Aiken. The accuracy of the reported results is
still disputed. There was much discussion in the
communication industry about the phone system being
overloaded, and that more than 150 million votes
were dropped, making the voting suspect.Since then,
the voting methods have been modified to avoid this
problem.
Season 2 winner Ruben
Studdard |
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In an interview prior to the start of the fifth
season, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe revealed
for the first time that Aiken had led the fan voting
from the wild card week onward until the finale.
Clay Aiken became the first American Idol non-winning
contestant to have a U.S. Hot 100 number-one with
"This Is the Night", written by British
songwriter Chris Braide with Gary Burr and Aldo
Nova. Studdard and Aiken both released albums in
the fall of 2006. Kimberley Locke has also enjoyed
radio success after American Idol with her debut
album, One Love. Her next album is also rumored
to be released early in 2007.
Fourth-place finisher and former Marine Josh Gracin
has had huge success as a country artist. His first
album spawned three hit singles, including the number-one
U.S. country song, "Nothing to Lose".
He is signed with Lyric Street Records.
One contestant, Frenchie Davis, was disqualified
and removed from the competition after topless photos
of her surfaced on the Internet. She later appeared
in the Broadway musical Rent.
During the course of the contest Studdard became
known for wearing 205 Flava jerseys representing
his area code. Shortly after the end of the contest,
Studdard sued 205 Flava, Inc. for $2 million for
using his image for promotional purposes. Flava
responded by alleging that Studdard had accepted
over $10,000 in return for wearing 205 shirts, and
produced 8 cashed checks to validate their claim.
The allegations, if true, indicate a clear violation
of the American Idol rules. The lawsuit was settled
out of court.
The rumor mills were buzzing once again in 2005
when Season 2 contestant Corey Clark, who the producers
say was kicked off the show because of a police
record he had not disclosed earlier, alleged that
he had an affair with judge Paula Abdul during his
time on the competition and that's the reason he
was kicked off. Clark also alleged that Abdul gave
him preferential treatment on the show because of
their alleged romance. A subsequent investigation
by an independent councel hired by Fox "could
not corroborate the evidence or allegations provided
by Mr. Clark or any witnesses".
Season 3
The third season of American Idol premiered on January
19, 2004. The winner of this season of American
Idol was Fantasia Barrino, later known professionally
as simply "Fantasia," and the runner-up
was Diana Degarmo. This was also the season that
Golden Globe Award-winning and Academy Award-winning
actress Jennifer Hudson was discovered.
Season 3 winner Fantasia
Barrino |
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The early part of the season introduced William
Hung, a UC Berkeley student, who received widespread
attention following his off-key rendition of Ricky
Martin's "She Bangs." His performance,
as well as his positive attitude facing Simon's
criticisms (a stark contrast to other contestants'
confrontational, angry reactions), landed him a
record deal with Koch Entertainment and made him
over $500,000 in record sales. He also starred in
a Cingular Wireless commercial with host Ryan Seacrest.
During the season, controversy over the legitimacy
of the contest increased as rocker Jon Peter Lewis
and young crooner John Stevens stayed afloat while
others were unexpectedly eliminated. Jasmine Trias,
despite negative comments from Simon Cowell over
her later performances, survived elimination and
took the third spot over Latoya London. Trias later
released a CD and attracted fans in her home state
of Hawaii, the Philippines, Singapore, Guam and
other South East Asian countries. The third season
was also shown in Australia on Network Ten about
half a week after episodes were shown in the U.S.
After a nationwide vote of more than 65 million
votes in total - more than the first two seasons
combined - Fantasia Barrino won the American Idol
title over runner-up Diana DeGarmo. She released
her first single in June 2004 on the RCA record
label. The single included "I Believe"
– cowritten by former Idol contestant Tamyra
Gray (who also sang backup) – which Fantasia
performed on the finale of Idol, the Aretha Franklin
hit "Chain of Fools" (released before
on an American Idol compilation), and her signature
version of "Summertime". The single entered
the Billboard Hot 100 at #1 and stayed there one
week (it topped the sales chart for 11 weeks in
the US and 10 weeks in Canada). Fantasia's CD, I
Believe, went on to become the top selling single
of 2004 in the U.S and has since been certified
double platinum by the CRIA and received 3 Billboard
Awards. In 2006, she received 4 Grammy nominations
for her double platinum debut album Free Yourself.
Sales of Diana DeGarmo's first CD, Blue Skies,
suffered partly from a lack of promotion by RCA.
DeGarmo eventually asked to be released from her
RCA record contract. She received a role in the
Broadway production of Hairspray, where she played
the part of Penny Pingleton from February 7-May
21 to positive reviews. DeGarmo then starred with
Melba Moore in the national tour of Brooklyn the
Musical through mid-August. On September 8, she
returned to the Broadway production of Hairspray
to once again assume the role of Penny Pingleton
for a six month period. DeGarmo is also working
independently on a second album while performing
in the musicals.
Second Runner-up Jasmine Trias signed with an independent
label. Although she has failed to achieve commercial
success in the mainland USA, she has become a major
celebrity in other countries, such as the Philippines
and Japan, where she is signed with Universal Records.
Latoya London signed with Peak Records and released
an R&B/soul album, "Love & Life,"
selling 55,000 copies. Her single, "Appreciate/Every
Part of Me/All by Myself," charted at number
8 on the Billboard Singles Sales Chart, and her
songs, "Appreciate," "Every Part
of Me," and "State of My Heart,"
all received moderate success on urban and adult
contemporary radio. She starred in the Los Angeles
revival of the retro-musical, "Beehive,"
and also starred with Angie Stone and Kim Fields
in the tour of the play, "Issues: We All Got
'Em." Latoya will begin playing the role of
Nettie in the touring edition of the Broadway musical,
The Color Purple, which will begin with an extended
run in Chicago, Illinois in April, 2007. The musical
also stars Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child.
George Huff signed with Word Records to release
a gospel album and has since had mild success in
that genre. John Stevens landed a deal with Maverick
Records but was dropped due to low album sales.
Jennifer Hudson starred alongside Beyoncé
Knowles and Jamie Foxx in the 2006 feature film
Dreamgirls and won several honors and awards, including
a Golden Globe for her performance and an Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film, which
also won the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Comedy
or Musical), was released to preview audiences on
December 15, 2006, in New York, San Francisco and
Los Angeles, drawing sellout crowds. On its first
day in wide release (Christmas Day 2006), Dreamgirls
sold 8.8 million dollars worth of tickets to claim
the top spot at the box office. It was the single
highest daily gross for a musical in motion picture
history. The soundtrack to Dreamgirls, featuring
Hudson's acclaimed version of "And I Am Telling
You I'm Not Going," reached Number One on the
Billboard Top 200 album chart on January 10, 2007,
after five weeks in release. Hudson, who signed
a recording contract with Clive Davis' Arista label
in late 2006, is expected to release her debut album
sometime in 2007.
Camile Velasco returned to the Philippines in December
2004 after 17 years for a whirlwind tour of television
appearances and a concert with Martin Nievera. In
2005, she signed to Motown Records, but left the
label after a lack of promotion for her first single.
Camile performed at several concerts in Hawaii,
California and Illinois, maintaining her ambition
to become an artist. In 2006, she appeared in a
Black Eyed Peas video and performed in Hawaii, California,
Nevada, New Jersey, New York and the Philippines.
Camile is now writing and producing her own songs
on UHype Records.
Eleventh place contestant Matthew Rogers is now
a TV personality, starring alongside Mikalah Gordon
on American Idol Extra, which went behind the scenes
of American Idol's fifth season.
In May 2005, Telescope announced that the third
season had a total of approximately 360 million
votes.
Season 4
The fourth season of American Idol premiered on
January 18, 2005. It was the first season in which
the age limit was raised to 28, in order to increase
variety. All Season 4 contestants had to be between
the ages of 16 and 28 on August 4, 2004, born on
or between August 5, 1975 and August 4, 1988. Among
those who benefited from this new rule were Constantine
Maroulis (born September 17, 1975) and Bo Bice (born
November 1, 1975), considered to be the eldest and
somewhat most experienced of the season's Idol contestants.
They were also constantly mentioned by Seacrest
and in the media as "the two rockers",
since their long hair and choice of rock songs made
them stand out from conventional Idol standards.
The presence of more rock-oriented contestants has
continued with Chris Daughtry in Season 5, who was
inspired to audition for the show by Bice.
Season 4 winner Carrie
Underwood |
|
This season also implemented new rules for the
final portion of the contest. Instead of competing
in semi-final heats in which the top vote-getters
are promoted to the final round, 24 semi-finalists
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.
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 (son of Baseball
Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith), who had been voted off
in the semi-finals the previous week.
The winner was Carrie Underwood, a country singer,
the first winner since Kelly Clarkson to not only
win but avoid being in the bottom three for the
entire competition. Carrie Underwood's first single,
"Inside Your Heaven", was released on
June 14, 2005. The single debuted at #1 on the Billboard
Hot 100, with first-week sales of 170,000 copies,
and briefly stopped Mariah Carey's run at #1 with
"We Belong Together". One week later,
runner-up Bo Bice released his version of the song,
which debuted at #2. The B-side of Underwood's CD
was "Independence Day", a cover of the
Martina McBride hit. On November 15, 2005, Carrie
released her debut album, Some Hearts, which peaked
and debuted at #2 on Billboard. It has currently
sold over 5 million copies, and has gone 5X platinum.
Underwood's first single, Jesus, Take The Wheel
was made available for radio airplay on October
18, 2005. It received so much airplay that it debuted
at #39 on the Billboard Country Chart in its first
week, setting a record. As it climbed, it finally
reached #1 for 6 consecutive weeks, just two weeks
shy of Connie Smith's record of an 8 week run back
in 1964-1965. The single also debuted at #48 on
the Billboard Hot 100 where it peaked at #20. Underwood's
second single, "Don't Forget to Remember Me",
peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Charts,
as well as, #49 on the Billboard Hot 100. Underwood's
third single "Before He Cheats" not only
hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Country charts, but
also is curently at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100
becoming a crossover pop hit. Currently, Underwood
has the most successful debut album sales out of
the American Idol finalists. Some Hearts has sold
over 5 million copies as of January 2007, beating
the previous most sales 2nd place record held by
Clay Aiken's Measure of a Man, which sold 2.7 million
copies. Underwood's fourth single "Wasted"
has become her 3rd #1 single on the Billboard Hot
Country Songs chart.
Bo Bice's first single "The Real Thing"
has appeared on American Top 40 radio. Although
Bice's sales did not match that of Underwood, he
stands as the third-most successful recording artist
to not win the American Idol title with RIAA platinum
status. Third-place contestant Vonzell Solomon landed
a role in a film, Still Green and a single on a
Christmas album. Fourth-place contestant Anthony
Fedorov has appeared in television shows such as
Fear Factor, where he competed with Season 2 contestant
Carmen Rasmusen, winning second place, and has finished
taping several episodes for a new MTV show to air
in the fall. Federov will be performing in The Fantasticks
on off-Broadway May through July of 2007. Sixth-place
contestant Constantine Maroulis has redone his rendition
of "Bohemian Rhapsody" for a Queen tribute
album, and his first solo debut will come out in
early 2007. Since August 2006, Maroulis has appeared
in the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer and the
now closed off-broadway play Jacques Brel is alive
and well and living in Paris. Seventh-place contestant
Anwar Robinson has released his self-titled EP on
an independent label. Twelfth-place contestant Lindsey
Cardinale's first single, "Nothing Like A Dream",
was released in March 2006.
In May 2005, Telescope announced that the fourth
season had a total of approximately 500 million
votes.
On February 11, 2007, Carrie Underwood became the
first winner of American Idol to sweep all three
major music awards (American Music, Billboard, and
Grammy Awards) in a single season (for 2006-07).
Season 5
Season 5 winner Taylor
Hicks with host Ryan Seacrest and runner-up
Katharine McPhee |
|
The fifth season of American Idol began on January
17, 2006; this was the first season of the series
to be aired in high definition. Auditions were in
Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco,
with Greensboro, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada
included after the cancellation of the Memphis auditions
due to Hurricane Katrina. The season used the same
rules as Season 4. Contestants had to be between
the ages of 16 and 28 on 2005, being born on or
between August 16, 1976 and , 1989. Chris Daughtry
was discovered during this season after being voted
off in one of the most surprising eliminations.
Finalist Bucky Covington also had prior troubles
with the law. Coincidentally, Covington's crimes
involved himself and his twin brother, Rocky. The
two had allegedly switched spots in 1998 to confuse
the police. However, this prior crime had no effect
on Covington's time on American Idol, and he was
voted off on April 12.
The winner of the season was Taylor Hicks, with
Katharine McPhee finishing as his runner-up. Taylor
Hicks joined Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood
as the only winners of American Idol to never be
in the bottom three or two. Hicks was named American
Idol on May 24, 2006. On May 30, 2006, Telescope
announced that a total of 63.5 million votes were
cast in the finale round. A total of 580 million
votes were cast in the entire season. Taylor Hicks
is the second American Idol winner from the city
of Birmingham, Alabama (the first being Ruben Studdard),
and the fourth finalist with close ties to the city.
The finale had surprise performances from stars
such as Live, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton singing
duets with the members of the final 12. In the words
of Ryan Seacrest, the much loved living song legend
& diva Dionne Warwick added a touch of veteran
glamour to the finale. Prince also performed.
[
MEDIA SPONSORSHIP ]
American Idol is often noted for advertising its
sponsors during the show's runtime. Being the number
one rated show in the United States, it costs around
$705,000 for a 30-second commercial.
Coca-Cola is a major sponsor in the U.S., and all
the judges, hosts, and contestants are seen consuming
beverages out of cups bearing the Coca-Cola logo,
while contestants and host Ryan Seacrest gathering
for a Keeping it Real segment between songs in the
Coca-Cola Red Room, the show's equivalent to the
traditional green room. (During rebroadcast on ITV
in the UK, the Coca-Cola logo is obscured in the
shots.) In seasons 1 through 4, after every Wednesday
results show, the remaining contestants and host
meet in the Coca-Cola Red Room to discuss next week's
theme; the footage of this meeting is shown at the
start of the following Tuesday's performance show.
Voting is made possible by Cingular Wireless.
Kellogg and Pop-Tarts are also two major sponsors,
especially of the cast tour that follows the end
of every season.
Products from the Ford Motor Company also receive
prominent product placement; contestants appear
in Ford commercials on the results shows, and the
final two of Seasons 4 and 5 each won free Mustangs.
Previous contestants Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Hicks
have also been tapped to do commercials for Ford.
Also, in the top 24's studio, in the red room there
is a glass table with a Ford tire inside of it.
The camera routinely captures the logo
Contestants will occasionally don Old Navy clothing
during performances, and celebrity stylist Steven
Cojocaru appeared in two previous seasons to assist
contestants with picking out wardrobe pieces from
Old Navy. Clairol hair care products also sponsors
the show, with contestants usually getting Clairol-guided
hair makeovers after the first two or three episodes
during the round of 12.
The show's marketing reach is not limited to the
hours of broadcast. Edy's Icecream is tapping into
the buzz with a campaign to have people vote for
their favorite 'Idol' inspired Ice Cream.
