|
||||||
|
|
American Idol, is
an American television series. It is part of the
Idol series, originating from the UK show Pop Idol,
a singing talent contest to determine the best
"undiscovered" young singer in the country. In
recent years it has become one of the most highly
publicized music competitions in the world,
reaching the status of a phenomenon. American Idol is
screened on the Fox Network in the United States
and on CTV in Canada. It was created by Simon
Fuller (manager of the Spice Girls and S Club 7)
and developed by Simon Jones of Thames Television.
The directors are Bruce Gowers (director of Queen's
original "Bohemian Rhapsody" video), Nigel Lythgoe
(a judge on So You Think You Can Dance), Simon
Fuller (creator) and Ken Warwick (Gladiators and
Grudge Match). In the show,
hosted by Ryan Seacrest, hopeful contestants are
screened by preliminary panels to be selected for
singing talent or humorous potential and human
interest. The audition process is often long,
beginning with thousands of candidates
strategically interviewed and eliminated before
being individually auditioned by show producers Ken
Warwick and Nigel Lythgoe (often slide shows of
humorously terrible candidates are shown from this
interview). They then audition before the three
main judges - Simon Cowell (one of the judges from
Pop Idol and The X Factor), 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. Past audition cities have included; New
York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami,
Atlanta, Seattle, New Orleans, Chicago, Greensboro,
Washington, D.C., Houston, Honolulu, Denver,
Detroit, St. Louis, Boston, Las Vegas, Orlando,
Nashville, Memphis, Dallas, Cleveland, Birmingham,
San Antonio and Austin. (Contestants from the
Season 5 Austin auditions were flown to San
Francisco, California to audition before the judges
due to the effect of Hurricane Katrina evacuees on
New Orleans, Louisiana.) 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 usually
takes 2-4 rounds). Contestants are required to sing
a cappella. Those who impress the 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).
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. |
|
||||
Click
here to buy American Idol posters!