American Idol is the American version of the British television series “Pop Idol.†It was created by Simon Fuller and premiered in June of 2002. On American Idol, contestants audition to win the title of American Idol and a recording contract. For the 2006 season, they traveled to San Francisco, Greensboro, Las Vegas, Austin, Denver, Boston and Chicago. They audition before the producers, then audition before the judges. After picking through contestants, the public is able to vote after performances, until we're left with one American Idol. Past winners include Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Hicks. American Idol also boasts that now stars Clay Aiken, Josh Gracin, and now TV personality Kimberly Caldwell are all previous contestants on Idol and have become very successful...and all from Season 2. On the fifth season, the competition got fierce, each week another controversy. When soul-singing Mandisa was voted off, many believed she was voted off because her favorite author was homophobic. Several weeks later, rocker Chris Daughtry was voted off, and nearly everyone was shocked. Daughtry was offered the lead vocalist for bands such as Fuel, and even Creed. The judges are Simon Cowell, who never fails to tell the cold truth, Paula Abdul, who counters Simon's snark with sweetness and Randy Jackson, who can usually give an honest yet kind opinion. The host is Ryan Seacrest.
