"American Idol" is the American version of the British television series "Pop Idol". The concept of the series is to find new solo recording artists where the winner is determined by the viewers through telephone, Internet, and SMS text voting. The winner receives a recording contract and the title of "American Idol".
Past winners include Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze and Scotty McCreery.
American Idol also brings success for its losers. From season 2, Clay Aiken, and Josh Gracin have sold thousands of records, with Chris Daughtry selling millions with his band Daughtry. Many other Idol alumni can be seen in the entertainment industry, such as season 3 contestant Jennifer Hudson winning Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards for her role in Dream Girls, which shows that even if you don't win, you can go onto major fame and success.
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General Information
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Status: Break - Between Seasons
Premiere: June 11, 2002
Classification: Reality
Genre: Game-Show | Music | Reality-TV
Network: FOX (USA)
Airs: Wednesdays, Thursdays at 08:00 pm
Runtime: 60 Minutes
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Season 13 -- ?? Episodes
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The thirteenth season of American Idol will premiere in January 2014.
Keith Urban will remain as a judge on the show, but Randy Jackson, who has been a judge ever since the first season, will no longer be a judge due to him wanting to focus on other business ventures. Nicki Minaj also confirmed that she will not be coming back due to a four month work on her album. Mariah Carey will not be returning, due to continued arguments, and not getting along with the show and producers. Other judges are to be announced.
Audition Cities:
San Francisco, CA - July 16
Detroit, MI - July 21
Atlanta, GA - July 26
Boston, MA - August 2
Austin, TX - August 7
Omaha, NE - August 11
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Season 12 -- 37 Episodes
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After a sharp drop in ratings during the eleventh season, Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly announced that the show would undergo "some creative tweaking" for this season. On July 12, 2012, it was announced Steven Tyler would not be returning as a judge, after two seasons. On July 13, 2012, Jennifer Lopez announced she would be departing as a judge. On July 23, 2012, it was announced that Mariah Carey would be joining the show as a judge for the season. In September 2012, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban signed on to the show rounding out the judges table, with Randy Jackson returning as well. Ryan Seacrest is set to return as host.
In an attempt to refresh the show's audition process, new ways to audition were announced. First is the "American Idol Small Town Audition Bus Tour", a 10-town nationwide tour that will give hopefuls who couldn't make it to one of the large audition cities a chance to try out. The cities are Idaho Falls, Idaho; Billings, Montana; Casper, Wyoming; Rock Rapids, Iowa; Iowa City, Iowa; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Clarksdale, Mississippi; Joplin, Missouri; Dodge City, Kansas; and Grand Junction, Colorado. Idol is also starting the "Nominate an Idol" program, which will let friends and family of individuals they think could be the next American Idol nominate said person in secret by filling out an online form and existing video or URL of their nominee - they must be singing solo and a capella. The chosen auditions will then be surprised on location by a film crew and given an opportunity to advance to the next round. Finally, online auditions for season 12 were open from Wednesday, August 1, 2012 through Tuesday, August 14, 2012, and October 12 to November 4, 2012.
12x01 -- Jan 16, 2013 -- Auditions #1 (2 Hours)
12x02 -- Jan 17, 2013 -- Auditions #2 (2 Hours)
12x03 -- Jan 23, 2013 -- Auditions #3 (2 Hours)
12x04 -- Jan 24, 2013 -- Auditions #4 (1 Hour)
12x05 -- Jan 30, 2013 -- Auditions #5 (2 Hours)
12x06 -- Jan 31, 2013 -- Auditions #6 (1 Hour) - Final round of auditions
12x07 -- Feb 06, 2013 -- Hollywood Round, Part 1 (2 Hours)
12x08 -- Feb 07, 2013 -- Hollywood Round, Part 2 (1 Hour)
12x09 -- Feb 13, 2013 -- Hollywood Round, Part 3 (2 Hours)
12x10 -- Feb 14, 2013 -- Hollywood Round, Part 4 (1 Hour) - Top 40 Revealed
12x11 -- Feb 20, 2013 -- Semifinalist Round, Part 1 (2 Hours)
12x12 -- Feb 21, 2013 -- Semifinalist Round, Part 2 (2 Hours)
12x13 -- Feb 27, 2013 -- Second Group of 10 Male Singers Perform
12x14 -- Feb 28, 2013 -- Second Group of 10 Female Singers Perform
12x15 -- Mar 05, 2013 -- TUESDAY -- Top 10 Male Semifinalists Perform Live
12x16 -- Mar 06, 2013 -- WEDNESDAY -- Top 10 Female Semifinalists Perform Live
12x17 -- Mar 07, 2013 -- THURSDAY -- Top 10 Finalists Revealed
12x18 -- Mar 13, 2013 -- Top 10 Live Performance Show
12x19 -- Mar 14, 2013 -- Results Show - Live
12x20 -- Mar 20, 2013 -- Finalists Compete
12x21 -- Mar 21, 2013 -- Results Show
12x22 -- Mar 27, 2013 -- Finalists Compete
12x23 -- Mar 28, 2013 -- Results Show
12x24 -- Apr 03, 2013 -- Finalists Compete
12x25 -- Apr 04, 2013 -- Results Show
12x26 -- Apr 10, 2013 -- Finalists Compete
12x27 -- Apr 11, 2013 -- Results Show
12x28 -- Apr 17, 2013 -- Finalists Compete
12x29 -- Apr 18, 2013 -- Results Show
12x30 -- Apr 24, 2013 -- Finalists Compete
12x31 -- Apr 25, 2013 -- Results Show
12x32 -- May 01, 2013 -- Finalists Compete
12x33 -- May 02, 2013 -- Results Show
12x34 -- May 08, 2013 -- THREE Finalists Compete
12x35 -- May 09, 2013 -- Results Show
12x36 -- May 15, 2013 -- TWO Finalists Compete
12x37 -- May 16, 2013 -- ONE Winner Announced
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Date of last review or update: May 17, 2013
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