Since it’s debut in 2002, few television shows have achieved the popularity that American Idol has. American Idol is a talent competition that has the stated goal of finding hidden singing talents that would otherwise go unnoticed. Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, and Carrie Underwood are some of the more popular singers who have come from the show. With the huge audience that the show attracts each week, much is known about the popular reality series, but here are five things you may not know about American Idol.
1. American Idol judge Randy Jackson played bass guitar on Madonna’s huge hit “Like A Prayer.”
2. Only about 40-50 out of the 10,000 or more prospective contestants end up auditioning in front of Randy, Paula, and Simon.
3. Host Ryan Seacrest got his start in television hosting a few little known game shows including Radical Outdoor Challenge on ESPN, Gladiators 2000 which was a children’s version American Gladiators, and Wild Animal Games on the Fox Family Channel.
4. Through the first seven seasons there have been eight contestants who never appeared in either the bottom two or the bottom three; David Cook, David Archuleta, Melinda Doolittle, Jordin Sparks, Taylor Hicks, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, and Kelly Clarkson.
5. Kelly Clarkson won the first season of American Idol in 2002 and competed in World Idol in London in 2003. World Idol featured the winners of Idol from around the globe competing against each other. Clarkson finished second to the Norwegian Idol winner Kurt Nilsen.
American Idol accomplishes many things, from finding new talent to entertaining the public as they watch the contestants advance through the weekly elimination rounds. Getting to know these young people as they strive to achieve their dreams is one of the things that has made the television show so popular with viewers from around the world. There is nothing on the horizon to indicate that American Idol won’t continue to be as popular as ever in the immediate future.
Related Directory Categories:
On #4 - How interesting that out of the 8 who were never in the bottom 2 or the bottom 3, only Melinda Doolittle was not in the Finale. That’s Part 2 of #4! Once again, she makes her own category!
Comment by GriotLori — August 17, 2008 @ 10:11 pm