American Idol trivia: 50 facts about the famous singing competition!

American Idol is one of the longest running singing competitions in America and has been seen by millions of viewers!

Let’s find out some trivia and facts about it!

1. American Idol is an American singing competition television series
2. It is created by Simon Fuller
3. It is produced by Fremantle USA and 19 Entertainment
4. It is distributed by Fremantle North America
5. It initially aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to April 7, 2016
6. For 15 seasons
7. On March 11, 2018, the sixteenth season debuted on ABC
8. It started as an addition to the Idols format that was based on Pop Idol from British television
9. It became one of the most successful shows in the history of American television
10. The concept of the series involves discovering recording stars from unsigned singing talents
11. The winner are determined by American viewers using phones, Internet, and SMS text voting
12. The winners of the first sixteen seasons, as chosen by viewers, are Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze, Scotty McCreery, Phillip Phillips, Candice Glover, Caleb Johnson, Nick Fradiani, Trent Harmon, and Maddie Poppe
13. American Idol employs a panel of vocal judges who critique the contestants’ performances
14. The original judges, for the first through eighth seasons, were record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, singer and choreographer Paula Abdul, and music executive and manager Simon Cowell
15. The judging panel for the last three seasons on Fox consisted of singers Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, and Harry Connick, Jr
16. The sixteenth season brought three new judges: singers Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan
17. The first season was hosted by radio personality Ryan Seacrest and comedian Brian Dunkleman
18. But Seacrest remained as the sole master of ceremonies for the rest of the series
19. The success of American Idol has been described as “unparalleled in broadcasting history”
20. A rival TV executive said the series was “the most impactful show in the history of television”
21. It became a recognized springboard for launching the career of many artists as bona fide stars
22. According to Billboard magazine, in its first ten years, “Idol has spawned 345 Billboard chart- toppers and a platoon of pop idols”
23. It has maintained the crown of a TV ratings juggernaut
24. For an unprecedented eight consecutive years, from the 2003–04 television season through the 2010–11 season, either its performance show or result show was ranked number one in U.S. television ratings
25. American Idol was based on the British show Pop Idol created by Simon Fuller
26. It was in turn inspired by the New Zealand television singing competition Popstars
27. Television producer Nigel Lythgoe saw a version in Australia and helped bring it over to Britain
28. Fuller was inspired by the idea from Popstars of employing a panel of judges to select singers in audition
29. He then added other elements, including telephone voting by the viewing public, the drama of backstories, and real-life soap opera unfolding in real time
30. Pop Idol debuted in Britain in 2001 with Lythgoe as showrunner‍
31. And Simon Cowell as one of the judges
32. It was successful with the viewing public
33. In 2001, Fuller, Cowell, and TV producer Simon Jones attempted to sell the Pop Idol format to the United States
34. The idea was initially met with poor responses from all the television networks including Fox
35. However, Rupert Murdoch, head of Fox’s parent company, was later persuaded to buy the series by his daughter, Elisabeth, who had seen the British show
36. Although Fox’s executives wanted to change the format
37. Murdoch insisted that it should remain the same as the British one
38. One change was nevertheless made due to the presence of multiple time zones in the United States that made it impractical for the country to vote in the same time period
39. An additional half- hour results show was therefore added the day following the performance show
40. The show was renamed American Idol: The Search for a Superstar and debuted in the summer of 2002
41. Cowell was initially offered the job of showrunner, but turned down the offer
42. Lythgoe then took over that position
43. Much to the surprise of Cowell and Fox, it became one of the biggest shows of the summer
44. With its successful launch in the summer, the show was then moved to January and expanded
45. The show grew into a phenomenon largely due to its personal engagement with the contestants by prompting the viewers to vote, and the presence of the acid-tongued Cowell as a judge
46. By 2004, it had become the most-watched show on U.S. television
47. A position it then held for seven consecutive seasons
48. However, after a few years of sharp declining ratings starting in 2012, with rating falls of over 20% each season
49. The fifteenth season would be its last, ending its run in April 2016
50. In May 2017, ABC acquired the rights to the series and the program returned for the 2017- 18 television season