History of American idol
It’s just a singing reality television show perfectly located at the US. It is based on the UK based reality TV show Pop idol. On 11th June 2002, it started its journey of becoming typically the most popular TV program in the entire of America. It’s the most viewed television series ever & has been the number one program for seven seasons. The primary goal of this program is to seek for the next singing sensation chosen by the audience. It’s considered by many as an extremely impact show which provides budding talent a chance to dream & even realize them.
Becoming an idol in this competition is no easy task. The initial one is constantly grilled & thrown challenges by the judges.
Contestants need to go under a minimum of three cuts. First is usually a small & unassuming audition where the participant as well as other contestants might have to sing in front of the selectors together with the producers of the show. The number of entries has always been around 10000 people in every city. But only a few 100 odd people make the cut to another round. Then they are again asked to sing in front of the producers who may again cut down the number. Ultimately the successful contestants perform in front of the judges. This can be the audition which can be aired on television. These contestants are then sent to Hollywood. Normally about 30-40 people from each city make it to Hollywood.
The week in Hollywood
As soon as they reach Hollywood the contestants then have to perform in front of the panelists in both group or individually, depending on which round it is. Originally contestants used to get eliminated from the panelists in three rounds. In the American idol audition the contestants really need to appear in groups for the first round yet sing individually. For the second round they must come in small groups & perform a duet. For the last round they perform on a song in their choice individually accompanied by a band or an orchestra. These rounds do get changed every now and then. But following this week is finally over around 25-35 contestants are selected for that final prior to when the finals.
Semi -final of the auditions
The same as the different audition rounds the semi-final of the competition also changes from year to year. Initially the 30 contestants who have been qualified for the semi- finals were separated into ten each in 3 groups & then the top three from each group were send to the finals. There was clearly also power given to the judges to select one wild card contestant among the unsuccessful contestants. But from the first season onwards rules have actually been changed from time to time.
Audience voting
Voting for your contestants is opened for public from the semi- final stage onwards. A voting line is opened for every contestant for a brief period after the episode ends. Counting is then done & the contestant with least number of votes is eliminated. Individuals can vote online or simply text as well.