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American Idol facts for kids

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American Idol
American Idol logo.svg
Genre Reality television
Created by Simon Fuller
Directed by Andrew Scheer (2002)
Bruce Gowers (2003–06, 2008)
Gregg Gelfand (2007, 2011-12)
Ken Warwick (2007, 2011-12)
Bill DeRonde (2009, 2014–15)
John Pritchett (2006–2008, 2010)
Gregg Gelfand (2010, 2013)
Louis J. Horvitz (2014)
Phil Heyes (2015–16, 2018-)
Ben Thursby (2018)
Presented by Ryan Seacrest
Brian Dunkleman (2002)
Starring Simon Cowell (2002-2010)
Paula Abdul (2002–2009)
Randy Jackson (2002-2013)
Kara DioGuardi (2009–2010)
Ellen DeGeneres (2010)
Jennifer Lopez (2011-12, 2014-16)
Steven Tyler (2011-12)
Mariah Carey (2013)
Nicki Minaj (2013)
Keith Urban (2013-16)
Harry Connick, Jr. (2014-16)
Katy Perry (2018-)
Luke Bryan (2018-)
Lionel Richie (2018-)
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 609
Production
Executive producer(s) Simon Fuller (2002–)

Cecile Frot-Coutaz (2002–)
Simon Jones (2002–03)
Nigel Lythgoe (2002-08, 2011-13, 2016)
Ken Warwick (2002-13)
Brian Gadinsky (2002)
Charles Boyd (2009-16)
Trish Kinane (2013–)
Jesse Ignjatovic (2014)
Evan Prager (2014)
Per Blankens (2015)
David Hill (2015-16)
Megan Wolflick (2015–)
Jessica Castro (2016)
Jenniffer Mullin (2018–)

Phil McIntyre (2018–)
Running time 22-104 minutes
Release
Original network Fox (2002-16)
ABC (2018-)
Picture format 480i (SDTV) (2002-2004)
720p (HDTV) (2005-present)
Original release June 11, 2002 (2002-06-11) – present

American Idol is a super popular American TV show where people compete to become the next big singing star! It's a "reality" show, which means it follows real people as they try to win.

The show was created by Simon Fuller. It first started on the Fox TV channel on June 11, 2002. It ran there until 2016. Then, in 2018, it moved to the ABC channel and is still on TV today! American Idol is one of the most successful shows ever in American television.

Here's how it works: Singers try out, and judges pick the best ones. As the show goes on, viewers at home get to vote for their favorite singers by calling or texting. The singer with the fewest votes leaves the show. This keeps happening until only one person is left, and they become the American Idol winner! Singers must be between 15 and 29 years old to join the competition.

Meet the Judges and Host

American Idol has a panel of judges who watch the performances and give their opinions. They help decide who moves on in the early rounds.

Who are the Judges?

Over the years, many famous people have been judges on American Idol. Here are some of them:

Who is the Host?

The host of American Idol guides the show, introduces the singers, and announces the results.

  • Ryan Seacrest has been the main host for almost the entire show.
  • Brian Dunkleman co-hosted with Ryan Seacrest for the very first season.

Past Winners of American Idol

Winning American Idol can change a singer's life! Many winners have become huge music stars. Here are the winners from each season:

  • Season 1 (2002): Kelly Clarkson
  • Season 2 (2003): Ruben Studdard
  • Season 3 (2004): Fantasia Barrino
  • Season 4 (2005): Carrie Underwood
  • Season 5 (2006): Taylor Hicks
  • Season 6 (2007): Jordin Sparks
  • Season 7 (2008): David Cook
  • Season 8 (2009): Kris Allen
  • Season 9 (2010): Lee DeWyze
  • Season 10 (2011): Scotty McCreery
  • Season 11 (2012): Phillip Phillips
  • Season 12 (2013): Candice Glover
  • Season 13 (2014): Caleb Johnson
  • Season 14 (2015): Nick Fradiani
  • Season 15 (2016): Trent Harmon
  • Season 16 (2018): Maddie Poppe
  • Season 17 (2019): Laine Hardy
  • Season 18 (2020): Just Sam

Runners-Up: Almost the Winner!

The runner-up is the person who comes in second place. They often become famous too!

  • Season 1 (2002): Justin Guarini
  • Season 2 (2003): Clay Aiken
  • Season 3 (2004): Diana DeGarmo
  • Season 4 (2005): Bo Bice
  • Season 5 (2006): Katharine McPhee
  • Season 6 (2007): Blake Lewis
  • Season 7 (2008): David Archuleta
  • Season 8 (2009): Adam Lambert
  • Season 9 (2010): Crystal Bowersox
  • Season 10 (2011): Lauren Alaina
  • Season 11 (2012): Jessica Sanchez
  • Season 12 (2013): Kree Harrison
  • Season 13 (2014): Jena Irene
  • Season 14 (2015): Clark Beckham
  • Season 15 (2016): La'Porsha Renae
  • Season 16 (2018): Caleb Lee Hutchinson
  • Season 17 (2019): Alejandro Aranda
  • Season 18 (2020): Arthur Gunn

Third Place Singers

These contestants made it to the top three!

  • Season 1 (2002): Nikki McKibbin
  • Season 2 (2003): Kimberley Locke
  • Season 3 (2004): Jasmine Trias
  • Season 4 (2005): Vonzell Solomon
  • Season 5 (2006): Elliott Yamin
  • Season 6 (2007): Melinda Doolittle
  • Season 7 (2008): Syesha Mercado
  • Season 8 (2009): Danny Gokey
  • Season 9 (2010): Casey James
  • Season 10 (2011): Haley Reinhart
  • Season 11 (2012): Joshua Ledet
  • Season 12 (2013): Angie Miller
  • Season 13 (2014): Alex Preston
  • Season 14 (2015): Jax
  • Season 15 (2016): Dalton Rapattoni
  • Season 16 (2018): Gabby Barrett
  • Season 17 (2019): Madison VanDenburg
  • Season 18 (2020): Dillon James

Other Famous Contestants

Some singers who didn't win or make it to the very end still became very well-known!

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: American Idol para niños

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