American Idol Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids American Idol

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 an American reality-singing competition series created by Simon Fuller, produced by 19 Entertainment, and distributed by FremantleMedia North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002 to April 7, 2016, as an addition to the Idols format based on the British series Pop Idol and has since become one of the most successful shows in the history of American television. On March 11, 2018, the 16th season aired on ABC.

Eventually the American people are allowed to vote by calling or texting, and the person with the fewest votes is off the show.

The TV show consists of multiple rounds of elimination. The singers can be anyone between the age of 15 and 29 years.

Host and judges
Winners
Runners-up
Third place
Other contestants
Images for kids
See also

Host and judges

American Idol has three judges, who give comments on performances.

The three judges are:

Simon Cowell (Season 1-9)
Randy Jackson (Season 1-12)
Paula Abdul (Season 1-8)
Kara DioGuardi (Season 8-9)
Ellen DeGeneres (Season 9)
Jennifer Lopez (Season 10-11, 13-15)
Steven Tyler (Season 10-11)
Mariah Carey (Season 12)
Keith Urban (Season 12-15)
Nicki Minaj (Season 12)
Harry Connick, Jr. (Season 13-15)
Katy Perry (Season 16-)
Luke Bryan (Season 16-)
Lionel Richie (Season 16-)

Host

Ryan Seacrest
Brian Dunkleman (Season 1)

Winners

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

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

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 contestants

Images for kids

Brian Dunkleman co-hosted with Seacrest for the first season.
Kelly Clarkson, the first season winner
Ruben Studdard, the second season winner
Fantasia Barrino, the third season winner
Carrie Underwood, the fourth season winner
Taylor Hicks, the fifth season winner
Jordin Sparks, the sixth season winner
David Cook, the seventh season winner
Kris Allen, the eighth season winner
Lee DeWyze, the ninth season winner
Scotty McCreery, the tenth season winner
Phillip Phillips, the eleventh season winner
Candice Glover, the twelfth season winner
Caleb Johnson, the thirteenth season winner
Nick Fradiani, the fourteenth season winner
Maddie Poppe, the sixteenth season winner
Laine Hardy, the seventeenth season winner
The American Idol Experience marquee sign
Tenth season American Idol tour, Scotty McCreery performing with Thia Megia, Haley Reinhart and Pia Toscano

American Idol facts for kids

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