American Idol: Season 02 (2003)

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Having made an overnight star of aspiring pop singer Kelly Clarkson at the end of American Idol's first season, the producers return to perform the same magic on another unlucky unknown as the twice-weekly Fox talent show launches Season Two. And it's going to take quite a bit of doing to select the best of the best: Thanks to the overwhelming popularity of American Idol's maidedn season, no fewer than 50,000 hopefuls have shown up for the audition held all over the country. Ryan Seacrest is back as host, this time flying solo with the departure of cohost Brian Dunkelman. And of course, the contestants are still at the mercy of the three-person panel of judges: Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and the redoubtable Simon Cowell. New to the proceedings is Kristin Holt, a first-season contestant and former member of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, now on hand as a "special correspondent" to offer behind-the-scenes glimpses of this season's aspirants. Other changes include the mode of selection for the final "wildcard" contestants, with each of the three judges choosing his or her favorite, with a fourth hopeful chosen via public call-ins. This means that during the season's final stretch there will be 12 rather than 10 finalists, with one contestant eliminated per week for the next twelve weeks, and with a different "celebrity" judge participating on each show. Also, for the first time Fox will offer a special "best of the worst" episode with highlights (or lowlights) from the most execrable and ear-shattering auditions. Along the way, there'll be a bit of controversy when semifinalist Corey Clark is removed from the running, not because of his singing but due to his off-screen misbehavior (it turns out that he'd once assaulted his own sister). Unfortunately, it will not be the last we'll hear from the contentious Mr. Clark. And in a slightly more amusing development (most of which was edited from the show), curmudgeonly Simon Cowell is senn preparing to lower the boom on a brace of "brothers" auditioning in Austin, Texas, when it is suddenly revealed that these two supposed no-talents are actually British comedians Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, the original hosts of American Idol's British prototype Pop Idol, who are playing a practical joke on Mr. Cowell. The season ends in virtually a dead heat, with contestants Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken tying for the million-dollar grand prize--a tie ultimately broken by a margin of a mere 130,000 of the 24 million votes cast by the viewers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi