American Idol: Season 01 (2002)

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Following the precedent established by the popular network game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the Fox talent contest American Idol: The Search for a Superstar was afforded multiple weekly showings, telecast on both Tuesday and Wednesdays throughout it first season--and sweeping the ratings on both nights! Ryan Seacrest of course serves as host, sharing these duties during Season One with Brian Dunkelman. But as everyone knows, the real stars of the proceedings can be found on the three-person panel of judges: singer Paul Abdul, music producer Randy Jackson, and "Mr. Nasty" himself, the wickedly sardonic and brutally honest record executive Simon Cowell. The format is set up with admirable rapidity: dozens upon dozens of aspiring young pop singers, age 16 to 24, are audtioned throughout the nation in the opening episodes, with the best 30 aspirants remaining as "regulars" for the next three weeks; ultimately 10 semifinalists remain standing to strut their stuff for the balance of the season, as the viewers vote for their favorites via toll-free calls. The "judging" portion of takes place on the Tuesday telecast, with Wednesday given over to highlights and interviews and chats with the finalists--one of whom is eliminated at the end of each episode. And it isn't only their talent (or lack of same) that brings about the eliminations, as proven in the July 2002 episode wherein one of the semi-finalists is disqualified because he lied about his age (instead of 23, he was an old geezer of 29!) This, in fact, obliged the judges to bring forth a "wildcard" contestant from those who hadn't been selected by the viewers to bring to number up to ten again. From this point on, the contestants are judged according to their skills at interpreting different musical styles, ranging from Motown to middle-of-the-road. All of this is but prelude to the now-legendary Season One finale, originally telecast on September 4, 2002, in which the decision boils down to the two surviving semifinalists: Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi