Kristin Holt Movies

Fitness expert and former Olympic swimmer Summer Sanders guides moms-to-be through a series of gentle, effective workouts that increase strength and flexibility. ~ Carly Wray, Rovi

In between seasons two and three of Fox's phenomenally popular talent contest American Idol, first-season winner Kelly Clarkson teamed with that same season's runnerup Justin Guarini to star in the theatrical feature From Justin to Kelly. Unfortunately (or, depending upon one's opinion of From Justin to Kelly, fortunately), second-season winner Ruben Studdard didn't have enough time to exploit his newfound celebrity in a similar manner. Beginning January 19, 2004, the series' third season gets under way with several weeks' worth of auditions held in New York, Atlanta, Houston, LA, San Francisco and Hawaii (this last episode would receive an inordinate amount of press coverage in that state when the Hawaiian semifinalist turned out not to be the favorite among American Idol viewers and voters). Once the wheat is separated from the chaff, the audience is treated to a special episode about the "lost" contestants--with emphasis on the reasons that they were not only lost, but would probably stay lost! There'll be a later special episode in a similar vein, focusing on notorious runner-up William Hung, who would unexpectedly become a recording sensation despite his stunning lack of singing ability (or even a sense of pitch!) Finally the 32 lucky contestants are chosen, from which will be gleaned the 12 semi-finalists. As the contest proceeds, there'll be return visits from such popular American Idol "losers" as Clay Aiken and Tamyra Gray, not as aspirants but as celebrities. Inevitably, the semifinalists are pared down to two: Fantasia Barrino an dDiana DeGarmo, who square off in the season's two-hour finale, which originally aired live. Without giving away the name of the winner, it can be noted that she will ultimately join previous winners Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Stoddard in a tuneful American Idol holiday special, telecast November 24, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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