American Idols LIVE! Tour 2006

American Idols Live! Tour 2006' is a summer concert tour featuring all of the winning contestants of the fifth season of American Idol (the overall winner and 9 runner-ups), which occurred in 2006. It is sponsored by Kellogg Pop-Tarts. It starts on July 6 and ends on September 2.

Venues

City	Venue
Birmingham, Alabama	BJCC Arena
Anaheim, California	Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
Los Angeles, California	Staples Center
Sacramento, California	ARCO Arena
San Diego, California	ipayOne Center
San Jose, California	HP Pavilion at San Jose
Bridgeport, Connecticut	Arena at Harbor Yard
Hartford, Connecticut	Hartford Civic Center
Sunrise, Florida	BankAtlantic Center
Tampa, Florida	St. Pete Times Forum
Duluth, Georgia	Arena at Gwinnett Center
Chicago, Illinois	Allstate Arena
Peoria, Illinois	Peoria Civic Center
Indianapolis, Indiana	Indiana State Fairgrounds
Louisville, Kentucky	Freedom Hall
Worcester, Massachusetts	DCU Center
Grand Rapids, Michigan	Van Andel Arena
Detroit, Michigan	Joe Louis Arena
St. Paul, Minnesota	Xcel Energy Center
St. Louis, Missouri	Savvis Center
Manchester, New Hampshire	Verizon Wireless Arena
Atlantic City, New Jersey	Boardwalk Hall
East Rutherford, New Jersey	Continental Airlines Arena
Albany, New York	Pepsi Arena
Long Island, New York	Nassau Coliseum
Rochester, New York	BlueCross Arena
Charlotte, North Carolina	Charlotte Bobcats Arena
Greensboro, North Carolina	Greensboro Coliseum
Cleveland, Ohio	Wolstein Arena
Columbus, Ohio	Value City Arena
Portland, Oregon	Rose Garden
Hershey, Pennsylvania	GIANT Arena
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Melon Arena
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Wachovia Center
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	Wachovia Arena
Columbia, South Carolina	Colonial Center
Nashville, Tennessee	Gaylord Entertainment Center
Richmond, Virginia	Richmond Coliseum
Tacoma, Washington	Tacoma Dome
Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Bradley Center
Washington, D.C.	Verizon Center

Top 12 finalists

American Idol Semi-finals

The semi-finals began on February 21, with the names announced on February 15. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals.

There were no format changes from season 4; it will feature 12 male singers and 12 female singers (24 total), with two of each being eliminated each week.

The 24 semi-finalists, announced February 15, 2006, along with their songs performed on the show, were:

Women-eliminated

Ayla Brown (14336) (born February 27, 1988) is an American singer and was fourteenth place on American Idol.
She is from Wrentham, Massachusetts. Her father, Scott Brown, is a Massachusetts state senator, and her mother, Gail Huff, is a local television personality at WCVB-TV. She has a college basketball scholarship at Boston College. She originally auditioned in Boston, singing Ain't No Mountain High Enough.

• Ayla Brown Official Website
  
• American Idol - Contestants: Ayla Brown
  
• Myspace Page
  
  
  
  1. Reflection (Christina Aguilera)
     
  2. I Want You To Need Me (Celine Dion)
     
  3. Unwritten (Natasha Bedingfield) - Eliminated 03/09/06
     
  
  

Kinnik Sky (63995) is from Duluth, Georgia. She auditioned in Greensboro.

1. Get Here (Oleta Adams)
   
2. Here For the Party (Gretchen Wilson) - Bottom 3 03/02/06
   
3. If I Ain't Got You (Alicia Keys) - Eliminated 03/09/06
   

Heather Heather Cox (36338) is from Jonesville, North Carolina. She auditioned in Denver.

1. When You Tell Me That You Love Me (Diana Ross)
   
2. Hero (Mariah Carey) - Eliminated 03/02/06
   

Brenna Gethers (14289) is from Mount Vernon, New York. She auditioned in Boston.

1. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life (Stevie Wonder)
   
2. Last Dance (Donna Summer) - Eliminated 03/02/06
   

Stevie Scott (36600) (born May 22, 1986 in Fair Oaks, California). She auditioned in Denver. She sang "Emotions" with Hannah Freeman and finalist Paris Bennett during their group performance in Hollywood. She was eliminated from American Idol (Season 5) on February 23, 2006 along with Becky O'Donohue, Bobby Bennett, and Patrick Hall. She made a cameo appearance on the Top 6 performance show of American Idol on April 25, 2006.

• Stevie Scott Website
  
• American Idol - Stevie Scott
  
  
  
  1. To Where You Are (Josh Groban) - Eliminated 02/23/06
     
  
  

Becky Becky O'Donohue (11588) is from Dobbs Ferry, New York. Her original audition was in Boston with her twin sister (who didn't sing due to recent throat surgery). Simon praised her looks, but said no to her voice. She was let through to Hollywood by Randy and Paula.

1. Because The Night (Patti Smith) - Eliminated 02/23/06
   

Men-eliminated

Gedeon Gedeon McKinney (4460) (born October 1, 1988) was the 13th place semi-finalist in the fifth season of American Idol. He comes from Memphis, Tennessee, but the Memphis auditions had to be canceled due to relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina that were taking place in Memphis. He was so poor that his school let him administer a concert, and the students paid USD$2.00 to get in, so he could enter the contest in another city. He auditioned in Chicago, and made it through the first rounds and eventually was one of the top 24 contestants. He was not given enough votes to enter the top 12, and was voted off. During the course of the show, Gedeon was famed for his almost permanent wide smile.
Gedeon McKinney's father Tony McKinney, an R&B singer who made an album "Love Me Right." died in December, 2005. "Hollywood is a place he always dreamed of going and I am living out my father's legacy, and I really thank God for that". Gedeon has three sisters and three brothers.

• Article, February 17, 2006 An 'Idol' dream is real for Yo! teen at commercialappeal.com
  
• March 11, 2006 Reality TV Magazine, article
  
• Unofficial Gedeon McKinney Fan Site
  
• American Idol - Contestants: Gedeon McKinney
  
• Gedeon McKinney - TWoP Forums
  
• Article, "McKinney honored by City Council" (March 22, 2006)
  
  
  
  1. Shout (The Isley Brothers)
     
  2. A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke)
     
  3. When A Man Loves a Woman (Percy Sledge) - Eliminated 03/09/06
     
  
  

Will Will Makar (58581) (born March 2, 1989 in The Woodlands, Texas) is an American singer and was fifteenth-place on the fifth season of American Idol. He is of Ukrainian origin and studies Japanese. Will is currently a sophomore at The Woodlands College Park High School in The Woodlands, TX. He was held back a year in elementary school by request of his parents. In school, Will has starred in several musical productions. In 1999 Will sang with the Houston Children’s Chorus for President Clinton, and again in 2002 for President Bush. After five years as a member of the Houston Children’s Chorus, Will decided he had grown too old, and "retired." In 2003, Will, along with his three friends Louis, Bobby, and Aaron, formed a band called Last Born, of which Will held the position of the lead vocals until 2005, when he decided to pursue a solo career. Will auditioned for American Idol (Season 5)] in Austin, TX.
He was eliminated on March 9, 2006, which was the same week that the Top 12 was announced. He finished in 15th place. During the show, Will developed a friendship with David Radford and Kevin Covais. They had performed together during the group performance in Hollywood week.[citation needed]

• American Idol - Contestants: Will Makar
  
• Will Makar's Official Website
  
• Will Makar at TV.com
  
• Will Makar's Fansite
  
• Will Makar Central
  
  
  
  1. I Want You Back (The Jackson 5)
     
  2. Lady (Kenny Rogers)
     
  3. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (James Taylor) - Eliminated 03/09/06
     
  
  

José José "Sway" Penala (32613) (born October 27, 1977) is from South San Francisco, and he auditioned in San Francisco. Jose began writing lyrics and continued to perfect his voice through the years. In 1996, he partnered with his good friend, Darrell to form the group “DnH” - short for Drop n Harmony. Friends, Jerome and Lionel, joined the group within the next three years. The four self-starters worked hard on their craft, practicing constantly to blend their voices into the perfect mix of breathtaking harmonies. This San Francisco based group, was a favorite in the Bay Area and were likened to a Filipino Boyz II Men. At the end of 2001, Jose began a compilation with members of other Asian-American singing groups. During this initial collaboration, the four singers: Jose, Errol, Drey, and Cyrus, realized that they shared the same passion for music and similar visions of success. This led to the creation of a new group, “6th Day”. He sports a Fedora hat, overcoat and a dogtag to suit his RNB style of music when performing on-stage.

• American Idol - Contestants: Jose 'Sway" Penala
  
• Jose Penala's Fansite
  
• 6th Day Website
  
  
  
  1. Reasons (Earth Wind & Fire)
     
  2. Overjoyed (Stevie Wonder) - Eliminated 03/02/06
     
  
  

David David Radford (2436) (born March 22, 1988 in Crystal Lake, Illinois) is a high school senior at Crystal Lake Central High School. David has also been popular in singing with many students in his high school.He has been singing "his way" since he can remember. As a child, whenever there was a spotlight, David somehow found a way to its center. In addition to singing, David plays the trumpet as well as a mean game of Ping-Pong. He originally auditioned in Chicago. He was eliminated from American Idol on March 2, 2006 along with José (Sway) Penala, Brenna Gethers and Heather Cox.
David also became best friends and roommates with semi-finalists, Will Makar, and Ayla Brown and finalists, Kevin Covais, Paris Bennett, Lisa Tucker, Katharine McPhee, and Kellie Pickler.

• David Radford's Unofficial Website
  
• American Idol - Contestants: David Radford
  
  
  
  1. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Queen)
     
  2. The Way You Look Tonight (Frank Sinatra) - Eliminated 03/02/06
     
  
  

Patrick Patrick Hall (79857) is from Gravette, Arkansas and was seen for the first time in Hollywood.

• Come to My Window (Melissa Etheridge) - Eliminated 02/23/06
  

Bobby Bobby Bennett (36477) is from Denver and also auditioned there. He made an appearance in the March 21 episode wherein Barry Manilow performed that night.

• Copacabana (Barry Manilow) - Eliminated 02/23/06
  

American Idol Final cutdown

On January 23, 2006, after a considerable time lapse from Hollywood Week, and after the audition shows began to air on January 17, the judges reviewed tapes and considered early audience reaction to the contestants. Without any additional performances from the contestants, the judges then reduced the the remaining 44 contestants to 24 semi-finalists in a Pasadena, California hotel. Among those eliminated at this point were:

David Avram #4929
Brooke Barrettsmith #9719, one of the two sisters who auditioned together in Chicago and were profiled as "small town" girls.
Megan Bobo #37340, one of the last two girls to be told if they were in the final 24 or not, lost the place to Kinnik Sky.
Jessica Jo Santos #78151
Antonio Bridges #75320
Derrell and Terrell Brittenum #7958, #7959, older set of twins that auditioned together in Chicago. In Hollywood, Derrell quit after mistakenly thinking his brother had been cut. After an apology, the judges allowed both brothers to stay in the competition. They made it to the final 44, but they were disqualified in January 2006 after being arrested.
Murcelia "Marcy" Smith #35871 was in the same group as Brenna Gethers and was visibly irritated by Brenna's obnoxious nature and unreliability in turning up for practice. Brenna, however, made a great show of being friendly with her on stage when Simon remarked on this after the group performance.
Bobby Bullard #35990
Bobby Dillard #31701
Syd James Harcourt #10300 and Will Makar were the final two men to be called into the room where the final selection for the top 24 was to take place.
Eugenia Littlejohn #35660 cried and said her dreams of ever making it as a singer were destroyed when she wasn't selected for the final 24, provoking surprised reactions from all three judges.
Mark Adam Locklear #63998
William McCoy #60242
Nicole Ortiz #13677
Crystal Stark #1140, sang I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston in Chicago.
Brianna Taylor #11142, sang the song If I Ain't Got You by Alicia Keys in Boston.
April Walsh #37870, sang the song It's Oh So Quiet by Bjork in Denver.
Stephanie White #11425
Nick Whitten #61919

American Idol Hollywood rounds two and three

The remaining 99 hopefuls competed in Round Two, which was three- or four-person groups singing one of six or so pre-selected songs. Cuts were made (of individuals, not whole groups) after this round.

Approximately 60 contestants went on to Round Three, which was a solo a capella performance of one of 95 possible songs. After this, cuts were made by segregating performers into different rooms, with everyone in a given room either moving on or being cut.

Across both rounds, 55 were cut, including:

Meredith Bandas
Leah Barrettsmith, one of the two sisters who auditioned together in Chicago and were profiled as "small town" girls, sang the song "Blessed" during Chicago auditions
Matthew Buckstein
Rochelle-Elaine Dye came to her Denver audition with several friends and family who had her name spelled out in t-shirts. She said she was about to be evicted.
Sarah Enouen
Michael Evans
Hannah Freeman
Gina Glocksen was profiled as a dental assistant and the lead singer in an all-girl band, auditioned in Chicago.
Anthony Hansen
Rickey Hayes was a music major, auditioned in Austin
Jason Horn, Funeral director, auditioned in Austin with "You Raise Me Up".
Ashley Jackson, "fit model", sang with her mouth closed, auditioned in Austin.
Josh Jordan, sang during the group performance together with semi-finalists, David Radford and Will Makar, and finalist, Kevin Covais
Garet Layne Johnson, profiled as the "Wyoming Cowboy," auditioned in Denver, was advised to get voice lessons before going to Hollywood. He was featured as part of a Brokeback Mountain parody called "Brokenote Mountain".
Mecca Madison was an 18-year-old high-school senior and belly-dancer. Auditioned in Las Vegas.
Celeste Scalone was a former contestant on Making the Band.
Tyra Juliette Schwartz came from New York and was dumped by her boyfriend shortly before auditioning in Greensboro. She was a former contestant on Making the Band.
Jennifer Sieminski later gave a very detailed interview describing behind-the-scenes practices of American Idol
Jordan Southerland auditioned in Greensboro and was profiled wearing a fireman outfit on the show. He received complimentary reviews in his audition and wore the firesuit in honor of all the firemen who assisted in Hurricane Katrina and in honor of his father who was very sick and had been a fireman for 20 years. In Hollywood he performed the song "Bless the Broken Road".
Halicia Thompson sang the theme from A Different World and kissed Simon. She auditioned in Greensboro.
Nicole Turk
Tatiana Ward auditoned in Boston. Simon compared her to his pet poodle, and complained that her singing was too "old fashioned." Randy and Paula let her through.
Lauren Weckerly
Megan Zieger was first seen in Hollywood, where she had a bad case of laryngitis, but managed to sustain her voice.

American Idol Hollywood round one

The first round of Hollywood consisted of two days of solo performances of one of 12 pre-selected songs, to a piano and background vocal accompaniment, with each singer singing on one day and touring Los Angeles on the other day.

Of the 175 hopefuls who made it to Hollywood, 99 were selected to move on to the next round. Among those cut from at this time were:

Jeffrey "Ryan" Baysden auditioned in Greensboro. He was told by Simon, "finally, a Ryan with talent!"
Steven David, Jr. auditioned in his Air National Guard uniform in Greensboro, danced with Paula, and turned out to be married.
Ashley Guadamuz
David Hoover aka "Crazy Dave", sent through by Randy and Paula in Chicago. He is the first "bad" singer ever to be sent on to Hollywood.
Shelby Johnson
Linelle Kagawa
Kymyata Kelty
Eden Kentner
Ronnie "R.J." Norman was profiled as the "Cocky Guy" in Austin. He cried when he was eliminated in Hollywood.
Jayne Santayana auditioned in San Francisco, sang "Sweet Love" by Anita Baker.
Joshua and Jarrett Simmons are the younger set of male twins that auditioned together in Chicago.
Zachary Smits was a 17-year-old, auditioned in Chicago.
Jordan Southerland auditioned dressed as a firefighter in Greensboro.
Heather Ward was the African American woman who surprised the judges by singing Gretchen Wilson's country anthem "Redneck Woman" in Las Vegas.
Shawna White was 16 years old, wore pigtails that inspired yodeling from the judges, auditioned in San Francisco.
John Williams sang a Michael Jackson song and did a dance in San Francisco, Simon wasn't impressed with his "routine", but Randy and Paula put him through.
Kendra Winston was the mother of three children, grew up in 42 different foster care situations, auditioned in Greensboro.
Laura Wright auditioned in Greensboro. It showed her singing a little bit.

American Idol Eliminated contestants

Early auditions

Joshua David "Josh" Royse is an 18-year-old from Turpin, Oklahoma who auditioned in San Francisco. He sang Hoobastank's "The Reason". Royse is a Christian musician who writes about Christianity. On the show, he also performed an original song about the American Idol audition process (title "The Greatest Feeling Of All") with another contestant he met while they were in San Francisco. He did not make it past his initial audition. The judges praised his singing but said he was not what they were looking for. Later, he was chosen by the American Idol Underground A/R team and signed a recording contract with an independent record company in California. His American Idol song was made into a music video on the American Idol website. He also has an "Idol Alumni" testimonial on the website. In addition, he has spoken in radio interviews on a handlful of stations in the U.S., and has airplay for "The Greatest Feeling of All". (see also: Royse's official site)
Holly Corrente worked at a rehabilitation facility. Auditioned in Boston and eliminated there.
Rhonetta Johnson had a diva attitude, a potty mouth, and no underwear. Made negative comments, mostly about and directed to Paula Abdul after being rejected by the judges. Eliminated in Greensboro auditions. Rhonetta later appeared in a Rolling Stone (magazine) issue discussing the lives of various rejected American Idol 5 auditioners.

Rhonetta JohnsonChonna Clepper auditioned in Greensboro dressed in almost nothing.
Zachary Travis auditioned in Denver dressed in a woman's crop top, tight blue jeans with a studded belt and high heeled boots and sang the Whitney Houston song "Queen of the Night" which Simon described as atrocious and Travis as being confused.
Ryan Hart auditioned in Las Vegas singing a song in the style of screamo. He was not accepted and made fun of by Randy upon leaving, but Hart couldn't depart without screaming a few (censored) words to Simon.

American Idol Season five final two

The final two contestants: Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee.

American Idol Season five Auditions

Auditions were held in seven cities in the summer and early fall of 2005 in the following order:

Chicago, Illinois
Denver, Colorado
Greensboro, North Carolina
San Francisco, California
Las Vegas, Nevada
Austin, Texas (later stages of auditions were held in San Francisco because of Hurricane Katrina and the number of evacuees in Texas) [1]
Boston, Massachusetts
Unlike Season Four, no guest judges were involved during the auditions.

American Idol (Season 5)

The 12 finalists

The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006 and will end on May 24, 2006. Returning this season to judge are Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson. Returning to host is Ryan Seacrest.

American Idol Show

American Idol title card

Genre Interactive reality game show
Running time Varies Creator(s) Simon Fuller
Developer(s) Bruce Gowers
Executive producer(s) Nigel and Simon LythgoeKen Warwick
Starring Ryan SeacrestBrian Dunkleman (2002)Paula AbdulSimon CowellRandy Jackson
Country of origin USA
Original network/channel FOX
Original run June 11, 2002 – Present
No. of episodes 25 (season 1), 40 (season 2), 44 (season 3), 43 (season 4), 38 (season 5)

American Idol Imitations produced by other companies

This series has been imitated by many other shows, among them Nashville Star. Nashville Star still airs and has had a successful run. In the fall of 2004, VH1 launched a music reality talent-search series In Search of the New Partridge Family, in which aspring actor-singers competed for the roles of Keith, Laurie, Danny, and Shirley Partridge. A pilot episode was aired in early 2005, but the show didn't get picked up. Rock Star: INXS is a rock competition that premiered on CBS in the summer of 2005.

The WB aired a parody series entitled Superstar USA, in which the worst singers were picked to move on without knowing that it was a search for the worst rather than the best.

American Idle by dustball is an animated parody of the Numa Numa Dance.

Super Girl hosted by HNTV of China also imitated it.

The Idol series, with Simon Cowell, referenced in Shrek 2; Cowell himself has appeared on The Simpsons. Simon Cowell also appeared in "Scary Movie 3" at a rap off.

American Idol was parodied on the children's television show All That in the sketch American Idiot. Kyle Sullivan played an essentially useless host named Brian Peefest. Giovonnie Samuels played the judge Mandy Snackson, whose frequent catch phrase was "You did your thing, dog," cuing a pack of dogs to enter the stage and attack the "idiot." Jack DeSena played an overly cruel judge, Slimon Bowell. Chelsea Brummet played an overly nice judge, Pauly Baboo.

Far Far Away Idol is an imitation found on the Bonus Features of the Shrek 2 DVD. Almost all of the characters sing a song of sorts, and then the viewer at home can vote for their favorite using their remote.

On NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live, there were at least two parody episodes: One with celebrities (Some impersonations being Finesse Mitchell as Kelis, Jessica Simpson as Britney Spears, Amy Poehler as Madonna and Nick Lachey as Scott Stapp from Creed), and another with people with physical problems. Simon Cowell was portrayed by Chris Parnell. Justin Guarini and Taylor Hicks were briefly parodied (Guarini during the host's opening monologue, and Hicks during Weekend Update).

The Spanish language television network Telefutura, owned by Univision, also shows a Puerto Rican-American version of the show, called Objetivo Fama ("Objective Fame").

Dutch independent martial arts filmmakers Baaah Productions have parodied the Dutch version of the show, under the name Kungfu Idol.

The film American Dreamz satires the show, the American people (contestants and viewers), the George W. Bush Administration and Mandy Moore stars as the Carrie Underwood character.

In the American Nicktoon series The Fairly OddParents the episode "Fairy Idol" is a parody this show.

Though it was a predecessor, not an imitator, of American Idol, and though it had a somewhat different format, the 1950s TV show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts was a #1 rated program that launched the careers of many famous entertainers.

American Idol Controversy

Main article: American Idol controversy
American Idol has come under fire for maintaining what some claim to be total control of the careers of the winners of the contest. Former cohost Brian Dunkleman referred to the show as "owning" the winning contestants, noting that winners sign contracts to only record with companies owned by the show's producers and to allow related agencies to manage their careers.
Former contestant Corey Clark told reporters in April of 2005 that he and Idol judge Paula Abdul had a "secret affair," prompting an internal Idol investigation.
The show is known for encouraging favoritism within the contestants and having viewers vote for their "favorite" rather than singing ability. This treatment of music places social status above musical aesthetics.
Since the 2004 season, American Idol producers have battled services like DialIdol.com and Worldsentiment.com. These sites use very large samplings and algorithms to predict the outcome of the vote-off long before the on air-announcement. Some in the media have implied that Las Vegas odds makers exert behind-the-scenes influence in protecting the services.

American Idol Jaded Journalist

Beginning with the second season of American Idol, the show's website has hosted satirical news coverage by the "Jaded Journalist." The often sardonic Jaded Journalist has written recaps (summaries) of the show, run an email feedback column, and conducted video interviews of finalists in Hollywood as well as interviews of auditioners in other cities.

Some have proposed that the purpose of the Jaded Journalist is to bring edginess and humor to the otherwise saccharine image that American Idol tends to promote for itself. The identity of the Jaded Journalist, whose face was obscured or hidden in videos, was kept relatively secret from the character's inception until 2004, when his identity was revealed to be Michael Krogmann.

American Idol Product placement

American Idol is often noted for advertising its sponsors during the show's runtime. Being the number one rated show in the United States, it costs around $705,000 for a 30-second commercial. Coca-Cola is a major sponsor in the U.S., and all the judges, hosts, and contestants are seen consuming beverages out of cups bearing the Coca-Cola logo, while contestants and host Ryan Seacrest gathering for a "Keeping It Real" segment between songs in the "Coca-Cola Red Room", the show's equivalent to the traditional green room. (During rebroadcast on ITV in the U.K., the Coca-Cola logo is obscured in the shots.) After every Wednesday results show, the remaining contestants and host meet in the Coca-Cola Red Room to discuss next week's theme; the footage of this meeting is shown at the start of the following Tuesday's performance show. Voting is made possible by Cingular Wireless, and viewers who cast votes on Cingular Wireless cellular telephones benefit from lower billing costs. Kellogg and Pop-Tarts are also two major sponsors, especially of the cast tour that follows the end of every season. Products from the Ford Motor Company also receive prominent product placement; contestants appear in Ford commercials on the results shows, and the final 2 of season four won free Mustangs. In addition, the American Idol logo strongly resembles the Ford Motor Company logo (both are blue ovals featuring cursive script). Contestants will occasionally don Old Navy clothing during performances, and celebrity stylist Steven Cojocaru has appeared in previous seasons to assist contestants with picking out wardrobe pieces from Old Navy. Clairol hair care products also sponsors the show, with contestants usually getting Clairol-guided hair makeovers after the first two or three episodes during the round of 12.

American Idol Season six and beyond

The show has since been renewed for five more years; meaning it is expected to air until at least 2011, running for a total of at least 10 seasons (or longer if still successful then).

The auditions for Season 6 are likely to be held between July and October 2006, with the show expected to begin airing in January 2007. The audition cities have not been announced; they will likely be announced around or just after the Season 5 finale. Auditioning contestants will have to be between ages 16 and 28, likely born between August 1977 to August 1990.

American Idol Season five

Main article: American Idol (Season 5)
The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006. Auditions were in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco, with Greensboro, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada included after the cancellation of the Memphis auditions due to Hurricane Katrina. The season used the same rules as Season 4. Contestants had to be between the ages of 16 and 28 on August 15, 2005, being born on or between August 16, 1976 and August 15, 1989.

Contestants Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks were submitted into the final 2 on May 17, 2006, and the winner will be decided on May 24, 2006.

American Idol Season four

Carrie Underwood, winner of the fourth season of American Idol

Main article: American Idol (Season 4)
The fourth season of American Idol premiered on January 18, 2005. It was the first season in which the age limit was raised to 28, in order to increase variety. All season 4 contestants had to be between the ages of 16 to 28 on August 4, 2004, born on or between August 5, 1975 and August 4, 1988. Among those who benefitted from this new rule were Constantine Maroulis (born September 17) and Bo Bice (born November 1), considered to be the eldest and somewhat most experienced of the season's Idol contestants. They were also constantly mentioned by Seacrest and in the media as "the two rockers", since their long hair and choice of rock songs made them stand out from conventional Idol standards. The presence of more rock-orientated contestants has continued with Chris Daughtry in season five, who was inspired to audition for the show by Bice.

This season also implemented new rules for the final portion of the contest. Instead of competing in semifinal heats in which the top vote-getters are promoted to the final round, 24 semifinalists were named; 12 men and 12 women, who competed separately, with 2 of each gender being voted off each week until 12 finalists were left.

Mario Vazquez, who was originally one of the top 12, dropped out of the competition on March 11, just days before the top 12's first performance, citing "personal issues," opening a spot in the final 12 for Nikko Smith, who had been voted off in the semi-finals the previous week.

The winner was Carrie Underwood, a country singer, the first winner since Kelly Clarkson to not only win but avoid being in the bottom three for the entire competition. Bo Bice came in first runner-up. Her first single, "Inside Your Heaven", was released on June 14, 2005. The single debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with first-week sales of 170,000 copies, and briefly stopped Mariah Carey's run at #1 with "We Belong Together." One week later, runner-up, Bo Bice, released his version of the song, which debuted at #2. Underwood's version was shunned by country radio reaching a peak of #59 on the country charts. The B-side is "Independence Day", a cover of the Martina McBride hit. Underwood's second single, "Jesus, Take The Wheel" was made available for radio airplay on October 18, 2005. It received so much airplay that it debuted at #39 on the Billboard Country Chart in its first week, setting a record. As it climbed it finally reached #1 for 6 consecutive weeks, and was only two weeks shy of Connie Smith's record of an 8 week run back in 1964-1965. The single also debuted at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 where it reached a peak of #20. Underwood's third single, "Don't Forget to Remember Me", released for radio in 2006, has peaked at #15 on the Hot Country Charts, as well as, #84 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Meanwhile, Bo Bice's first single, "The Real Thing" has appeared on American Top 40 radio, although sales were fairly low. Third-place contestant Vonzell Solomon landed a role in a film, Still Green and a single on a Christmas album. Sixth-place contestant Constantine Maroulis has redone his "Bohemian Rhapsody" rendition for a Queen tribute album, and has announced his pre-production debut album's release in the fall of 2006, as well as to star in an ABC television sitcom and an independent feature film. Seventh-place contestant Anwar Robinson has released his self-titled EP on an independent label. Mario Vazquez and Nikko Smith will each have a new single by the summer of 2006. Eleventh-place contestant Mikalah Gordon is co-host for Idol Extra alongside season three eleventh-placer Matthew Rogers. 12th-place contestant Lindsey Cardinale has recorded her first single, "Nothing Like A Dream" (B-side "Drive") in the summer of 2005 on an independent label, and released in March 2006.

American Idol Season three

Fantasia Barrino, the winner of season three of American Idol

Main article: American Idol (Season 3)
The third season of American Idol premiered on January 19, 2004.

The early part of the season introduced William Hung, a UC Berkeley student, who became popular following his rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs". His performance as well as his attitude facing Simon's criticisms (which was a stark contrast to other contestants' confrontational, angry reactions) landed him a record deal with Koch Entertainment Records making over $500,000 in record sales.

During the season, controversy over the legitimacy of the contest increased as rocker Jon Peter Lewis and young crooner John Stevens stayed afloat while others were unexpectedly eliminated. Jasmine Trias, despite some negative comments from Simon Cowell survived elimination and took the third spot over Latoya London. Jasmine later released a CD and attracted fans in her home state of Hawaii and in the Philippines, Singapore, Guam and other South East Asian countries. The third season was also shown in Australia on Network Ten about half a week after episodes were shown in the US.

After a nationwide vote of more than 65 million votes in total - more than the first two seasons combined - Fantasia Barrino won the "American Idol" title and Diana DeGarmo was runner up. Fantasia has enjoyed commercial success and has been labeled by many respected individuals as a future musical legend. Fantasia also has the honor of being the first artist in history to debut at number one on the US Hot 100 with a first record which was "I Believe". Fantasia has also taken part in writing and acting projects. These include her life memoir, "Life is Not a Fairy Tale", and an original Lifetime movie about her life story, scheduled for a Summer 2006 release on the cable network. Fantasia was a major contender for the role of Effie White in the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls, but she was turned down in favor of fellow season 3 contestant Jennifer Hudson. Diana DeGarmo's first CD, Blue Skies, was not a commercial success and she was dropped from RCA. She has since received a role in the Broadway production of Hairspray.

Diana wasn't the only non-winner of the season to land herself a record deal, however. Jasmine Trias signed with an independent label, and although she has failed to achieve commercial success in the mainland USA, she has become a major celebrity in other countries, such as the Phillipines. Latoya London signed with Peak Records and released an album of slow jams, which didn't sell well. George Huff signed with Word Records to release a gospel album and has since had mild success in that genre. John Stevens, the red-haired crooner who many say made it farther than he should have, landed a deal with Maverick Records, but was dropped due to low album sales. Jennifer Hudson is starring alongside Beyonce and Jamie Foxx in the upcoming Dreamgirls movie, and is expected to release her album sometime in 2007. Camile Velasco was once signed to Motown Records, but left the label after her first single flopped. Still, like Jasmine, she has become somewhat popular in the Phillipines. Eleventh place contestant Matthew Rogers is now a TV personality, starring alongside Mikalah Gordon on "Idol Extra," which goes behind the scenes of the current American Idol season.

American Idol Season two

Ruben Studdard, winner of season two of "American Idol"; also the only male winner so far.

Main article: American Idol (Season 2)
In season two, Seacrest surfaced as the lone host, since Dunkleman reportedly hated working on the show, and the studio was dissatisfied with his performance. Kristin Holt was a special correspondent. This time, Ruben Studdard emerged as the winner with Clay Aiken as runner-up. Out of 24 million votes recorded, Studdard finished just 130,000 votes ahead of Aiken, although there remains controversy over the accuracy of the reported results. There was much discussion in the communication industry about the phone system being overloaded, and that more than 150 Million votes were dropped, making the voting invalid. Since then the voting methods have been modified to avoid this problem. In an interview prior to the start of the fifth season, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe revealed for the first time that Aiken had led the fan voting from the wild card week onward until the finale. Despite Studdard's victory, Aiken has enjoyed more widespread popularity, emerging as one of the season's true breakout stars. Ruben's next album is rumored to be released in 2006. Kimberley Locke has also enjoyed radio success after American Idol, with her debut album, "One Love". Her next album is also rumored to be released in 2006.

Fourth-place finisher and former Marine Josh Gracin has had some success as a country artist, signing with Lyric Street Records, and his first album spawned three hit singles, including a number one song, "Nothing to Lose".

During the course of the contest Ruben became known for wearing 205 Flava jerseys representing his area code. Shortly after the end of the contest, Ruben sued 205 Flava, Inc for $2 million for using his image for promotional purposes. Flava responded by alleging that Ruben had accepted over $10,000 in return for wearing 205 shirts, and produced 8 cashed checks to validate their claim. The allegations, if true, indicate a clear violation of the American Idol rules. The lawsuit was settled out of court.

The rumor mills were buzzing once again in 2005 when Season Two contestant Corey Clark, who was kicked off the show because of a police record he had not disclosed earlier, alleged that he had an affair with judge Paula Abdul. Clark also alleged that Abdul gave him preferential treatment on the show because of their alleged romance. A subsequent investigation by Fox found no evidence to support Clark's charges.