American Idol is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to April 7, 2016, for 15 seasons. It was on hiatus for two years until March 11, 2018, when a revival of the series began airing on ABC.
American Juniors is an American reality television singing competition series that was broadcast for one season from June 3 to August 19, 2003, on Fox. The series was a spin-off of American Idol, but with younger contestants. The show had the same production team as American Idol: it was created by Simon Fuller and 19 Entertainment along with FremantleMedia, directed by Bruce Gowers, and produced by Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick.
Laura Simone Gissara is an Australian pop singer-songwriter. She was a final 10 contestant on the 2005 season of TV talent show, Australian Idol, and was eliminated on 26 September. In June 2006 she issued her debut single, "Ti amo", which peaked in the top 50 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It is a cover version of Laura Branigan's 1984 rendition of the Umberto Tozzi 1977 original.
Efraym Elliott Yamin is an American singer known for his hit single "Wait for You" and for placing third on the fifth season of American Idol.
Jared Lincoln Cotter is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and model. He was a contestant on the sixth season of American Idol, and co-wrote Jay Sean's 2009 single "Down", which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100.
Brett James Cornelius is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Nashville. James' compositions have been credited on 494 recordings by a wide variety of artists. Signed to Career Records as a solo artist in 1995, James charted three singles and released a self-titled debut album that year. He returned to Arista as a recording artist in 2002, releasing two more singles.
The seventh season of American Idol began on January 15, 2008, and concluded on May 21, 2008. Ryan Seacrest continued to host the show, while Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned as judges. David Cook was announced as the winner on May 21, 2008, defeating runner-up David Archuleta by a margin of roughly 12 million votes out of over 97 million, which was at that time the highest recorded vote total in the show's history.
The eighth season of American Idol premiered on Tuesday, January 13, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2009. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned as judges, while Ryan Seacrest returned as host. This season introduced Kara DioGuardi as a permanent fourth judge. This was also Paula Abdul's last season as a judge. Kris Allen was announced the winner of the competition on May 20, 2009, defeating runner-up Adam Lambert after nearly 100 million votes were cast.
"Stamp Your Feet" is a song by American singer Donna Summer. It was released on April 15, 2008 by Sony Burgundy as the second single from her 2008 album Crayons. The song was written by Summer, Danielle Brisebois, and Greg Kurstin, who also produced the track.
William Michael Albert Broad, known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English-American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of the group Generation X. Subsequently, he embarked on a solo career which led to international recognition and made Idol a lead artist during the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" in the US. The name "Billy Idol" was inspired by a schoolteacher's description of him as "idle".
Jess Cates is an American songwriter who has co-written songs such as Nick Lachey's "What's Left of Me" and the Backstreet Boys' 2005 hit "Incomplete". In recent years, Cates has worked in a songwriting team with Lindy Robbins and Emanuel Kiriakou. In its 2008 "Roundup", ASCAP characterized the trio as "award-winning, multi-platinum selling songwriters."
"Light On" is the first official single released from American Idol season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, David Cook (2008). It was released through RCA Records on September 30, 2008. The song reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Platinum by the RIAA.
Amber Patrice Riley, sometimes known mononymously as Riley, is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox comedy-drama series Glee (2009–2015). For her performance on the series, she and the rest of the cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award, and have been nominated for three Teen Choice Awards, three NAACP Image Awards, and a Grammy Award.
Casey Everett James is an American singer and guitarist who was the third-place finalist on the ninth season of American Idol and is an independent recording artist. He released his eponymous album in March 2012 from which three singles, "Let's Don't Call It a Night", "Crying on a Suitcase", and "The Good Life" were released. In October 2014, James released "Fall Apart" as the first single from a planned second studio album, but Sony opted not to release the record and they split ways. In 2017, James released his second album, Strip It Down, to critical acclaim.
American singer Kris Allen has released six studio albums, five EPs, eight singles and five music videos. He self-released an album titled Brand New Shoes in 2007 before rising to prominence in 2009 as the winner of the eighth season of American Idol. His coronation single, "No Boundaries", reached the top 15 on both the American Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100 charts. Allen released his self-titled second album in November 2009, which included the successful lead single, "Live Like We're Dying". The album additionally generated the singles "The Truth" and "Alright with Me" in 2010.
Michael Colton Dixon is an American singer-songwriter and musician from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He placed seventh on the eleventh season of American Idol.
Greg Holden is a Scottish singer-songwriter based in the United States. He is best known for his hit charity single "The Lost Boy" and for co-writing "Home", the 2012 debut single for American Idol-winner Phillip Phillips.
Jason Halbert is an American producer, music director, musician, engineer and songwriter. He has been Kelly Clarkson's music director since 2003, shortly after her American Idol win. He has also served as music director for Nick Carter, Clay Aiken, Justin Guarini in addition to touring as keyboardist for Paulina Rubio and Reba McEntire.
