"The Phenomenon Continues ... "

AMERICAN IDOL returns for the much-anticipated eighth season on January 13. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the No. 1 hit series empowers contestants and viewers to share their voice in deciding who will be America's next singing superstar. This season promises to be one of the best yet with new talent, a new judge and plenty of surprises along the way.

Every year, tens of thousands of hopefuls from across the nation audition for a shot at stardom. The show's judges – Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and recent addition Kara DioGuardi - traveled to East Rutherford, NJ; Jacksonville, FL; Kansas City, MO; Louisville, KY; Phoenix, AZ; Salt Lake City, UT; San Francisco, CA; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, in search of the next American Idol. They winnow down the competitors to a select group of semifinalists who sing their hearts out each week for a studio audience and television viewers.

The judges have their say after every performance, but it's the viewing public that determines who will advance to the next round of competition and who will go home. Voting via telephone and text-messaging begins immediately after each performance show, and the results are announced during the following night's broadcast.

Eventually the competition is narrowed down to two finalists who compete for a major recording contract and the American Idol title. Past winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks and recently crowned David Cook have become household names and have risen to the top of the recording industry.

Emmy Award-winning AMERICAN IDOL is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, founder of 19 Entertainment. The series is executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; and Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.

source: Article from the American Idol Official Website and Picture from Google Image Search.

"Simon Fuller : The Creator of New Idols"

"Simon Fuller : The Creator of New Idols"

Simon Fuller (born 17 May, 1960 in Hastings, East Sussex, England) is an artist manager, television producer and creator of the Idol franchise, first seen as Pop Idol in the UK and over 100 other versions including American Idol, Australian Idol, Canadian Idol, Deutschland sucht den Superstar, Indian Idol, Nouvelle Star, New Zealand Idol and World Idol. Simon Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality show So You Think You Can Dance and other US and European TV shows. He is an executive producer of Little Britain USA, a TV show that he signed to HBO and BBC TV in 2008. He is the manager of performers and entertainers including David and Victoria Beckham, Claudia Schiffer, Annie Lennox, Andy Murray, Spice Girls, Cathy Dennis, Carrie Underwood, Will Young, David Cook and others. His brother is comedy writer and director Kim Fuller.

Fuller's first venture into TV took place in 1999. He auditioned over 10,000 people to form S Club 7 which became a No.1 pop group and a BBC TV show which was seen in over 100 territories around the world. The group has since split up with former members Rachel Stevens, Jon Lee and Hannah Spearritt going on to enjoy solo success in music and film, although Jo O'Meara attracted controversy during the TV series Celebrity Big Brother in 2007. An offspring of the show 'S Club Juniors' and its spinoff TV drama series 'I Dream' established a blue print for squeaky clean teen TV.

In 1998 Fuller came up with an idea that would prove to be one of the definitive television and music brands of the 2000s when he created the television show formats of Pop Idol, American Idol, World Idol, Australian Idol and Canadian Idol. plus other spin-offs. Pop Idol broke TV records when it was broadcast over two series in the UK, as well as uncovering a major new talent in Will Young. Fuller sold the show to the Fox network in the States, and American Idol quickly became a No.1 rated show. The show has made stars of its presenters Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell as well as many of its performers. In Australia "Network Ten" purchased the format and to this day Australian Idol is one of the most "original" Idol shows from around the world. In Canada, the show, like in Australia has become an original format.

Now in its eighth series American Idol is claimed to be the most valuable TV format in the world with a value of over $2.5 billion, made up of revenue from sponsors, merchandising, telephone, music sales, broadcast and advertising sources. Over 90 million viewers saw David Cook win the seventh season of American Idol in May 2008 on a night where over 90 million votes were cast. According to the Sunday Times the show has made Simon Fuller the most powerful man in American TV.

In 2005 Simon Fuller, along with co-creator Nigel Lythgoe, launched So You Think You Can Dance on the Fox Channel in the USA. The show has grown over four seasons to become a regular summer hit. In 2007 Fuller has signed a deal to represent comedians Matt Lucas and David Walliams with regard to developing their award winning BBC TV show Little Britain for the United States , called Little Britain USA.

source: wikipedia.org (article and picture) and google image search (pictures).

"American Idol...."

American Idol (titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar in the first season) is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted on June 11, 2002, and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television. Part of the Idol franchise, it is a spinoff from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller and first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom.
The program seeks to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nation-wide auditions. The American public decides the outcomes of the later stages through phone voting. The judges give critiques of the contestants' performances: Grammy award -winning record producer and music manager Randy Jackson; Grammy award-winning pop singer and Emmy award-winning choreographer Paula Abdul; award-winning music executive and music manager Simon Cowell; and Grammy award-nominated singer-songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi. The format originally featured three judges with DioGuardi added in the eighth season.

source: wikipedia.org.