Happy 10th anniversary, ‘American Idol’!
Ten years ago today, “American Idol” debuted as a fill-in Fox summer TV reality show.
I read some of the stories from the time. Expectations were modest. “Idol” did not send out an advance copy of the first episode, which made TV writers at the time instantly suspicious.
The Chicago Tributne: “American Idol” (8 p.m., WFLD-Ch. 32), copied from a British hit called “Pop Idol,” operates under the flawed assumption that this nation wants or needs another treacly pop star. Don’t the producers know that Celine Dion is back from exile and only one of the ‘N Sync boys is planning to go to space?
The Cleveland Plain Dealer: How bad is “ American Idol“? Well, we learned long ago not to ask how low Fox will go.
The Salt Lake Tribune: Fox mailed a short clip of the program to television critics, and, oh daddy, the cringe factor is really high — for the viewer, too. This is the show for those who truly love the sight of someone making an unintentional fool of themselves.
And it’s interesting to hear how Nigel Lythgoe spun the show before it first aired to the Los Angeles Times:
Lythgoe maintains that “American Idol” is less a talent show and more a slice of human drama, “like the kid who turned up and said to the judges, ‘Both my parents are deaf and they’ll never hear me sing.’ And he sang ‘When I Fall in Love’ and signed it at the same time. It was just beautiful.”
I recall the two TV writers at the AJC at the time passed on covering the show so they handed me some early advance tapes (in VCR form!) Fox did send out in June. Believe it or not, I still have them.
The PR person at “Idol” also informed me of five folks who were from the Atlanta area.
So I started tracking them in Peach Buzz.
Here’s the very first thing I ever wrote about “Idol,” which ran in Peach Buzz June 17, 2002:
‘Idol‘ has five Atlantans
Atlantans heavily populate the Fox television show “American Idol, ” which seeks to find the “best” singer/performer via popular vote. Of the 30 semifinalists, five are from the Atlanta area.
So far, the twice-weekly summer replacement series has done well amid a sea of repeats. Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., the first group of 10 will sing individually, and viewers will vote whether they’re worthy of moving to the next round.
Among the 10 will be Christopher Aaron, 23, of Duluth (a fan of Brandy) and teacher Tamyra Gray, 22, of Norcross (who loves Prince). R.J. Helton of Cumming, Melanie Noelle of Atlanta and an Atlantan who goes only by Jamar are the three other competing locals who will be shown on later episodes.
On my 33rd birthday, June 21, 2002, I wrote about Gray, who would ultimately finish fourth:
Norcross’ singing ‘Idol‘
Norcross resident Tamyra Gray blew away her crooning competitors in the first semifinal round of “American Idol, ” a twice-weekly Fox show that takes elements from Ed McMahon’s old “Star Search” and adds a dollop of edgy nastiness (or simple honesty) from a panel of judges.
Gray (left), competing for one of three finalist slots along with nine others, including Duluth pal Christopher Aaron, pulled in the most votes out of 3 million cast by the viewing public. The results were announced live Wednesday night.
To get to the finals with gorgeous Ryan Starr and sentimental pick Jim Verraros (who has deaf parents), 22-year-old Gray sang an inspiring version of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going, ” made famous by torch singer Jennifer Holliday.
Gray told Buzz that she chose that song because her mother, Rita Preston, loves it. When Gray reached her mom on the phone, “all she did was scream and then hang up the phone.”
The judges all predicted Gray would be the top vote-getter. “At the audition in Atlanta, I described her as having the X factor with a capital X, ” said the usually snide British record executive Simon Crowell, one of three judges that culled 10,000 contestants down to 30. “This girl is a star.”
Gray, unlike many of the jilted contestants, of course has nothing bad to say about Crowell. “I’m just a girl from Norcross being who I am. I’m so grateful people actually support me, ” she said.
The ratings for the first episode were solid and away the show went until Kelly Clarkson beat Justin Guarini before more than 23 million viewers, a huge number for a summer show. (I remember being at a Star 94 viewing party at Dave & Busters for that one.)
For folks who watched the show from 2002, what are some of your memories?
For nostalgia’s sake, here’s the first few minutes of episode one from a decade ago:
And check out this story on Billboard.com: “Idol” contestants have had 345 separate titles from 29 different “Idol” contestants reach No. 1 on one of its charts over 10 years for a total of 1,142 weeks. Kelly Clarkson has the most No. 1’s (73), followed by Carrie Underwood (62), Daughtry (38), Fantasia (31) and Ruben Studdard (16).
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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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257 comments Add your comment
JTesla aka Maybe
June 12th, 2012
12:33 pm
Let’s move on to a new clean page.
JTesla aka Maybe
June 12th, 2012
1:18 pm
^
Last word right there!
Rickster
June 12th, 2012
1:31 pm
So I’ve heard… but I’ve never tangoed.
♥ kelly&carriefan ♥
June 12th, 2012
1:50 pm
Well, since we’re trying to move to a less controversial topic….here we go: Carrie Underwood Supports Gay Marriage
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20603182,00.html
Deirdre
June 12th, 2012
1:58 pm
LOL!!! Yay! Carrie and k&cf!
So did anyone check out mj’s picks for best performance each season?
Mercedes S.
June 12th, 2012
1:59 pm
KCF, at 12:02 – I bow to your expertise!
JTesla aka Maybe
June 12th, 2012
2:18 pm
Good for Carrie. Rodney, as much as many here will hate it I smell a topic that will generate a lot of hits.
Mercedes S.
June 12th, 2012
2:25 pm
D., went back and checked MJ’s picks… don’t agree with a lot of them. Adam and Bo and Kellie, 100 % yeses, but Casey instead of “Bennie and the Jets”? Frenchie? Where was Clay and his “Bridge”? Cat and her “Rainbow”? Melinda and her “Valentine”? I noticed that many people on the comment board had put down Siobhan for “Paint It Black” and “House of the Rising Sun” as well as Hollie, for both “Bleeding Love” and “River Deep, Mountain High”.
I would have filled my “Moments” with every one of Adam’s performances.
Mercedes S.
June 12th, 2012
2:26 pm
And I say good for Carrie, too!
♥ kelly&carriefan ♥
June 12th, 2012
2:26 pm
D, LOL! Indeed I did. They are pretty good picks, but I would have changed a few as follows:
Season 5’s to Kat’s Over the Rainbow,
Season 7 to Billie Jean for Cookie or Imagine for Archie.
Season 8 to Kris Allen’s Heartless because he totally made it work for him.
Season 10 – Pia’s I’ll Stand By You. She came out of nowhere and made me pay notice.
Orlando
June 12th, 2012
2:30 pm
Is Pia the one that use to squat before she hit a note?
Sam-A
June 12th, 2012
2:30 pm
Yeah, Carrie.I think most of us long-term regulars stand in support of this, especially considering one of our more beloved members may benefit greatly someday from the widespread support of gay marriage.
Deirdre and others, just 5 days until the return of “Falling Skies”. Here’s hoping season 2 is as scary and tense as #1 was! I need to watch the last show to refresh on where we were left in the end of last season – swear my minds a blank! D, what was the show with the Ritter boy about Aliens – I remember you watched it too. It was good, and I wish it had continued. Also likes “Flash Forward” – but not as much as the two “alien” shows.
I guess “Alcatraz” has been cxld – not so sad about that; I watched it but wasn’t enthralled with it. Didn’t even care if I missed a particular episode.
JTesla aka Maybe
June 12th, 2012
2:36 pm
Yes Orlando, P-Squat.
As for favorite performances: you all know what my favorite performance was of this season!
Season 5: McPhee “Black Horse and a Cherry Tree”
Season… yeah that’s all I can remember and I don’t feel like looking up the other performances. There have been many great ones, Cook, Lambert, Sanchez, etc.
bknsty14
June 12th, 2012
2:45 pm
Sam-A – Though I appreciate being called beloved, I am straight…
bknsty14
June 12th, 2012
2:50 pm
♥ kelly&carriefan ♥
June 12th, 2012
2:26 pm
I agree completely with your 5, 7 &10 changes. Good call. I don’t understand how MJ didn’t pick one of Josh’s many standing O’s as the best of 11. How could 3 judges be wrong that many times? I do agree with Mercedes on Bleeding Love in 11. I hate that song with a burning passion, but Hollie made me like it.
Orlando
June 12th, 2012
2:52 pm
Hey Jtesla, that squat was the highlight of her performance…. lol
Sam-A
June 12th, 2012
2:58 pm
Bknsty: HaHa! Though you are continuously amusing, I must admit! Maybe on your way to “beloved” status!
Jenny
June 12th, 2012
3:07 pm
Sam-A from yesterday, once again my identical twin! The original Halloween is my favorite scary movie ever. I can’t even count how many times I’ve seen it.
I don’t think an All-Stars Idol would be that great, unless it was an all-stars with non-winners only. Including winners would be too boring, with all the Lees and Phils and Scottys and Kris Allens.
Plus, we don’t want JT to drown in his drool over Fantasia’s pants.
(They’d need to make an exception and include Carrie and Kelly, though. I would want to see them.)
My top 11 (can’t pick just 10) female Idols: (Remember I only started watching season 3.)
Carrie Underwood
Katharine McPhee
Hollie Cavanagh
Alexis Grace
Carly Smithson
Jessica Sanchez
Haley Reinhart
Crystal Bowersox
LaToya London
LaKisha Jones
Pia Toscano
Honorable mention to Kellie Pickler and Allison Iraheta.
I’ll have to read MJ’s list and then post my “top moments”…
Deirdre
June 12th, 2012
3:07 pm
Think about how hard it would be to pick just ONE performance from each season.
Good ol’ P-Squat……whatever happened to all that fame and fortune she was going to get?
Sam, can’t remember the name of the Ritter series. Falling Skies ended with Noah Wylie volunteering to go into the alien ship.
♥ kelly&carriefan ♥
June 12th, 2012
3:13 pm
Sam-A, that was really nice of you to say! I really do appreciate it! I’m glad Carrie shared her opinion, which I’m sure doesn’t come with some backlash. But, imo, exemplifies what it means to be a Christian for me. Oh, and the name of the show was The Event. I didn’t watch it, but I did like FlashForward at the beginning and was disappointed when it got cancelled. Had a lot of promise, it just failed in the execution.
bknsty14, lol. I do agree on Bleeding Love and though Hollie did great with The Climb. All these lists are so subjective, but that’s what makes the debates such fun.
Deirdre
June 12th, 2012
3:13 pm
I’ll agree with JT on Kat’s Black Horse and a Cherry Tree. To me, that performance answered all her critics that she couldn’t do modern material
Cookie sing Hello was when I sat up and took notice of him.
And like her newest persona or not, Fantasia’s Summertime was perfection.
Clay’s Solitaire was amazing.
Adam’s Tears of a Clown
Phil’s Volcano
Anything Melinda sang.
Michael John’s It’s All Wrong but It’s Alright(ok he’s the same season as Cookie but I HAD to mention it)
Constantine’s I Can’t Make You Love Me
bknsty14
June 12th, 2012
3:18 pm
Just a random question, but after watching Crystal’s Up to the Mountain, does anyone else think that if she looked like Carrie or Hollie or Kristy Lee she would have won by a landslide?
bknsty14
June 12th, 2012
3:19 pm
And, Sam-A, thanks. In reality though, my given name does mean beloved.
Sam-A
June 12th, 2012
3:22 pm
Whoa, Twin Jen: Where is Ms Kelly Clarkson on that list of yours????
K&CF: You’re welcome, and I mean it! And, The Event – I liked that show, and would have liked to see where it was going. Especially liked the Oriential-ish alien who was fighting to help the humans. He’s on another show now, just can’t remember which, but very attractive and an intense actor! Oh, just remembered, he’s on “Hawaii 5-0″, and looking good.
Thanks D – I do remember that part. I’m really excited it’s back – been missing “Walking Dead” way too much.
Jenny
June 12th, 2012
3:33 pm
Wow. No way could I pick just one per season. Except Seasons 3 and 5.
Season 3: Latoya London, All By Myself
Season 4: Carrie, Independence Day and Bless The Broken Road.
Season 5: Kat’s first version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. The first time an Idol performance has literally brought tears to my eyes.
Season 6: Lakisha Jones, And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going). With a close second to Melinda, There Will Come A Day, and Blake Lewis, You Give Love A Bad Name. (I couldn’t stop re-watching that one!)
Season 7: Too many great ones to list. Mike’s “Across the Universe” and “It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right”. Also tied with him: Carly’s “Come Together” and “The Show Must Go On”, and Kristy Lee Cook’s “Anyway”. (The studio version of that is ***wonderful***), David A’s “And So It Goes”, and David C’s “The World I Know”.
Season 8: Adam’s “Tracks of My Tears”, because I loved him from the beginning but this was when the rest of the world took notice. Tied with that: Mad World, Black or White, Ring of Fire, Whole Lotta Love, and One. Honorable mention to Allison’s “Cry Baby”.
Season 9: Siobhan’s “Wicked Game” and “House of the Rising Sun”. Crystal’s “Me And Bobby McGee” and “People Get Ready”. And the CCR song she did in the semis. Casey’s “Mrs. Robinson”. And Lee’s “Hallelujah”. Sorry, but I liked it with the choir and all.
Season 10: Pia’s All By Myself. Haley’s Blue, Bennie and the Jets, Rolling In the Deep, You and I, I (Who Have Nothing) and House of the Rising Sun.
And y’all know my faves from this season. Jess’s I Will Always Love You, Hollie’s The Climb, Rolling In the Deep, and Bleeding Love, Elise’s Whole Lotta Love, and Colton’s Love The Way You Lie.
Jenny
June 12th, 2012
3:34 pm
Sam – I only counted the seasons I actually watched as they happened! Otherwise, Kimberley Locke and Kelly would’ve made it for sure.
Jenny
June 12th, 2012
3:36 pm
Bknsty14 re: Crystal – hmmm, I wonder? But I don’t think so. I don’t think even Carrie or Kelly could win Idol today against the magnetic hold of the WGWG.
And I always thought Crystal looked very much like Jodie Foster. One of my all-time fave actresses.
JTesla aka Maybe
June 12th, 2012
3:38 pm
Deirdre: “And like her newest persona or not, Fantasia’s Summertime was perfection.”
I’m still not sold on it. I’ve gone back a few times over the years and tried to “get” what has been called by many the greatest performance ever on Idol, and I don’t get it. Even before all the drama of the last few years. Now, if she did it with her current figure and… yes folks… those ripped pants = perfection!
Otherwise, your selections for Cook and Adam are spot on, and your opinion of Melinda is too. Michael and Constantine never did anything for me, one was decent (the tennis player) the other made me throw up a little in my mouth everytime I saw him.
JTesla aka Maybe
June 12th, 2012
3:40 pm
I just remembered one: Carrie with “Alone”. I stood up and took notice of her then, if you know what I mean.
Jenny
June 12th, 2012
3:47 pm
KCF quote about Carrie – “But, imo, exemplifies what it means to be a Christian for me.”… Spot on. Me too.
And KCF and Sam, I liked that show for a while too! (Was it called Flash Forward or the Event?) I fell off after about 6 or 7 episodes, though… how did they close it out? Wasn’t April 19 important?
Relist (and Hold) Watch |
June 12th, 2012
3:50 pm
[...] Civil Service Reform Act case, overshadow an important milestone in judging: This week marks the Tenth Anniversary of American Idol, the show that put the lie to all the critics who were saying that TV had gotten as bad as it [...]
Deirdre
June 12th, 2012
3:52 pm
LOL JT!
I liked Constantine better when I didn’t look at him. The guy had a good voice but shot himself in the foot with a cheese gun.
As a former theater person, Summertime from Porgy and Bess is a heart-wrenching song when sung correctly. It was like Fantasia knew what it was about and maybe she did. Rodney gave high praise to her performance in the musical version of The Color Purple and I think she should have stuck with theater instead of going wherever the hell she went. Sausage World.
blkshepherd
June 12th, 2012
3:52 pm
and the black shepherd barks!
Well I don’t know what you guys favorite picks after 10yrs of idol but I know that the Best performance EVER on TV period was None other than The Daughter of the KING OF ROCK N ROLL HIMSELF..yes thats right..the amazing fantastic..out of body experience..performance of a Life time MS LISA MARIE PRESLEY! oh..my..GOD! I was floored! Days after her Stunning performance all I could do was Swoon I just didnt know what to say(Actually I said quite a bit the next day after her performance)..she left me breathless! Was I dreaming? I dont ever want to wake up!
Did the King’s daughter Actually Perform on this flimsy little cheap show like American Idol? If anyone saved American Idol from being dead in the water..it was Lisa Marie. Yall HEARD?
I wonder if she will ever grace AI stage again? LISA Please SAVE American Idol we Need You!..Forget the Judges and these tacky contestants..Bring BACK ELVIS’ daughter! LISA MARIE.. Thats MS PESLEY if YOUR NASTY!
Ok..I just had to get that off my chest I feel so much better now..Long Live the Queen of Rock and Roll, Madonna Who? Lady Ga Ga WHAT? ROOF ROOF!
Deirdre
June 12th, 2012
3:53 pm
Yep, and thank you Jenny…Adam’s song was Tracks of My Tears not Tears of a Clown.
bknsty14
June 12th, 2012
3:56 pm
On that list ‘d have to say Kelly was the best performance (of those 11 songs). I could listen to her sing songs like that all day. I don’t get the Fantasia song either. I don’t like her voice, even with my eyes closed. I can understand where people would, but it’s just not for me.
bknsty14
June 12th, 2012
4:01 pm
http://www.mjsbigblog.com/pia-toscano-national-anthem-game-6-stanley-cup-finals-video.htm
I’m sure some saw, but here is Pia singing the National Anthem last night. She does have a great voice and though she was shaky on “rockets red glare”, the rest is spot on. And what I liked the most about it is that she just sang it. No show boating or grand-standing or unnecessary runs. It’s the F****N’ National Anthem! Just sing it.
blkshepherd
June 12th, 2012
4:02 pm
Ok..now to be serious
..the best performances..my pick..Fantasia’s Summertime(she Nailed it and breathed New Life in and ancient beautiful song..it was and still remains her best performance hands down why? because she didnt scream not once..and she has yet to beat it.
Most everything Clay Akien sung and his delivery of a song I liked. No other male had a sweeter voice.(His dont Let the Sun Go Down touched me deep,His version is Second Only to Elton’s Original. I also liked his version of Grease in his lil red jacket LoL..
Ruben was borning. nice voice but boring. No one else even joins this list. Most of them I needed to plug my ears from sound damage to the eardrums screaming their little heads off..just Awful..not singing at all.
Sam-A
June 12th, 2012
4:03 pm
I really liked Crystal. She has a very nice face, especially after getting her teeth fixed (thanks to Idol – sure she’d never been able to afford it on her own). If she’d just get rid of the dreds! I like her style, her voice and her song choices on the show.
I’m sure I’ll forget lots, but some of my fave performances:
Just about all of Kelly’s, but especially “Stuff Like That There”, “Don’t Play That Song”, “It’s Raining Men”, “I Surrender”, “Without You”.
Clay: “Solitaire”, “To Love Somebody”, “Bridge over….”, “Vincent”
Bo: “Time In a Bottle”, “Stand By Me”
Diana: “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)” and “Don’t Cry Outloud”
Blake Lewis: “She Will Be Loved”
David C: “The First Time….”, “Music of the Night”
Michael J: ‘It’s All Wrong..”
Carley: “Total Eclipse…”, “Show Must Go On”
Crystal: “People Get Ready”, “Me and Bobby McGee”
Lauren Alaina: “If I Die Young”
Constantine: “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Hard to Handle” (I don’t even like BR, but he was great on it)
Px2: “Hard To Handle”, “Home”
Certainly not the only performances I really liked, but these are the ones that stand out to me and I actually remember fondly.
Rodney Ho
June 12th, 2012
4:05 pm
Great topic guys. I’m sorry I haven’t been in the mood to join you. Without getting into any detail, just dealing with some personal, painful stuff right now. Thanks for holding the fort.
Sam-A
June 12th, 2012
4:08 pm
Oh how could I forget, Adam’s “Mad World” – wonderful performance.
Sam-A
June 12th, 2012
4:14 pm
RoHO: You take it easy. We’re all around here somewhere if you need us!
Guys above, I can’t get “Summertime” either, just picture Fword slithering around those steps on the stage, lisping thru the whole song. For me, it was dreadful, And JT, pantswise, I just think those would make it even worse for me.
Deirdre
June 12th, 2012
4:23 pm
Sorry to hear that Rodney. Hope things start to feel better soon.
Rickster
June 12th, 2012
4:25 pm
Fantasia gets my vote for “Least favorite winner.”
Heck, I’d rather listen to William Hung sing “She Bang” than anything she’d sing.
♥ kelly&carriefan ♥
June 12th, 2012
4:33 pm
Rodney, sorry to hear that. Best of luck with whatever is going on! Don’t mind us, we’ll be here rambling on Idol still.
♥ kelly&carriefan ♥
June 12th, 2012
4:34 pm
Rickster, I’m with you. Fantasia is also my least favorite winner, joined by Lee, of course.
Sam-A
June 12th, 2012
4:35 pm
Rickster and K&CF: Put me on that list!
Sam-A
June 12th, 2012
4:35 pm
I’d pay Wm Hung to sing at my wedding before I’d watch Fword on tv for one second!
Deirdre
June 12th, 2012
4:39 pm
Winners in order(for me)
1. Kelly
2. Carrie
3. David Cook
4. Phil
5. Kris
6. Ruben
7.Taylor
8. Jordin
9. Scotty
10. Fantasia
11. Lee
Rickster
June 12th, 2012
4:41 pm
Sorry for your troubles, Rodney. Hope things turn around soon.
Sam-A
June 12th, 2012
4:46 pm
Deirdre: Close for me, I’d move Carrie down to 4th or 5th,switch Taylor and Ruben and Fword and Lee, but pretty close to my list. Definitely Kelly and David C first and 2nd.