Idols (TV series)

Idols (also known as SuperStar in other countries) is a reality television-music competition series created by British television producer Simon Fuller and developed by FremantleMedia. Originally airing in 2001 as the British television series Pop Idol, Idols was first adapted in Poland as Idol and has since adapted in over 46 regions around the world, with its various versions broadcast to 150 countries and an estimated 6.5 billion viewers around the world having watched variants of the show, making it one of the most successful entertainment formats in television history.

Each season, the series aims to find the most outstanding unsigned solo recording artist (or "idol") in a region. Originally aimed for pop singers (or "pop idol", the series have since evolved to accept singers from different genres of music, such as rock, R&B, and country. Through a series of mass auditions, a group of finalists were selected by a panel of judges (which may consist of artists and record producers) who will offer their critiques on their performances. The finalists then advance to the weekly live shows where the finalist who receives the least amount of votes by television audience get eliminated. A grand finale occurs when two or three finalists were left where the winner is declared based on the largest percentage of votes. The winner (and sometimes the runner(s)-up) receives a recording contract, monetary prizes, and a title as their nation's Idol, SuperStar or Star.

Artists whose careers were directly launched into international prominence following their win in Idols include Will Young of the United Kingdom, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood of the United States, Kurt Nilsen of Norway, Guy Sebastian of Australia, and Ryan Malcolm of Canada. The series also provided opportunities for other contestants to launch international careers following their participation, such as Jacob Hoggard of Canada, and Daughtry of the United States.

§Origin and background

In 2001, British talent manager and television producer Simon Fuller created the British television series Pop Idol. The series was developed by production company FremantleMedia and was broadcast on ITV on 6 October 2001. Fuller, along with television producer Nigel Lythgoe, was inspired to created the series by the New Zealand television series Popstars, which was adapted in the United Kingdom as Popstars in January 2001. The first series of Pop Idol proved to be more popular than Popstars, in part due to the chemistry of the judges and the success of its first winner Will Young.

Pop Idol '​s success led to an interest for adaptations in other countries. Before selling the format, Fuller reached out for an out-of-court settlement with Popstars creator Jonathan Dowling, in which international versions of Idols will be prohibited to use the prefix Pop in their local titles. As such, Poland, the first country to adapt the format, named their version as simply Idol. Idol was launched in 2002, months after the first series of Pop Idol ended. Fuller, Lythgoe, and Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell attempted to sell the format in the United States in 2001, but the idea was met with poor response from major networks. Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch, persuaded her father to buy the rights for an American adaptation. The series, American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, debuted on the Fox network on 11 June 2002. American Idol also featured Cowell as its judge, who also proved to be popular among the American audiences. American Idol quickly rose to the top of the U.S. TV ratings, due to the popularity of the judges (particularly Cowell) and its contestants, which were led by its first winner, Kelly Clarkson. The success brought by American Idol led to even more adaptations in other countries, where the Dutch Idols became the top television series in the Netherlands during its airing.

§Concept

The show is a reality television singing competition where the winner is selected by the audience voting. The show combines a number of elements previously used by other shows such as Popstars â€" mass auditioning, the search of a new star, and the use of a judging panel that critiques the audtioners' performance and selects the contestants. An important element is audience participation, where the audience may vote by telephone or text to decide which contestant can proceed further each week and ultimately win. According to the show creator, Simon Fuller, "the interactivity was important because this would allow the audience to tell me who they liked best and this, in turn, would indicate to me who would have the most fans and eventually sell the most music and become the biggest stars." To this is added "the drama of backstories and the real-life soap opera of the unfolding real-time events" as the show is presented as a live competition event which drew "more from a sporting concept of true competition".

§Format

§Hosts

Each show has at least one host that directs the show, introduces the singers and delivers the results of each episode including the finale. While some countries have one host (American Idol: Ryan Seacrest, Indonesian Idol: Daniel Mananta, New Zealand Idol: Dominic Bowden), most shows have two co-hosts. As well as judges, some countries have adopted new members to the hosting/jury party.

§Judges/jury

A preselected panel of music industry representatives tour some, if not all audition cities (depending on which show) to observe and advance those auditioning throughout the show up to and including the Grand Finale. The judges offer critiques and/or advice after each contestant performance, which can be positive or negative; Nouvelle Star 4 for the first time in any country introduced a red and blue "score card" type system where the jury award a blue "positive" or red "negative" rating.

As many as five stable jury members have appeared in any one Idol season (Idol Poland 3), though some versions offer "guest judges" or special musical guests on the program to also offer advice.

The judges of some shows gain a lot of popularity outside of the show as well as the contestants, due to their being collectively known to have a "caustic" or raw & blunt attitude towards contestants' performances, notably Simon Cowell, Kuba Wojewódzki, Dieter Bohlen, Ian "Dicko" Dickson, Paul Moss, Ahmad Dhani, Titi DJ, Zack Werner, Wyngard Tracy and Anu Malik amongst others.

§Performance stages

Auditions are held in numerous places in any particular region or country that give most people (audition entry is bound by certain legal requirements such as age and citizenship for example) the chance to sing in front of musical/television producers and if successful, they advance to a recorded televised audition where the show "judges" advance up to 300 people in some countries to the next round.

The Theatre round is where a specially selected group of auditioners from all regional auditions converge (always in the host city) to perform in three sub stages: a chorus line in groups of 10 where free song choices are allowed, a trio (or less commonly a duo or quartet) where contestants must memorize a preselected song to perform and choreograph together, and finally a solo a cappella round where contestants sing a song of their own choice without musical backing in front of friends, family, judges & fellow contestants.

Each stage of the theatre round, a number of contestants are eliminated and sent home by the judges, though in some countries there have been very few contestants brought back during the Wildcards show or by the disqualification or resignation of another contestant.

In American Idol, this stage has been expanded to five stages (three in Hollywood, two in Las Vegas) since season 10.

The semi-final occurs usually live or pre-recorded (in some countries) where contestants sing in a television studio fully televised; again judges give critiques but beginning at this stage, home viewers vote via telephone and SMS (and in some countries other voting mechanisms including via Internet or via Red Button) who they want to stay in the competition. During the "semi-final" weeks, contestants receive a workshop tuition with a vocal coach to prepare their song of choice. The format started out with contestants only singing along to a piano, though other instruments & even a live band have been introduced to some versions.

An average semi-final usually consists of 18 to 50 contestants where they either perform in an even group of contestants (three groups of ten for example) or in a "heat" type semi-final where the contestants sing every week until all finalists have been chosen. During the format, a Wildcards feature was introduced which re-introduced past semi-finalists to receive a second chance to become a finalist, in some shows â€" the judges sometimes pick one or more contestants to advance as well as the viewers' vote. As of late, live audiences have been incorporated into the semi-final round.

A results show of the semi-final usually airs either a few hours after the performance show or the night after where the results are given. Three or four contestants are told that they may have received highest votes, though only a selected two or three are put through to the finals.

The Live shows (a.k.a. Mottoshows, Spectacular shows or theme shows) are an elaborate and spectacular version of the semi-final. There is a weekly theme on which contestants must base their song choices, such as "80s Hits" or "Hits of Elton John" for example. In a bid to counter sagging ratings, contestants on Australian Idol were allowed to bring instruments on stage with them and had the opportunity to sing original material from the 2006 season, a world first. Since then America and Canada have followed Australia's lead. Again a results show follows the show; this time it may include group performances, musical guests or extra footage of the contestants' time on the show. The contestant/s with the lowest polled votes leaves the competition. The live shows continue until there are only two contestants left in the competition or three contestants in some cases.

The Grand Finale occurs when there are two (or, rarely, three and only once so far four) contestants left in the competition. This is the pinnacle of the entire series and often highest rated show; also for some countries, it is venued in a prestigious location (American Idol: Nokia Theatre, Canadian Idol: John Bassett Theatre, Australian Idol: Sydney Opera House, Philippine Idol: Araneta Coliseum, Idol Sweden: Ericsson Globe, Singapore Idol: Singapore Indoor Stadium). In this final stage a specially awarded song is sung by both remaining contestants which is ultimately slated to be released as the winner's debut single though recently in some countries this has been phased out.

During the extended results show, there are usually group performances and/or special musical guests. Also, it has the best moments of the series which leads up to the announcement of the winner, which is determined by the highest number of votes. When that happens, he or she will perform an encore of the coronation single which sometimes includes pyrotechnics/fireworks.

While the show's premise is to find one winner with promises of a recording deal and other frugal benefits, the Idol series often has several contestants who go onto the same route of fame, whether they be finalists, semi-finalists, or even auditioners. Key examples of this from American Idol include Clay Aiken (second place, season 2) and Chris Daughtry (fourth place, season 5, through his band Daughtry), who have each outsold all American Idol winners except Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood; Jennifer Hudson (seventh place, season 3), who would later win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; and William Hung, who turned his off-key season 3 audition into a recording career and has outsold some finalists.

§Releases

Often, a studio compilation album and/or a CD single is made to promote the show. In some cases, DVDs of highlights of the show will be released. While these releases have sold well in countries including the United States and Australia, many countries did not release CDs after the first series.

Since season 6, American Idol has sold only promotional downloads instead of CDs. For season 6, it sold studio-recorded MP3 and performance video downloads of the finalists on its website; no CDs were sold prior to the post-Idol releases of winner Jordin Sparks and runner-up Blake Lewis. For season 7, audio and video downloads are sold exclusively through the iTunes Store, which became a sponsor in that season; the iTunes downloads have included audio of all semi-finalist performances, studio recordings and performance videos for all finalists, videos of finalist group performances, and audio and video performances from the Idol Gives Back episode.

§Media/sponsorship

Sony Music is the general record company associated and affiliated with the Idols format in most countries, though countries like Iceland, Vietnam and Kazakhstan have affiliate labels as they do not have a local Sony Music subsidiary. FremantleMedia and Sony Music are related through common parent Bertelsmann, which owns 90.4% of FremantleMedia's immediate parent RTL Group and 50% of Sony Music. Since 2011, Universal Music Group replaced Sony Music Entertainment as the general record company associated and affiliated with the Idols format in most countries.

§Idols around the world

§National versions

§Multinational versions

§Junior competitions

§Winner competitions

§Themes

A notable commonality among Idol-format shows is the theme logo & intro style. Many different versions of the Idol logo and show intro have been created since Idol's inception in June 2001.

§Logo

The basic plan for the logo is an oval with the particular show's name centered in custom lettering based on a common font (Kaufmann). Mostly the name of the show is written horizontally, however occasionally part of the name is angled upwards.

The original Pop Idol logo featured an enhanced star in the logo. The star also appeared briefly on the American Idol logo, but was scrapped early in the Season 1 auditions.

The logo for some countries comes with an underline on the words SuperStar, or Idol, such as Deutschland sucht den Superstar, Hrvatski Idol, Hrvatska traži zvijezdu, Super Star, Hay Superstar, Nouvelle Star, Narodniy Artist, Super Idol, and Pinoy Idol (which also has a raised word). Turkstar has the only Idol logo to not use the common font style. As part of a relaunch after the first season, the French Nouvelle Star logo was changed to purple â€" the only logo to depart from the standard blue palette until Arab SuperStar season five had changed to the same color scheme also.

§'Intro' sequence

§Idolatry (2001â€"2005)

The original version of the Idol intro was created by Liquid TV Graphics in London which started with the dark blue Idol logo descending on the screen. A CGI human figure appears, with arms raised, intended to be the 'Idol' of the show's name. While the Idol figure sings, and then walks, images of guitars, microphones, cameras, and airplanes flow by, representing the life of a superstar. During this, the gender of the figure alternates between male and female. Finally, the figure is again in front of the Idol logo, raising hands in victory. The American Idol intro was altered each season from Season 2, including new sound effects and replacing the jet airplanes with waving flags. The flag concept was also used in the Indian Idol intro, as well as displays of famous national landmarks appearing in the first scene.

§Tunnel (2005â€"2012)

In 2005, a new version of the Idol intro was created by Aerodrome Pictures in Los Angeles which first appeared on the Season 4 premiere of American Idol. The intro starts with the Idol logo without the dark blue background spinning in the American and Canadian version while the other Idol formats only glows and sparkles then the logo zooms in featuring a long section of the CGI Idol figure riding an open elevator past large vertical screens and displays and then walking down a stylized tunnel to a stage, where the figure starts to perform. On this basic template, the American and Canadian versions are customized, with past Idol winners appearing on the screens in the American version, while the Canadian version's screens feature Canadian landmarks. The American & Canadian versions last for 30 seconds; the new intro sequences for other Idol shows only last 15 seconds, with no customization and instead of the logo being 'stuck down' to the outside of the tunnel, it is pasted over the top. Also, the intro sequence for Nouvelle Star has a purple and blue color scheme instead of the standard light blue/light green.

§Gyroscope (2008â€"present)

In 2008, a new version of the Idol intro was created and introduced by BLT & Associates in Los Angeles on the American Idol 7th season finals. The intro starts with the Idol logo spinning behind a gyroscope then features real male and female Idol figures passing horizontal and arc displays then walking to an arena where the two figures start to perform. Finally, only one figure raises his/her hands in victory in front of a huge arc display then zooms out to the atmosphere and to space, where the title of the show zooms out in front of planet Earth. The American, Australian, Canadian, Croatian, Latin American and Swedish versions are customized by featuring their past Idol winners in the horizontal and arc displays and last for 30 seconds. Other versions are also customized and last for 30 seconds without featuring their past winners. Some of Idols versions didn't use the Gyroscope theme in intro, such as Indian Idol and Deutschland sucht den SuperStar (Germany). Indian Idol used the Tunnel theme for the intro from 2007 to 2010 and in next season after that, 2012, Indian Idol used the 'Hall of Idols' theme, while Deutschland sucht den SuperStar used the 'Tunnel' theme for the intro until 2012, until in 2013 till present, Deutschland sucht den SuperStar uses its own intro. Only the French version lasts for 15 seconds.

§Hall of Idols (2011â€"present)

In 2011, a new version of the Idol intro was created once again by Aerodrome Pictures in Los Angeles which first appeared on the Season 10 premiere of American Idol. The intro starts with a stage being spotted under a spotlight from the sky. Then, a stylized bridge leading towards a screen is shown. Winners of Idol, as well as notable alumni from past seasons are shown on the screen. The camera turns to a pyramid-like shape blooming and a CGI figure appears. Depending on the figure's gender in the intro, the figure would yield a different action in front of the American Idol logo and the huge "Idol" word string (in "American Idol" and "Indonesian Idol" but not in "Arab Idol"): the male figure raises his hand in victory and strikes a pose while the female figure raises her arms in victory before bowing down. Sometimes, female figure will appear.

§New Idol (2013â€"present)

In 2013, a new version of the Idol Intro was created on the Season 10 premiere of Deutschland sucht den Superstar. The new intro begins with a mysterious person with a microphone at the mouth. As previous posting Intro male and female talents are displayed. They sing and dance on the big stage. In the meantime, always a person who appears followed a path. On that path along former candidates from earlier seasons are displayed on screens.

§Gyroscope 2.0 (2014â€"present)

In 2014, a new version of the Idol intro was created by The Mill in Los Angeles which first appeared on the Season 13 premiere of "American Idol". The intro starts with a hole opening up. Then, the gyroscope logo comes out of the hole. A crowd cheers in a stage. Finally, the gyroscope logo appears with the Roman numerals "XIII" below the logo.

§Similar shows

Similar formats produced by Fremantle Media and/or 19 Entertainment

• The Next Great American Band, a competition that follows the same format as Idol but instead of finding a solo singer the show will find the best unsigned band.
• American Juniors, a competition in the U.S. consisting of only pre-teen competitors.
• Idol Kids Puerto Rico, a competition in Puerto Rico featuring pre-teen competitors. Hosted by Carlos Ponce.
• The X Factor, a UK-based programme (which replaced Pop Idol) with a wider age range of contestants and allowing groups; There are four judges who each coach a category. The four categories are Boys, Girls, Groups & Over 28's. The public then vote for the contestants.
• Can You Duet, a show featuring duets which lasted two seasons.

§Adaptations

(not to be confused with similar, yet different shows, such as The X Factor and the 'Got Talent' series')

• Afghan Star
• China, Zhenhan Yitiao Long (4-present seasons) previous as Min Xing Chang Fantian (1â€"3 seasons)
• Morocco, Le Facteur de X, Studio 2M
• Nepal, Nepali Tara, broadcast by NTV.
• Russia, Секрет Успеха
• Idola Cilik, a competition in Indonesia consisting only of kids as competitors.
• Vietnam, Sao Mai Ä'iểm hẹn (Morning Star â€" A Destination)

§Other shows with a similar format

• Afghanistan, Afghan Star
• Albania, Ethet
• Argentina, Escalera A La Fama
• Austria, Starmania, talent show broadcast by ORF
• Austria, Musical! Die Show
• Bangladesh, CloseUp1
• Bolivia, Uno Busca
• Bosnia and Herzegovina, OBN SuperNova Music Talents, OBN SuperNova Folk Talents, broadcast by OBN.
• Canada, Star Académie (TVA)
• Chile, Rojo Fama Contrafama
• China, Super Girl and Super Boy.
• Croatia, Story SuperNova Music Talents, SuperNova Juniors, broadcast by Nova TV
• Croatia, Showtime, broadcast by Nova TV
• Estonia, Kaks takti ette, (For two-stroke), since 1972
• Ethiopia, Ethiopian Idols
• Germany, Fame Academy
• Germany, Die Deutsche Stimme
• Germany, Star Search
• Germany, Popstars
• Germany, Musical ShowStar 2008
• Germany, Teenstar
• Germany, The Voice of Germany
• Hong Kong, Minutes to Fame the popular talent show of TVB.
• Hungary, Megasztár, a youth talent search, is a format created by SBS management member Christoph Buerge.
• Iran, Googoosh Music Academy
• Iran, Next Persian Star
• India, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa
• India, Junoon
• India, Star Voice of India
• India, Airtel Super Singer
• India, Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star
• India, Antakshari - The Great Challenge
• India, Fame Gurukul
• India, Awaaz Punjab Di, a Punjabi speaking talent show for the Punjabi market
• Indonesia, Mamamia Show, broadcast by Indosiar
• Indonesia, Idola Cilik, broadcast by RCTI
• Indonesia, The Voice Indonesia, broadcast by Indosiar
• Indonesia, X Factor Indonesia, also broadcast by RCTI, â€" as an adaptation from the original UK version, featured a vocal group and no upper age limit.
• Ireland, You're A Star
• Israel, Kokhav Nolad (A Star is Born) An Israeli version of the format.
• Jamaica, Digicel's 'Rising Stars' aired on TVJ
• Korea (South), Super Star K is fairly similar version distributed by [Mnet]
• Lithuania, Kelias į žvaigždes (Way to the Stars)
• Lithuania, Dangus (The Sky)
• Malaysia, One in a Million
• Malaysia, Project SuperStar
• Mongolia, Universe Best Songs
• Morocco, Studio 2M, broadcast by 2M TV.
• Nepal, Nepali Tara, broadcast by NTV.
• Netherlands, Een Ster in 40 Dagen (A Star in 40 Days), an Idol-like show with only Shlager singers and music.
• Netherlands, So you wanna be a popstar? is fairly similar programme.
• Netherlands, The Voice of Holland
• Pakistan, Pakistan Sangeet Icon
• Panama, Vive la música
• Philippines, Are You the Next Big Star?, Search for the Star in a Million, Pinoy Pop Superstar
• Puerto Rico, Objetivo Fama broadcast by Univision and Yo Canto broadcast by Telemundo.
• Romania, Megastar
• Slovenia, Popstars! and Popstars 2!
• Singapore, Project SuperStar
• Spain, Gente de Primera
• Sri Lanka, Sirasa Superstar, musical talent search.
• Switzerland, MusicStar
• Taiwan,One Million Star (超級星光大é")
• Thailand,The Star Modernnine TV Ch.9
• Turkey, Popstar Türkiye (Recently known as Popstar Alaturka)
• Ukraine, Ti-Zirka
• UK, Popstars/Popstars: The Rivals
• UK, Fame Academy
• UK, Popstar to Operastar
• UK, The X Factor â€" features vocal groups and no upper age limit
• UK, The Voice UK
• US, Duets
• US, Nashville Star, strictly country version
• US, Nuevas Voces de América, a Spanish speaking talent show for the Latin market, on Telemundo.
• US, Rock Star: INXS
• US, Rock Star: Supernova
• US, Superstar USA â€" a spoof on American Idol broadcast by the WB Network
• US, Sunday Best- gospel version
• US, The Sing-Off â€" featured a cappella groups.
• US, The X Factor (U.S.) â€" as an adaptation from the original UK version, features vocal groups and no upper age limit.
• US, The Voice

§Fictional material based on Idol

• American Dreamz â€" a Universal Pictures film, a satire on pop entertainment including American Idol itself
• From Justin to Kelly â€" a 20th Century Fox film, starring Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini, winner and runner-up of American Idol 2002
• Instant Star â€" a Canadian television series, following the life of a winner of a singing contest
• Realiti â€" a Malaysian television series, features the lives and secrets of contestants of a fictional reality TV singing competition
• Vina Bilang Cinta (Vina Says Love) â€" an Indonesian film, starring Indonesian Idol 2004 runner-up Delon Thamrin
• Idolos de Juventud â€" a Telemundo television series, following the lives of the contestants and promoters of a fictional reality TV singing competition
• Rock Rivals â€" British drama series on ITV, based on a fictional Pop Idol style show.
• Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice â€" British spoof of Pop Idol / X Factor by comedian Peter Kay, screened on Channel 4, featuring the original Pop Idol judging panel, minus Simon Cowell.
• Táo Idol/Gặp nhau cuá»'i năm 2011 â€" Gặp nhau cuá»'i năm is an annual comedy produced by Vietnam Television. In 2011, the show was partially based on the format of Idol and Top Model series. It also has its own Idol's Gyroscope intro.

§See also

• List of television show franchises

§References