American Idol - History

History

American Idol was created based on the British show Pop Idol, which was in turn inspired by Popstars, a show TV producer Nigel Lythgoe saw in Australia and brought over to Britain. Using the idea from Popstars of employing a panel of judges to select singers in audition, then adding other elements such as telephone voting by the viewing public (which at the time was already in use in shows such as the Eurovision Song Contest) and the drama of backstories and real-life soap opera unfolding in real time, Simon Fuller then created Pop Idol. The show debuted in 2001 in Britain with Lythgoe as the producer and Simon Cowell as one of the judges, and was a big success with the viewing public.

Fuller and Cowell attempted to sell the Pop Idol format to the U.S. in 2001, but the idea was met with poor response from U.S. TV networks. However, Rupert Murdoch, head of Fox's parent company, was persuaded to buy the show by his daughter Elisabeth, who was a fan of the British show. The show was renamed American Idol: The Search for a Superstar and debuted in the summer of 2002, and became one of the summer hit shows that year. The show, with the personal engagement of the viewers with the contestants through voting, and the presence of the caustic-tongue judge Simon Cowell, grew into a phenomenon. By 2004 it had become the biggest show on U.S. TV, a position it then held on for seven straight years. Unless renewed, the show is scheduled to remain on air until 2013.