American Idol

In the summer of 2002, a British hit called Pop Idol landed on our shores and became not only an instant success, but one of the biggest shows in American television history. The grueling competition has crowned Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Hicks successively, and has grown bigger and bigger each season. Last year, over a billion votes were received throughout the contest, and millions of viewers tuned in to see whether Taylor or Katharine would win, making American Idol the #1 show in America. This year, over a hundred thousand hopeful singers auditioned in seven cities.