American Idols Live Tickets : The Show Has Been Hosted By Radio Disc Jockey Ryan Seacrest

The program aims to discover the best singer in the country where the winner is determined by the viewers. Through telephone, Internet, and SMS text voting, viewers have chosen as winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze and Scotty McCreery (listed in chronological order).

The series employs a panel of judges who critique the contestants' performances. The original three judges were Grammy Award-winning record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, Grammy Award-winning pop singer and Emmy Award-winning choreographer Paula Abdul and award-winning music executive and music manager Simon Cowell.

Since January 2011, the judging panel currently consists of Jackson, award-winning singer/actress and record producer Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith frontman and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Steven Tyler. For all seasons the show has been hosted by radio disc jockey Ryan Seacrest.

The show was described by rival TV executives as "the most impactful show in the history of television." It has also become a recognized springboard for launching the career of many artists as bona fide stars. As Entertainment Weekly puts it, "It's given us Kelly, Carrie, Daughtry, and J. Hud. Idol rules the reality roost because the winners of Fox's ratings juggernaut actually do go on to greatness. And Taylor Hicks? He's the exception that proves the rule."

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 the show Pop Idol.

Simon Fuller and Simon 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, 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 2005 it had become the biggest show on U.S. TV, a position it then held on for six straight years.The show is currently scheduled to remain on air until 2011.

The winner receives a record deal with a major label, which may be for up to six albums in seven years, and secures a management contract with American Idol-affiliated 19 Management , as well as various lucrative contracts. All winners prior to Season 9 reportedly earned at least $1 million in their first year as winner.

All the runners-up of the first nine seasons, as well as some of other finalists, have also received record deals with major labels. All top ten (eleven in season ten) finalists earn the privilege of going on a tour where the participants may each earn a six-figure sum.