American Idols Live Tickets : The Show Was Described As The Most Impactful Show In Television

American Idol 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 .

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 finals are broadcast in prime time from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, in front of a live studio audience. The finals lasted for eight weeks in season one, eleven weeks in subsequent seasons until season ten which lasts twelve weeks. Each finalist performs a song or songs selected from a weekly theme. The themes may be based on a musical genre such as Motown, disco, or big band, songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley or The Beatles, or more generic themes such Billboard No.1 hits or songs from the contestant's year of birth.

Contestants usually work with a celebrity mentor related to the theme. In Season ten, Jimmy Iovine was brought in as a mentor in place of weekly celebrity mentor. Initially the contestants sing one song each week, but this is increased to two song from top four or five onwards, then three songs for the top two or three.

The most popular contestants are usually not revealed in the result show, instead typically the three contestants (two in later rounds) who received the lowest number of votes are called to the center of the stage. One of these three is sent to safety, the two remaining however need not both be ones with the fewest votes.

The contestant with the fewest votes is then revealed and eliminated from the competition. A montage of the eliminated contestant is played and they give their final performance. However, starting in season eight, the judges may overturn viewers' decision with a "Judges' Save" they can save a contestant on a unanimous decision, but two will be eliminated the following week. The save can only be used once, and only before top five.