American Idol - The Great American Dream

History of American idol
It really is a singing reality TV program based in the US. It is based on the UK based reality television show Pop idol. On 11th June 2002, it started its journey of becoming the most famous television program in the whole of America. It is the most viewed television series ever & has been the number one program for seven seasons. The primary aim of this program is to hunt for the next singing sensation chosen by the audience. It is considered by many as an extremely impact show which gives budding talent a chance to dream & even realize them.

American idol auditions
Becoming an idol in this level of competition is no easy task. The first is constantly grilled & thrown challenges by the judges. Contestants need to go under a minimum of three cuts. First can be a small & unassuming audition in which the participant along with other contestants might have to sing in front of the selectors together with the producers of the show. The number of entries has always been around 10000 people in every city. But only a few 100 odd people have the cut to a new round. Certainly they are again asked to sing in front of the producers who may again cut down the number. Ultimately the successful contestants perform in front of the judges. This is actually the audition which is to be aired on tv. These contestants are then sent to Hollywood. Normally about 30-40 people from each city make it to Hollywood.

The week in Hollywood
As soon as they reach Hollywood the contestants then will need to perform in front of the panelists either in group or individually, depending on which round it is. Originally contestants utilized to get eliminated by the panelists in three rounds. On the American idol auditions the contestants have to appear in groups for the first round yet sing individually. For the second round they ought to come in small groups & perform a duet. For the last round they perform on a song in their choice individually along with a band or an orchestra. These rounds do get changed every now and then. But following this week is over around 25-35 contestants are selected to the final prior to the finals.

Semi -final of the auditions
The same as the different audition rounds the semi-final of the competition also changes from season to season. Initially the 30 contestants who were qualified for the semi- finals were separated into 10 each in 3 groups & then the top 3 from each group were send to the finals. There's also power given to the judges to choose one wild card contestant among the unsuccessful contestants. But from the first season onwards rules happen to be changed from time to time.

Audience voting
Voting for those contestants is opened for public from the semi- final stage onwards. A voting line is opened for each contestant for a brief period after the episode ends. Counting is then done & the contestant with least number of votes is eliminated. Individuals can vote online or perhaps even text as well.