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American Idol (season 6)

history

The 6th season of American Idol''''' premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company on January 16, 2007 and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host. Jordin Sparks won the competition with Blake Lewis as the first runner-up and Melinda Doolittle finishing third. Jordin Sparks is also the youngest winner of the competition, winning at age 17.

Broadcast schedule

Beginning in mid-November 2006, Fox began airing teaser clips of the upcoming sixth season. First a bad contestant was highlighted, with judge Cowell giving his usual horrified grimace, then by early December another began airing, a girl singing "Stormy Weather" as the judges looked on approvingly. Following this, a new commercial began to air, showcasing eventual top 24 contestant Leslie Hunt.

The season premiere began as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17. Starting the following week, regularly scheduled hours of the program aired at 8 p.m. ETPT on Tuesdays and 9 p.m. ET/PT on Wednesdays.

The audition shows were spread over eight episodes, each covering one of the seven cities toured as well as a "Best of the Rest" episode. They aired on January 16 (Minneapolis), 17 (Seattle), 23 (Memphis), 24 (East Rutherford), 30 (Birmingham), 31 (Los Angeles), February 6 (San Antonio), and February 7 ("The Best of the Rest"). Guest judges for that leg of the process included Olivia Newton-John, Carole Bayer Sager and Jewel. The Hollywood round episodes aired on February 13 and February 14. The Top 24 was announced on February 14. Voting rounds began on February 20.

TV Guide Channel brought back a second season of Idol Tonight, the live pre-show to ''American Idol, which aired on Wednesdays starting in March. The show features former Idol runner-up Justin Guarini as a correspondent along with Kimberly Caldwell and Rosanna Tavarez. Additionally American Idol Extra, a behind-the-scenes show, also returned for a second season, corresponding with the start of the finals in March. It aired Thursdays on Fox Reality.

Early process

Regional auditions phase

Locations

The Auditions were held in the following cities:

• Pasadena, California (billed as the Los Angeles auditions during the broadcast): Rose Bowl - August 6
• San Antonio, Texas: Alamodome - August 11
• East Rutherford, New Jersey (billed as the New York City auditions during the broadcast): Continental Airlines Arena - August 14
• Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex - August 21
• Memphis, Tennessee: FedEx Forum - September 3
• Minneapolis, Minnesota: Target Center - September 8
• Seattle, Washington: KeyArena - September 19

Auditioning contestants were required to be between the ages 16 and 28 on August 6, 2006 (born between August 7, 1977 and August 6, 1990).

Structure of auditions

Auditions for the show were held in the seven cities shown above. As reported in The Los Angeles Daily News, the 2006 process was especially difficult: the 10,000 or so contestants waited in long lines, then were herded before two young assistant producers and given roughly 15 seconds to perform one song. At that point the large majority of them were summarily rejected.

Survivors of the first phase were typically seen then by Idol'''s executive producers, and only if surviving that cut (because they were especially good and fit what ''Idol was looking for, or especially bad in some novel way) were seen by Cowell, Abdul, and Jackson. The contestants then had one chance to impress the judges by singing a song of their choice a cappella. Then the judges each gave the contestant either a "Yes" or a "No" to continue to the next round. If the contestant received a majority of yeses, the contestant received a "golden ticket" and qualified for the "Hollywood Rounds". If rejected, the contestant returned home.

Many of the people who auditioned had trouble with the double doors, with many often going towards the wrong door on their way out; this was spoofed by Idol later in the season with "audition footage" featuring Tony Bennett. This did not seem to be a problem for the seventh season as both doors were accessible.

Hollywood phase

The so-called "Hollywood" phase of the audition process were held over four days in mid-November 2006 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.

The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a capella of their own choosing in front of the judges and all the other contestants of the same gender. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home, in groups of six. This extended over the first two days, first females, then males.

The second round took place on the second and third day, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants choosing, rehearsing, and then performing one of nine pre-selected songs. Groups were reviewed and contestants were then judged individually as to whether they were moving on or going home.

The third round took place on the fourth day, and consisted of individual contestants performing a song from a pre-selected list, accompanied by a piano and backup singers. Contestants were again informed of whether they had made the cut or not.

Cut down to 24

The final pre-audience voting cut down took place at the Pasadena Civic Center on January 14 or 15, 2007, just before the regional audition shows began airing. Without any further auditioning, but possibly with some audience research having taken place, the 40 remaining contestants were reduced to 24. In a process taking a whole day, contestants wait in a sitting room until one by one, they go up an elevator and take a long walk to the other end of the Center's Gold Room. Then the three judges tell them whether they have made it onto the stage show or are cut.

The show capturing this phase was aired February 14, 2007.

Semi-finalists

The semi-finals began on February 20, with the names announced on February 14. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals. The February 20 through May 16 shows originated from CBS Television City in Hollywood.

There are no format changes from season 4 and 5. The semi-finals featured the contestants (24 total) divided by gender with the 12 male singers singing on Tuesdays and the 12 female singers on Wednesdays. Each person had the chance to select a song to sing live in front of the judges. Following the show's airing, each U.S. timezone would have two hours to vote by phone or by text-messaging. On Thursday, the two of each group with the lowest amount of votes were eliminated each week until the finals.

The 24 semi-finalists were announced February 14, 2007.

Top 24 semi-finalists

Females

{| border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4" style="margin:0 1em 1em 0; text-align:left;" |valign="top"|Sabrina Sloan (born October 31, 1979) is a 30-year-old (27 at the time of that show) and is originally from Mission Viejo, California but now calls Studio City, CA her home. Sloan toured the United States as part of the Broadway musical Hairspray under her maiden name, Sabrina Scherff. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in Musical Theatre and Communication Studies. She was later signed to a recording contract with Universal Music Group, as part of a duet with Sundance Head.[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20007164_20008533_20048906,00.html 'Sloan Rangers']

1. "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (Aretha Franklin)
2. "All the Man That I Need" (Whitney Houston)
3. "Don't Let Go (Love)" (En Vogue)- Eliminated March 8, 2007

|- |valign="top"|Antonella Maria Barba (born November 26, 1986) is a 23-year-old (20 at the time of that show) who auditioned with her best friend Amanda Coluccio and made it to Hollywood. An undergraduate at The Catholic University of America, she is originally from Point Pleasant, New Jersey. She made it to Round 3 with Coluccio and both passed the group round (although their third member, Baylie Brown, did not). Coluccio was eliminated in the cut for the top 40. While Barba appeared on the show, racy photographs of her emerged, including photographs of Barba topless along with other women on a beach. These pictures received mainstream attention including a February 27, 2007 featured article in USA Today, a full segment concerning the controversy on the February 26, 2007 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor and also on multiple episodes of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann (as recent as March 2007).[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17365649 Countdown with Keith Olbermann - February 26, 2007] Photos of Barba posing in a wet t-shirt in the fountain of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. also surfaced; however, Barba's friend Coluccio has stated that the sexually explicit photos were fake.

1. "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith)
2. "Because You Loved Me" (Celine Dion)
3. "Put Your Records On" (Corinne Bailey Rae)- Eliminated March 8, 2007

|- |valign="top"|Leslie Hunt (born March 23, 1982), a 27-year-old dog walker (24 at the time of that show) from Chicago, Illinois, who was featured in an American Idol commercial before Season 6 started. She is a self-described indie rocker. She suffers from the autoimmune disease lupus.

1. "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Aretha Franklin)
2. "Feeling Good" (Nina Simone) - Eliminated March 1, 2007

|- |valign="top"|Alaina Alexander (born July 21, 1982) auditioned in Los Angeles. She is 27 years old (24 at the time of that show) and is from West Hollywood, California. Before her American Idol 6 audition, Alexander revealed that after struggling for six years to make it in the music business in Los Angeles she had decided she was not going to sing anymore and had decided to go to college instead. She considered American Idol to be her last chance to pursue a singing career. For her Los Angeles audition, Alexander sang "Feeling Good" by Michael Buble.

1. "Brass in Pocket"' (The Pretenders)
2. "Not Ready to Make Nice" (Dixie Chicks) - Eliminated March 1, 2007

|- |valign="top"|Nicole Tranquillo (born August 13, 1985) is 24 years old (21 at the time of that show) and is from Wernersville, Pennsylvania. She gained a vocal major at the University of the Arts. She auditioned in Memphis.

1. "Stay" (Chaka Khan) - Eliminated February 22, 2007

|- |valign="top"|Amy Krebs (born May 2, 1984) is 25 years old (22 at the time of that show) and is from Federal Way, Washington. She is fluent in German. She auditioned in Seattle.

1. "I Can't Make You Love Me" (Bonnie Raitt) - Eliminated February 22, 2007

|}

Males

{| border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4" style="margin:0 1em 1em 0; text-align:left;" |valign="top"|Jason "Sundance" Head (born January 22, 1979) auditioned in Memphis and lives in Porter, Texas. He is a 31-year-old (28 at the time of that show) and is the son of Roy Head, who had a number-two single with "Treat Her Right" in 1965; the song was second on the charts to The Beatles, which Jason said made his dad dislike them. He sang the classic hit "Stormy Monday."

1. "Nights in White Satin" (The Moody Blues)
2. "Mustang Sally" (Wilson Pickett)
3. "Jeremy" (Pearl Jam) - Eliminated March 8, 2007

|- |valign="top"|Jared Cotter (born June 17, 1981) is from Kew Gardens, New York (listed as Long Island on the show) and attended Newfield High School. He is 28 years old (25 at the time of that show) and auditioned in New York City. Cotter played basketball in college, but quit to start his music career. He currently works at FUSE.»Jared Cotter's Official Myspace Page His rendition of "Let's Get It On" dedicated to his parents was named one of VH1's most memorable reality moments. Cotter also worked with singer-songwriter Jay Sean, featuring in the album My Own Way and co-writing the Billboard #1 hit "Down".

1. "Back at One" (Brian McKnight)
2. "Let's Get It On" (Marvin Gaye)
3. "If You Really Love Me" (Stevie Wonder) - Eliminated March 8, 2007

|- |valign="top"|Adrian Joseph "A.J." Tabaldo (born January 3, 1985) auditioned in Los Angeles and is from Santa Maria, California. He is 25 years old (22 at the time of that show). Tabaldo is half-Filipino and half-Portuguese, and auditioned for American Idol five times.

1. "Never Too Much" (Luther Vandross)
2. "Feeling Good" (Nina Simone) - Eliminated March 1, 2007

|- |valign="top"|Nicholas "Nick" Pedro (born July 9, 1981) is 28 years old (25 at the time of that show). He auditioned in New York and is from Taunton, Massachusetts. Pedro dropped out of the competition last season after forgetting the lyrics of "Buttercup" in Hollywood. This audition, he gave a soulful rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" which earned him a second chance to fulfill his Idol aspirations. Nick's feat seemed especially noteworthy as, unlike all other contestants making it this far, Nick received no experience ever onstage prior to Idol.

1. "Now and Forever" (Richard Marx)
2. "Fever" (Peggy Lee) - Eliminated March 1, 2007

|- |valign="top"|Rudy Cardenas (born April 3, 1978) auditioned in Seattle and is from North Hollywood, California. Originally from Venezuela, the 31-year-old (28 at the time of that show) is part of a Los Angeles-based band called M-Pact. In his audition, he sang Journey rock classic "Open Arms". Although Simon was unimpressed with his singing, Rudy made it to Hollywood with the support of the other two judges. In Hollywood, he sang "How Deep Is Your Love" together with Chris Sligh, Blake Lewis, and Tom Lowe in group round. The judges were impressed by their vocals.

1. "Free Ride" (Edgar Winter Group) - Eliminated February 22, 2007

|- |valign="top"|Paul Kim (born March 26, 1981) auditioned in Los Angeles. He is from Saratoga, California, and attended Monta Vista High School. Kim is 28 years old (25 at the time of that show), and being Korean-American, his motivation for auditioning was to alter the stereotypical Asian image that William Hung gave during the previous seasons. His performance received unanimous praise from the judges as Randy mentioned that Kim has one of the best male vocals he has heard this season. In contrast to their early praise, the judges mentioned when they put him through that Paul made it to the top 24 by "a split decision". He sang barefoot during all of his performances.

1. "Careless Whisper" (Wham!) - Eliminated February 22, 2007

|}

Top 12 finalists

The 12 finalists were announced on March 8, 2007. As in past years, the top 12 will appear on the annual compilation album while the top 10 will be the participants in the American Idol summer concert tour. Also as in past years, one finalist was eliminated every week, with the exception of the April 25 show, when all contestants were declared safe. As a result, two of the participants were eliminated on the May 2, 2007 results program.

The following is first in reverse chronological order by elimination date, then in alphabetical order by family name, where applicable.

{| border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4" style="margin:0 1em 1em 0; text-align:left;" |- |valign="top"| Jordin Brianna Sparks (born December 22, 1989) is a -year-old (17 at the time of the show) from Glendale, Arizona who auditioned in Seattle. She was a contestant on America's Most Talented Kid in 2003 and also appeared on the program's Tournament of Champions, on which she sang the Celine Dion ballad "Because You Loved Me" in her auditions. She is the daughter of former NFL defensive back Philippi Sparks. With her win, Jordin became the youngest Idol yet and joins the ranks of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Hicks by winning without ever appearing in the bottom two or three.

- Winner May 23, 2007 |- |valign="top"| Blake Colin Lewis (born July 21, 1981) is a -year-old (25 at the time of the show) and auditioned in Seattle, and is from Bothell, Washington. He is a former member of the a cappella group KickShaw. Claiming to be the city's beatboxing champion, Lewis sampled a hip hop tune to the judges before rendering Seal's "Crazy". He passed the auditions but Simon commented to him that "you are not as good as you think you are", reminding him not to be cocky and overconfident in the future. - Runner-Up May 23, 2007 |- |valign="top"| Melinda Marie Doolittle (October 6, 1977) age (29 at the time of show), auditioned in Memphis, and is from Brentwood, Tennessee. Despite being a professional back-up singer, she admitted she was still tense and nervous about competing in the show. She auditioned with "For Once in My Life" popularized by Stevie Wonder, and was met with universal praise from the three judges on her vocal ability. The judges did express concern about her nerves and told her to believe in herself. Her elimination the week before the finale had many critics and viewers in shock, and Simon Cowell looked extremely disappointed, as he felt that she deserved to be in the finale for "week to week consistency". She has sung back up for Aaron Neville, CeCe Winans, and Season 3 finalist George Huff. She also performed in the "Christmas Time" Tours in 2005 and 2006 for Contemporary Christian singer Michael W. Smith. - Eliminated May 16, 2007 |- |valign="top"| LaKisha Ann Jones (born January 13, 1980) a -year-old (27 at the time of show) bank teller who performed "Think" by Aretha Franklin, and is originally from Flint, Michigan. Viewers were first introduced to Jones during the "Best of the Rest" episode. After her audition in New York, LaKisha celebrated with her family and cried tears of happiness with her daughter. She is also the runner up of the Houston show, KPRC Local 2 Gimme the Mike, in 2005. She listed Fort Meade, Maryland as home on her application, and also has a Houston following. - Eliminated May 9, 2007 |- |valign="top"| Christopher Michael "Chris" Richardson (born February 19, 1984) is a -year-old (23 at time of show). He auditioned in New York and is from Chesapeake, Virginia. During Richardson's audition Randy compared him to Justin Timberlake. - Eliminated May 2, 2007 |- |valign="top"| Joel Philip "Phil" Stacey ''' (born January 21, 1978) is a -year-old (29 at time of show) and serves in the United States Navy. He auditioned in Memphis and is from Jacksonville, Florida. He missed the birth of his daughter, McKayla [http://www.people.com/people/package/americanidol2007/article/0,,20007868_20039416,00.html 'Phil Stacey Gets Navy's OK for Idol Tour'], to audition for Idol. He performed two songs before getting through to Hollywood: "My Girl" and "Let's Get It On". - Eliminated May 2, 2007 |- |valign="top"| Sanjaya Joseph Malakar (born September 10, 1989) is a -year-old (17 at time of show). He auditioned in Seattle with his sister Shyamali, singing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours." He is from Federal Way, Washington, the same town as Amy Krebs. After Sanjaya's audition, Simon commented that he had a better voice than his sister. Both made it to Hollywood, but Sanjaya was shown tearfully embracing his sister when he made it to the top 40 in Hollywood and she was cut. - Eliminated April 18, 2007 |- |valign="top"|Haley Suzanne Scarnato (born June 15, 1982) is a -year-old (24 at time of show) former wedding band singer. She sang "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt during her audition. She lives in San Antonio, Texas. - Eliminated April 11, 2007 |- |valign="top"| Gina Glocksen (born July 4, 1984) is a -year-old (22 at time of show), auditioned in Memphis, and is from Naperville, Illinois. She auditioned in Chicago during Season 5 and made it to Hollywood but was cut before the Top 40. - Eliminated April 4, 2007 |- |valign="top"| Charles Christopher "Chris" Sligh (born April 13, 1978) is a -year-old (28 at time of show), hails from Greenville, South Carolina, and graduated from North Greenville University. He auditioned in Birmingham and sang "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal, after which Paula gave a standing ovation and stated, "I like you very much." Paula, Simon, and Randy laughed at his ambition "to make David Hasselhoff cry" (a nod to the Season 5 finale where David Hasselhoff did, in fact, cry). - Eliminated March 28, 2007 |- |valign="top"|Stephanie Edwards (born November 5, 1987) is a -year-old (19 at time of show) and from Savannah, Georgia. She auditioned in Memphis. - Eliminated March 21, 2007 |- |valign="top"| Brandon Rogers (born December 11, 1977) is a -year-old (28 at time of show). He auditioned in Los Angeles and is from North Hollywood, California. Rogers has been a backup singer to established artists, performing on Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera's 2003 Justified and Stripped Tour and Anastacia's 2005 Encore Tour. After hearing his audition song, the judges (including guest judge Olivia Newton-John) were impressed with his vocals. Simon Cowell later mentioned he was the best auditioner coming from that city.

1. "Rock with You" (Michael Jackson)
2. "Time After Time" (Cyndi Lauper)
3. "I Just Want to Celebrate" (Rare Earth)
4. "You Can't Hurry Love" (The Supremes)

- Eliminated March 14, 2007

Song themes

Just as was done in season 5, the performers whose themes are performed do not appear as judges. Instead, they "mentor" the contestants on the theme.

• Week 1 (March 13) - Diana Ross - Diana Ross
• Week 2 (March 20) - British Invasion - Peter Noone and Lulu
• Week 3 (March 27) - No Doubt and songs by singers who inspired Gwen Stefani - Gwen Stefani
• Week 4 (April 3) - American Classics - Tony Bennett
• Week 5 (April 10) - Latin - Jennifer Lopez
• Week 6 (April 17) - Country - Martina McBride
• Week 7 (April 24) - Inspirational Songs - No mentor
• Week 8 (May 1) - Bon Jovi - Jon Bon Jovi and David Bryan
• Week 9 (May 8) - Songs written by Barry Gibb - Barry Gibb
• Week 10 (May 15) - Judges' choice, producers' choice, contestant's choice
• Week 11 (May 22) - Contestant's choice, song previously sung by contestant, winning song of the American Idol Songwriter Contest[http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Todays-News/Singin-Happy-Teen/800015501 Singin' a happy teen - will Jordin heed Simon's words?]

Performers on results shows

• Semifinal Round 1 (February 22) - The Top 24 sang "Sowing the Seeds of Love" by Tears for Fears and Fantasia performed "I'm Here" from The Color Purple.
• Semifinal Round 2 (March 1) - The Top 20 sang "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night and Kellie Pickler performed "I Wonder."
• Semifinal Round 3 (March 8) - The Top 16 sang Stealers Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle with You" and Carrie Underwood performed "Wasted."
• Week 1 (March 14) - The Top 12 sang a medley of three Supremes' hits: "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love" and "Stop! In the Name of Love" and Diana Ross performed "More Today Than Yesterday."
• Week 2 (March 21) - Peter Noone performed "There's a Kind of Hush" and Lulu performed "To Sir, With Love."
• Week 3 (March 28) - Gwen Stefani and Akon performed "The Sweet Escape."
• Week 4 (April 4) - Michael Bublé performed "Call Me Irresponsible."
• Week 5 (April 11) - The Top 8 sang Enrique Iglesias's "Bailamos", Akon performed "Don't Matter" and Jennifer Lopez performed "Qué Hiciste."
• Week 6 (April 18) - The Top 7 sang Jo Dee Messina's "I'm Alright," Fergie performed "Big Girls Don't Cry" and Martina McBride performed "Anyway."
• Week 7 (April 25) - Idol Gives Back Special (see below)
• Week 8 (May 2) - Robin Thicke performed "Lost Without U." Bon Jovi performed "(You Want to) Make a Memory."
• Week 9 (May 9) - The Top 4 sang a medley of Barry Gibb songs, Pink performed "Who Knew" and Barry Gibb performed "To Love Somebody."
• Week 10 (May 16) - Elliott Yamin performed "Wait for You" and Maroon 5 performed "Makes Me Wonder."
• Week 11 (Performance) (May 22) - Daughtry performed "Home" (elimination anthem)
• Season 6 Finale (May 23) - Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Smokey Robinson, Doug E. Fresh, Gladys Knight, Tony Bennett, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Joe Perry, Carrie Underwood, Green Day, Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard, and Bette Midler

Elimination song

This year, the song played during the flashback to an eliminated contestant's journey is Daughtry's "Home," replacing "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter. The only exception was Phil Stacey, on May 2, 2007, whose exit song was "I'll Stand by You," performed by Carrie Underwood.

Elimination chart

Note: Bottom 2 indicates that the contestant was 'saved' last. This may or may not indicate his or her actual vote rank. Sometimes, Seacrest will announce that the contestant is in the bottom 2, sometimes he will not. On the March 22 show, only the bottom 2 were announced.

* During the week of April 26, there was no eliminated contestant. That week's votes were added to the votes for the week of May 2, and the bottom two were then eliminated on the May 3 show. It was never noted who received the lowest number of votes, although Stacey was announced as the first to leave, and Richardson second. ,

, {|class="wikitable" , |colspan="2" align="right"|Stage: , |colspan="3" bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="Center"|Semi-Finals , |colspan="11" bgcolor="palegoldenrod" align="Center"|Finals , |- , |colspan="2" align="right"|Week: , !2/23 , !3/2 , !3/9 , !3/15 , !3/22 , !3/29 , !4/5 , !4/12 , !4/19 , !4/26* , !5/3 , !5/10 , !5/17 , !5/24 , |- , !Place , !Contestant , !colspan="14" align="center"|Result , |- , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"| 1 , |bgcolor="pink"|Jordin Sparks , | , | , | , | , | , | , |align="center" bgcolor=lime| , | , | , | , | , | , | , |align="center" bgcolor=lime| Winner , |- , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"| 2 , |bgcolor="cyan"|Blake Lewis , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , | , |bgcolor="#FFFFCC" align="center"| , | , | , | , | , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|Runner-Up , |- , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|3 , |bgcolor="pink"|Melinda Doolittle , | , | , | , | , | , | , |align="center" bgcolor=lime| Top 3 , | , | , | , | , | , |bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|Elim , |colspan="1" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|4 , |bgcolor="pink"|LaKisha Jones , | , | , | , | , | , | , |align="center" bgcolor=lime| Top 3 , | , |bgcolor="#FFFF99" align="center"|Btm 2 , | , | , |bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|Elim , |colspan="2" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod" rowspan="2"|5-6 , |bgcolor="cyan"|Chris Richardson , | , | , | , | , |bgcolor="#FFFF99" align="center"| , | , | , |bgcolor="#FFFFCC" align="center"| , | , | , |rowspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|Elim , |colspan="3" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="cyan"|Phil Stacey , | , | , | , |bgcolor="#FFFFCC" align="center"| , | , |bgcolor="#FFFFCC" align="center"| , |bgcolor="#FFFFCC" align="center"|Btm 3 , |bgcolor="#FFFF99" align="center"|Btm 2 , | , | , |colspan="3" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|7 , |bgcolor="cyan"|Sanjaya Malakar , | , | , | , |bgcolor="#FFFF99" align="center"|Btm 2 , | , | , | , | , |bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|Elim , |colspan="5" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|8 , |bgcolor="pink"|Haley Scarnato , | , | , | , | , | , |bgcolor="#FFFF99" align="center"|Btm 2 , |bgcolor="#FFFF99" align="center"|Btm 2 , |bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|Elim , |colspan="6" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|9 , |bgcolor="pink"|Gina Glocksen , | , | , | , | , | , | , |bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|Elim , |colspan="7" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|10 , |bgcolor="cyan"|Chris Sligh , | , | , | , | , | , |bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|Elim , |colspan="8" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|11 , |bgcolor="pink"|Stephanie Edwards , | , | , | , | , |bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|Elim , |colspan="9" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |align="center" bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|12 , |bgcolor="cyan"|Brandon Rogers , | , | , | , |bgcolor="palegoldenrod"|Elim , |colspan="11" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="center" rowspan="4"|13-16 , |bgcolor="cyan"|Sundance Head , | , | , |bgcolor="CCCCCC" rowspan="4"|Elim , |colspan="11" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="pink"|Sabrina Sloan , | , | , |colspan="11" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="pink"|Antonella Barba , | , | , |colspan="11" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="cyan"|Jared Cotter , | , | , |colspan="12" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="center" rowspan="4"|17-20 , |bgcolor="pink"|Leslie Hunt , | , |bgcolor="CCCCCC" rowspan="4"|Elim , |colspan="12" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="cyan"|A.J. Tabaldo , | , |colspan="12" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="pink"|Alaina Alexander , | , |colspan="12" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="cyan"|Nicholas Pedro , | , |colspan="12" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="CCCCCC" align="center" rowspan="4"|21-24 , |bgcolor="cyan"|Rudy Cardenas , |bgcolor="CCCCCC" rowspan="4"|Elim , |colspan="13" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="pink"|Nicole Tranquillo , |colspan="13" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="pink"|Amy Krebs , |colspan="13" bgcolor="666666"| , |- , |bgcolor="cyan"|Paul Kim , |colspan="13" bgcolor="666666"| |}

"The Crying Girl"

's performance]] Ashley Ferl is a 13-year-old girl who has become known for crying during Sanjaya Malakar's and other contestants' performances on the Top 11 episode of American Idol 6. Ferl's family, who are from Riverside, California, obtained tickets on a website to attend the dress rehearsal of the program. Since Ferl cried a great deal at the rehearsal, producers offered her family seats for the final taping of the episode.[http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-showtracker-idol-sp,1,6582829.special?coll=la-entnews-tv&ctrack=1&cset=true LA Times] - requires sign-up , Ferl started to cry not long after Malakar began his performance of "You Really Got Me", and because of this, Sanjaya came down to give her a hug after his performance. She was also shown crying for several more contestants. She admitted that she not only liked Sanjaya but also many other contestants. She has been asked who her favorite contestant is but replies that she has several favorites. At the end of the show, she went on stage a second time, and got a chance to hug and get autographs»MSNBC from all of the contestants and was introduced to the judges; she received a pair of earrings from Paula Abdul before the show began. Television vans from E!, Access Hollywood and Fox were waiting outside of her house the next day, and, that evening, NBC paid for Ferl's entire family to fly to the taping of the Today Show. She subsequently gave several other radio and news interviews to sources such as MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and Entertainment Tonight.»Topix.net

Saturday Night Live spoofed both Malakar and Ferl following the former's elimination. Kristen Wiig portrayed Ferl in the sketches. Ferl has also been spoofed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live with Regis and Kelly and Family Guy, as well as mentioned on Best Week Ever and The Soup.

Ashley Ferl returned during Malakar's performance in the finale and was again crying. She was briefly spoofed on Meet the Spartans.

Ferl appeared on the show yet again during season seven, crying over contestant Jason Castro.»Ashley Ferl, Crazy Crying Girl, Now Loves Jason Castro - The Hollywood Gossip

At 16 years old, Ferl auditioned for season 9 of the show, but did not make it. This too caused her to cry.»Ashley Ferl tried out for Idol-->

Idol Gives Back

On the March 8, 2007 results show, Ryan Seacrest announced an initiative to give back to people in poverty in both Africa and the United States (including those affected by Hurricane Katrina). The event took place over two episodes of the series. For every vote cast immediately following the April 24, 2007 broadcast, many sponsors donated funds to the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund. The fund will distribute the money raised to many charities in the US as well as in Africa.»American Idol News Blog, "$60 Million and Counting!" News Corporation pledged to donate 10 cents for every vote made to the show for the first 50 million calls, that is, up to $5 million. MySpace created a special profile page for the event in order to spread the word. Donations from viewers were accepted by phone and website during the April 25, 2007 results show, in a manner similar to a telethon. Near the end of the broadcast, Seacrest announced the show raised 30 million US dollars, with the final tally coming on May 1, 2007. As of May 1, 2007, over $70 million has been raised as a result of Idol Gives Back.

Between contestant performances, video vignettes showing the judges and Seacrest visiting and observing squalid conditions in Africa and the United States were aired. Similar vignettes were aired during the results show. For this special, the voting period was doubled to four hours following the show, rather than the usual two. In response to the anticipated call volume, each contestant was assigned two toll free numbers. Over 70 million votes were cast.

The results show was broadcast from two locations—the regular American Idol stage and Walt Disney Concert Hall—and included many celebrity actors and personalities. The show also included numerous performers; for a full list of performances, see the the main article. Ellen DeGeneres co-hosted the event from the Disney Hall stage. Proceeds from ticket sales benefited the fund. Videos of the results show's performances are available for purchase on iTunes, with proceeds going to charity.

Due to the "charity" theme of the show, no contestant was eliminated on the April 25 results show. This was a surprise both to viewers, to whom Seacrest promised the "most shocking elimination ever," and to the contestants. All of the votes from that week were added to the next week's votes, and the bottom two contestants were eliminated.

American Idol songwriter contest

On the April 3, 2007 show, Ryan Seacrest announced the first American Idol Songwriter: a songwriting contest. Following an open online submission process where over 25,000 submissions were received, twenty songs were selected for competition by Simon Fuller and A&R representatives of his 19 Entertainment. Beginning May 2, 2007 and ending May 8, 2007, the American public rated each song on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) on the American Idol Songwriter website. On the May 22, 2007 show, the two finalists performed the winning song, "This Is My Now." The song was released as a single by Jordin Sparks, the winner of American Idol Season 6.»American Idol Songwriter

The titles of the twenty songs are:»American Idol: Songwriter

• "Close to Me" - Michael Doane and AnneMarie Milazzo
• "Forever Starts Today" - Erin Boheme and CJ Vanston
• "If You Ask Me To" - Jennifer Hamady and Shedrick Mitchell
• "I'm Going to Be Me" - Lane Lenhart
• "In Your Eyes" - Colin Armstrong
• "I Saw Stars" - Reed Waddle
• "Lost (Without You)" - Cal Harris, Jr.
• "Love Me till the Lonely's Gone" - Michael Patzig and Tracey Naples
• "The Next Big Thing" - Ray Grant and Sam Sims
• "One Night" - Kelley Hill

• "Right Here with Me" - Kelli Trontell and Don Gatlin
• "Secrets and Lies" - Drew Yowell and Byron Zanos
• "Send Me on My Way" - Matthew Rogers and Scott Young
• "Someday" - Nelson Kole
• "This Is My Now" - Jeff Peabody and Scott Krippayne - Contest Winner
• "Tonight" - Kelly Corsino
• "Waking in a Dream" - R. J. Martinez and Stacy Hogan
• "When You Need a Moment" - Christie Leigh
• "With All the Love Your Heart Can Hold" - Robin Randall and Diana De Witt
• "You Never Gave Up on Me" - Billy Aerts and Burton Collins

Controversies

• There was controversy surrounding the judges' comments over the audition of a Special Olympics participant named Jonathan Jayne.»Mocked 'American Idol 6' hopeful a Special Olympics participant American Idol producer Ken Warwick responded saying that "It's not a conscious decision, It's just that the further we go in the series, there are less and less good singers, so the numbers are made up by more bad ones." Warwick said that he thinks everyone has the right to audition, and added that in some instances when there are singers with certain disabilities who just want to meet the judges, the producers will "turn the cameras off and bring them in. We give them a good experience."»'American Idol' and Special Olympics respond to cruelty allegations
• A series of provocative photos surfaced on the Internet of Season 6 Top 24 Contestant Antonella Barba.»Racy Web Photos Linked To 'Idol' Singer CBSNews.com
• Teenager Sanjaya Malakar was sometimes seen as the season's most polarizing and talked about American Idol contestant,»Usmagazine.com | Buh-Bye-Ya, Sanjaya!»Yahoo! Buzz as he continued to survive elimination for several weeks. The weblog Vote for the Worst and satellite radio personality Howard Stern both encouraged fans to vote for Sanjaya. However, on April 18, after over 38 million votes, Sanjaya was voted off.
• On Tuesday, April 17, 2007, the day after the Virginia Tech massacre, in which a student named Seung-Hui Cho used guns to kill 32 students and professors before committing suicide, while contestant Chris Richardson and Ryan Seacrest were discussing the shooting after Chris's critique, Simon Cowell apparently appeared to be rolling his eyes at the incident, when he was actually speaking to Paula Abdul and did not hear what Chris had said. On the results show the next day, Cowell stated: "I may not be the nicest person in the world, but I would never, ever, ever, disrespect those families or those victims, and I felt it was important to set the record straight." To clear Cowell's name, a video was shown on the result show which showed Cowell and Abdul talking with an inset of Chris and Seacrest discussing the shooting. Also, Seacrest began the performance show by acknowledging what had happened the day before.
• Fans and critics alike were stunned at Melinda Doolittle's departure. Simon Cowell admitted that the sixth season's crown should have rightfully gone to Melinda.»ABC News Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe responded, noting that "[Idol producers] were so engrossed with the mentors and didn't really focus on the Melinda Doolittles of the show." Lythgoe also produces So You Think You Can Dance, and has noted that the dance program gives background information about its contestants, while American Idol focused more on its big name celebrity mentors, such as Tony Bennett, Gwen Stefani, and Jennifer Lopez.[http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20047678,00.html ''Idol'' producer: ''We made mistakes'' | American Idol | TCA Press Tour | TV | Entertainment Weekly]
• During the finale, the show went over its scheduled 2-hour time limit and ended at 10:09 PM EST. Many TiVo users claimed the recording show cut off before the new American Idol was announced shortly after 10 PM. Fox executives apologized; but this is not the only time the finale exceeded its time limit.

UK edition

For the UK back-to-back repeat of the performance and results shows on the following Friday night on ITV2, Cat Deeley presents additional sections preceding and following each commercial break, and follows the end of the show with a short interview with that week's eliminated contestant.»Digital Spy: "Cat Deeley to front UK Edition of American Idol"

Releases

Major releases

Unlike previous seasons the top 12 compilation album did not come out while the show was airing. The top 12 recorded studio versions of each of the songs they sang on the show. The songs were available for purchase on AmericanIdol.com as digital downloads through the night of the finale. Sparks' and Lewis' songs (except Sparks' "Livin' on a Prayer") remained available on the Idol website and iTunes Store through June 20, 2007,»American Idol Download Store.

Originally, a collage of the finalists' head shots from the top 24 photo shoot was used as album art on AmericanIdol.com, with the title American Idol 6: Greatest Moments; at present, the covers of Sparks' and Lewis' EPs are used instead. The were eventually released on June 12, 2007 on iTunes/Americanidol.com. This is the only season that the season's collection is not distributed by Sony BMGRCA Records.

Singles

"This Is My Now" as performed by Jordin Sparks was released as a radio single. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 15.

iTunes/AmericanIdol.com EPs

On May 24, 2007, the winner Jordin Sparks and runner-up Blake Lewis released five-song EPs on iTunes Store; though only iTunes calls them "EPs", they are also available as "bundles" for the same price on AmericanIdol.com through June 20, 2007.

Sparks' EP contained the winner's single, "This Is My Now", as well as four songs she performed on Idol: "I (Who Have Nothing)", "A Broken Wing", "To Love Somebody", and "Wishing on a Star".

Lewis' EP did not contain "This Is My Now"; all of the tracks were songs he performed on the show: "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Time of the Season", "I Need to Know", "Love Song", and "When the Stars Go Blue".

On June 12, 2007, Apple released five song EPs for the rest of the top 12 finalists (Melinda Doolittle, LaKisha Jones, Chris Richardson, Phil Stacey, Sanjaya Malakar, Haley Scarnato, Gina Glocksen, Chris Sligh, Stephanie Edwards and Brandon Rogers) along with the compilation album as a collector's edition of the season's songs. Each of the songs are also available for individual purchase.»Macworld | iTunes offers American Idol Collector's Edition

Individual albums

• Jordin Sparks (Jordin Sparks)
• A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream) (Blake Lewis)
• Phil Stacey'' (Phil Stacey)
• Running Back To You (Chris Sligh)
• Coming Back to You (Melinda Doolittle)
• So Glad I'm Me (LaKisha Jones)
• Battlefield (Jordin Sparks)
• Into the Light (Phil Stacey)
• Heartbreak on Vinyl (Blake Lewis)

Minor or independent releases

Note: this does not include pre-Idol releases

• All Alone (Chris Richardson)
• My Funny Valentine (Melinda Doolittle)
• For My Lady Love (Sherman Pore)»http://www.idolsmusic.com/america6.htm Idolsmusic.com
• Didn't Matter That (Sarah Burgess, single)»"American Idol's" Sarah Burgess Inks Record Deal, Records First Single: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
• On Our Way (Stephanie Edwards, single)
• The Thrill of Hope (Sean Michel)
• Fly Away (Amanda Coluccio, single)
• Here I Am (Stephanie Edwards, single)
• Dancing to the Music in my Head (Sanjaya Malakar, EP)
• ''Now That I Found You (Amanda Coluccio, single)
• One (Sarah Burgess)

Source - »IdolsMusic.com

References

External links

• [http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season6 Official American Idol Contestants Website]

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