American Idol Season 1 Recap
The first season of American Idol debuted without hype as
a summer replacement show (with the full title American Idol:
The Search For A Superstar) in June 2002 on the Fox Broadcasting
Company. Fox, along with other networks, initially rejected
the show. 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 version. The show's co-hosts were
Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman. Through word of mouth generated
by the appeal of its contestants and the presence of acid-tongued
British judge Simon Cowell, the show grew into a phenomenon.
An estimated fifty million people watched the Season 1 finale
in September 2002. Following such a success, the second season
was moved to air the upcoming January. The number of episodes
increased, as did the show's budget and the charge for commercial
spots.
Winner Kelly Clarkson signed with RCA Records, the label
in partnership with American Idol's 19 Management. Immediately
post-finale, Clarkson released two singles, most notably the
coronation song "A Moment Like This" which climbed
to number 52, but marked the biggest jump in Billboard Hot
100 history when it shot to number one, breaking a record
set by The Beatles. As part of the promotion planned for the
show's first winner, the song had been pre-recorded ready
to air on radio stations the day after the finale. Appearances
on numerous entertainment/news shows followed, as did videos
for the singles that began airing on MTV's TRL. Clarkson has
subsequently had two successful albums: Thankful and Breakaway.
She has several hit singles mostly from her more successful
second album Breakaway. While her first album failed to sell
outside of North America, her second was a global success
and garnered two Grammy Awards in 2006 with 11 million albums
sold worldwide. The less successful third album, "My
December" as of December 2, 2007 has sold 720,000 domestically,
approximately 1,500,000 copies worldwide, and was certified
Platinum in Canada.
The show inspired a 2003 musical film, From Justin to Kelly,
featuring Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini. The
musical love story, produced by American Idol's Simon Fuller,
was filmed in Miami, Florida over a period of six weeks shortly
after the season ended. Released several months later in June
2003, the film failed to make back its budget during its short
run in theatres and is often ranked among the worst movies
ever made. A DVD with additional footage was released and
the movie airs periodically in the U.S. and other countries.
Read more about American
Idol Season 1
American
Idol Official Site
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