American Idol Season 4 Recap
The fourth season of American Idol premiered on January 18,
2005. It was the first season in which the age limit was raised
to 28, in order to increase variety. All Season 4 contestants
had to be between the ages of 16 and 28 on August 4, 2004,
born on or between August 5, 1975 and August 4, 1988.[11][12]
Among those who benefited from this new rule were Constantine
Maroulis (born September 17, 1975) and Bo Bice (born November
1, 1975), considered to be the eldest and somewhat most experienced
of the season's Idol contestants. They were also constantly
mentioned by Seacrest and in the media as "the two rockers",
since their long hair and choice of rock songs made them stand
out from conventional Idol standards. The presence of more
rock-oriented contestants has continued with Chris Daughtry
in Season 5, who was inspired to audition for the show by
Bice.
This season also implemented new rules for the final portion
of the contest. Instead of competing in semi-final heats in
which the top vote-getters are promoted to the final round,
24 semi-finalists were named; 12 men and 12 women, who competed
separately, with 2 of each gender being voted off each week
until 12 finalists were left.
Mario Vazquez, who was originally one of the top 12, dropped
out of the competition on March 11, just days before the top
12's first performance, citing "personal issues",
opening a spot in the final 12 for Nikko Smith (son of Baseball
Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith), who had been voted off in the
semi-finals the previous week.
The winner was Carrie Underwood, a country singer, the first
winner since Kelly Clarkson to not only win but avoid being
in the bottom three for the entire competition. Carrie Underwood's
first single, "Inside Your Heaven", was released
on June 14, 2005. The single debuted at #1 on the Billboard
Hot 100, with first-week sales of 170,000 copies, and briefly
stopped Mariah Carey's run at #1 with "We Belong Together".
One week later, runner-up Bo Bice released his version of
the song, which debuted at #2. The B-side of Underwood's CD
was "Independence Day", a cover of the Martina McBride
hit. On November 15, 2005, Carrie released her debut album,
Some Hearts, which peaked and debuted at #2 on Billboard.
However, the album finished as the #1 selling album on the
Billboard 200 for the entire 2006 chart year. It has currently
sold over 6 million copies, and has gone 6x platinum. Underwood's
first single, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was made available
for radio airplay on October 18, 2005. It received so much
airplay that it debuted at #39 on the Billboard Country Chart
in its first week, setting a record. As it climbed, it finally
reached #1 for 6 consecutive weeks, just two weeks shy of
Connie Smith's record of an 8 week run back in 1964-1965.
The single also debuted at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 where
it peaked at #20. Underwood's second single, "Don't Forget
to Remember Me", peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country
Charts, as well as, #49 on the Billboard Hot 100. Underwood's
third single "Before He Cheats" not only hit #1
on the Billboard Hot Country charts, but also has peaked at
#8 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming a crossover pop hit.
Currently, Underwood has the most successful debut album sales
out of the American Idol finalists. Some Hearts has sold over
6 million copies as of December 2007, becoming the best selling
album by any American Idol alumni. Underwood's fourth single
"Wasted" has become her 3rd #1 single on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs chart and also peaked at #37 on the Billboard
Hot 100. Read more about American
Idol Season 4
American
Idol Official Site
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