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|Ramiele Malubay<!--DO NOT ADD LINK--> || 20 || [[Miramar, FL]] || Garrett Haley (Eliminated) <!--DO NOT ADD LINK--> || 17 || [[Elida, OH]]
|Ramiele Malubay<!--DO NOT ADD LINK--> || 20 || [[Miramar, FL]] || Garrett Haley (Eliminated) <!--DO NOT ADD LINK--> || 17 || [[Elida, OH]]
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|Syesha Mercado<!--DO NOT ADD LINK-->|| 21 || [[Sarasota, FL]] || David Hernandez<!--DO NOT ADD LINK--> || 24 || [[Phoenix, AZ]]
|[[Syesha Mercado]]<!--DO NOT ADD LINK-->|| 21 || [[Sarasota, FL]] || David Hernandez<!--DO NOT ADD LINK--> || 24 || [[Phoenix, AZ]]
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|Amanda Overmyer<!--DO NOT ADD LINK--> || 23 || [[Mulberry, IN]] || Michael Johns<!--DO NOT ADD LINK--> || 29 || [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]], [[Australia]]/<br>[[Buckhead, GA]]
|Amanda Overmyer<!--DO NOT ADD LINK--> || 23 || [[Mulberry, IN]] || Michael Johns<!--DO NOT ADD LINK--> || 29 || [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]], [[Australia]]/<br>[[Buckhead, GA]]

Revision as of 03:36, 23 February 2008

American Idol season 7
File:AmericanIdoltitlecard.jpg
Created bySimon Fuller
Directed byBruce Gowers
StarringRyan Seacrest
Paula Abdul
Simon Cowell
Randy Jackson
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes13 (as of February 21, 2008)
Production
Executive producersNigel Lythgoe
Ken Warwick
Simon Fuller
Running timeVaries
Original release
NetworkFox Broadcasting Company
ReleaseJanuary 15, 2008 –
May 21, 2008

The seventh season of American Idol, which premiered on January 15, 2008, is the current season of the annual popular reality show and singing competition. Ryan Seacrest continues to host the show with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson returning as judges. The successful program continues to search for and discover the best young singer in the country, through a series of nationwide auditions along with weekly rounds of intense competition and eliminations airing live, based on public voting by phone during the results shows typically airing on Thursdays.

Early Process

Regional Auditions

For Season 7, auditions were held in the following cities:[1]

Contestants were required to be between the ages of 16 and 28 on July 28, 2007, and eligible to work in the United States. Those ineligible include former contestants who reached the top 40 of past seasons, those holding recording or management contracts, or those who are not US citizens or landed immigrants (i.e. permanent residents).

Hollywood Phase

As in years past, the Hollywood round took place at the Pasadena Civic Center in Pasadena over a period of four days. A total of 164 contestants were invited from the seven audition cities. This year the process was altered slightly to ensure that no talent would be prematurely dismissed.

On the first day, all of the contestants took the stage individually and sang for the judges. For the first time ever, contestants had the option of either being accompanied by the band or playing an instrument themselves. Some were shown playing the keyboard, guitar, or even the drums. If the judges approved of the contestant's performance, they received a "free pass" to the third day of auditions. Unlike previous seasons, contestants whose performances were not considered good enough were given a second chance on day two. They were required to line up on stage in small groups, and sing a short segment of a song a cappella. After each group had finished, the judges then cut all of those who they felt were not talented enough. Those who were not cut joined the recipients of the free passes on day three of the Hollywood round. Each of these remaining contestants sang with not only a band, but with three backup singers. This is a similar setup to that which is used in the semifinals and finals and replaced the group performances required in past seasons. After each performance, the judges decided whether or not to cut the contestant. By the end of the day, only 50 contestants were remaining.

Semi-finalists

The semi-finalists were officially announced on February 13, 2008.

Girls Guys
Name Age Hometown Name Age Hometown
Joanne Borgella (Eliminated) 25 Hoboken, NJ David Archuleta 17 Murray, UT
Kristy Lee Cook 24 Selma, OR Colton Berry (Eliminated) 18 Staunton, VA
Amy Davis (Eliminated) 25 Lowell, IN Robbie Carrico 26 Melbourne, FL
Asia'h Epperson 19 Joplin, MO Jason Castro 20 Rowlett, TX
Alexandréa Lushington 17 Atlanta, GA Chikezie 22 Inglewood, CA
Kady Malloy 18 Houston, TX David Cook 25 Tulsa, OK
Ramiele Malubay 20 Miramar, FL Garrett Haley (Eliminated) 17 Elida, OH
Syesha Mercado 21 Sarasota, FL David Hernandez 24 Phoenix, AZ
Amanda Overmyer 23 Mulberry, IN Michael Johns 29 Perth, Australia/
Buckhead, GA
Carly Smithson 24 Dublin, Ireland/
San Diego, CA		 Luke Menard 29 Crawfordsville, IN
Alaina Whitaker 16 Tulsa, OK Danny Noriega 18 Azusa, CA
Brooke White 24 Mesa, AZ Jason Yeager 28 Grand Prairie, TX

Top 24 Performances

Weekly Song Themes

Males

Colton Berry
  1. "Suspicious Minds" (Elvis Presley) - Eliminated February 21, 2008
Garrett Haley
  1. "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (Neil Sedaka) - Eliminated February 21, 2008
David Archuleta
  1. "Shop Around" (The Miracles)
Robbie Carrico
  1. "One" (Three Dog Night)
Jason Castro
  1. "Daydream" (The Lovin' Spoonful)
Chikezie
  1. "More Today Than Yesterday" (The Spiral Starecase)
David Cook
  1. "Happy Together" (The Turtles)
David Hernandez
  1. "In the Midnight Hour" (Wilson Pickett)
Michael Johns
  1. "Light My Fire" (The Doors)
Luke Menard
  1. "Everybody's Talkin'" (Harry Nilsson)
Danny Noriega
  1. "Jailhouse Rock" (Elvis Presley)
Jason Yeager
  1. "Moon River" (Andy Williams)

Females

Kristy Lee Cook
  1. "Rescue Me" (Fontella Bass)
Asia'h Epperson
  1. "Piece of My Heart" (Janis Joplin)
Alexandréa Lushington
  1. "Spinning Wheel" (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
Kady Malloy
  1. "A Groovy Kind of Love" (The Mindbenders)
Ramiele Malubay
  1. "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (Dusty Springfield)
Syesha Mercado
  1. "Tobacco Road" (The Nashville Teens)
Amanda Overmyer
  1. "Baby, Please Don't Go" (Van Morrison)
Carly Smithson
  1. "The Shadow of Your Smile" (Tony Bennett)
Alaina Whitaker
  1. "More Today Than Yesterday" (The Spiral Starecase)
Brooke White
  1. "Happy Together" (The Turtles)
Joanne Borgella
  1. "I Say a Little Prayer" (Dionne Warwick) - Eliminated February 21, 2008
Amy Davis
  1. "Where the Boys Are" (Connie Francis) - Eliminated February 21, 2008

Elimination grid

Legend
Female Male Top 12 Top 24
Stage: Semi-Finals Finals
Week: 2/21 2/28 3/6 3/12 3/19 3/26 4/2 4/9 4/16 4/23 4/30 5/7 5/14 5/21
Place Contestant Result
David Archuleta
Robbie Carrico
Jason Castro
Chikezie
David Cook
Kristy Lee Cook
Asia'h Epperson
David Hernandez
Michael Johns
Alexandréa Lushington
Kady Malloy
Ramiele Malubay
Luke Menard
Syesha Mercado
Danny Noriega
Amanda Overmyer
Carly Smithson
Alaina Whitaker
Brooke White
Jason Yeager
21-24 Colton Berry Elim
Joanne Borgella
Amy Davis
Garrett Haley

Changes from past seasons

The show has made a few changes this year, including allowing contestants to use musical instruments,[7] an element that originated on Australian Idol and can also be seen on Norwegian Idol and Canadian Idol.

Also, due to last year's rampant criticism and media accusation of the judges and producers being very harsh and disrespectful during last season's auditions, this year the judges are noticeably more compassionate and were not as "mean" during the auditions to the contestants.[8]

Nigel Lythgoe acknowledged that the show suffered last year when finalists failed to top the excitement and star quality of performers from previous seasons; on the other hand, he said producers erred by giving too much air time to famous mentors like Jennifer Lopez with individual projects to promote rather than delving deep into contestants' back stories to foster a stronger connection with viewers. "We felt as though we made mistakes last year with not really pushing and introducing the talent as well as we have done in the past," he said.[9] According to Lythgoe, the number of mentors will be reduced, in an effort to provide more emphasis to the contestants. [10]

Simon Cowell said during a recent telephone news conference, "The most important thing is the show has got to look better." "It's got to be more fun as a show, and if it is, I think more people will watch. I think it absolutely comes down to the content of what we provide the viewers."[11]

In past seasons, weekly themes were started during the first week of the top 12. As of this season they will start with the top 24. Also, there will only be 4 celebrity mentors.[citation needed]

"Best Days" by Graham Colton replaces Daughtry's hit single, "Home" for this season's elimination song.

Reaction

Referring to the season 7 premiere on January 15, 2008, The Associated Press reported "American Idol" returned as the nation's most popular TV series, but with 4 million fewer viewers than the 2007 season premiere. Tuesday's debut was seen by 33.4 million viewers, down 11 percent from the 37.4 million who watched the first show, according to preliminary ratings by Nielsen Media Research."[12]

Controversy

Contestants' prior professional work

One contestant, Carly Smithson, had already been signed to a major label record deal in 2000 with MCA Records under her maiden name of Carly Hennessy.[13][14] The Wall Street Journal reported that the label spent over two million dollars promoting her album Ultimate High.[13] Her first single, "I'm Gonna Blow Your Mind", did not make any kind of dent in the music charts. When the album was finally released over three months later, it only sold 378 copies,[13] but may be downloaded on iTunes and can be occasionally found brand new and sealed for under one dollar at Amazon.com.[15] As a child, she released Carly's Christmas Album in Ireland, and she also traveled around Europe performing in Les Misérables.[13] Smithson mentioned her previous record deal the American Idol episode aired on February 20 2008.

Another contestant, Kristy Lee Cook, was signed to a major label, Arista Nashville, in 2001.[16][14] Cook also signed with Britney Spears' production company, and Spears herself was supposed to have a cameo in Cook's first video.[16][14] At the time of signing, she was managed by the former manager of LeAnn Rimes.[16][14]

Contestant Robbie Carrico was a member of the pop group Boyz N Girlz United, which opened for Britney Spears during her "...Baby One More Time" tour in 1999.[17][18][14] The band's song "Messed Around" was written and produced by JC Chasez from *NSYNC.[17]

Contestant Michael Johns joined the band The Film (under the name Michael Lee) and was scheduled to release an album in 2003.[14] The album was never released, and Johns left the band. He then created a new band The Rising and was under contract with Madonna's Maverick Records label.[19] Maverick dropped the band's contract before an album was released. The Rising did release the album independently of the Maverick label. After moving to the United States in 1998, Johns changed his name from Michael Lee to Michael Johns.[19]

Contestant Jason Castro appeared on Cheyenne Kimball's MTV reality TV series, as her real-life dating interest.[20]

Contestant David Archuleta sang on several episodes of the television show Star Search at age 12 in 2003.[21][22][23][24][25][26][14] On one episode, he sang against 13-year-old Alexandrea Lushington, who is also a contestant on season 7 of American Idol.[14][24]

Contestant Syesha Mercado appeared on The One: Making a Music Star, a short-lived program on ABC.[27] The show was cancelled after two weeks due to low ratings.[27] She has also acted in commercials for Ford, KFC, Winn-Dixie, and some local spots.[citation needed]

Contestant Brooke White has a cd entitled "Songs From The Attic" under the New Millennium record label. The cd was released in 2005 and is available for purchase on Amazon.com. Songs on the cd were composed primarily by Robin Randall, Judithe Randall, Tim Simms, and White. The cd also contains a cover of Coldplay's "Yellow".

References

  1. ^ "Season 7 Auditions Begin July 30 in San Diego". American Idol Official Site. FOX. 2007-06-25.
  2. ^ Wilkens, John (2007-0730). "Thousands audition in S.D. for 'American Idol'". Union-Tribune. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Singers swarm Dallas for 'Idol' auditions". Associated Press. MSNBC. 2007-08-06.
  4. ^ Stickney, Dane (2007-08-09). "'Idol' audition crowd thins out in the afternoon". Omaha World Herald. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ WRCB TV - Channel 3 - Chattanooga, Tennessee[dead link]
  6. ^ News - South Carolina Now (SCNow.com)[dead link]
  7. ^ Starr, Michael (2007-11-05). "'American Idol' Shake Up". New York Post.
  8. ^ The Associated Press: 'Idol' Ratings Down From Last Year[dead link]
  9. ^ The Associated Press: `American Idol' Returning for Season 7[dead link]
  10. ^ ""American Idol" Adding Guitar Strumming, Subtracting Mentors". Rolling Stone. 2007-11-05.
  11. ^ The Associated Press: `American Idol' Returning for Season 7[dead link]
  12. ^ The Associated Press: 'Idol' Ratings Down From Last Year[dead link]
  13. ^ a b c d Ordoñez, Jennifer. "Pop Singer Fails To Strike a Chord Despite the Millions Spent By MCA". The Wall Street Journal.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h Delaveris, Lea (2008-02-19). "Ringer Singers: Some 'Idol' Contestants Aren't Novices". Columbus Dispatch.
  15. ^ Parker, Lyndsey (2008-02-14). "Irish Idol: Smithson's Secret Past". Yahoo! Music.
  16. ^ a b c "Kristy Lee Signs In Triplicate with Arista, Britney, and BMI". BMI. 2001-08-07.
  17. ^ a b Cantiello, Jim (2008-01-31). "Britney Spears' Ex-Boyfriend: The Next American Idol?". MTV.
  18. ^ Hickman, Breuse (2008-02-14). "Melbourne man makes cut on 'Idol'". Florida Today.
  19. ^ a b Ho, Rodney (2008-02-18). "ATL has several ties to 'Idol' top 24". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  20. ^ Atlas, Darla (2008-02-19). "'Idol' hopeful from Rockwall has had more hair-time than airtime". Dallas Morning News.
  21. ^ "Star Search: Episode 03, 01/31/2004, Story". CBS.
  22. ^ "Star Search: Episode 04, 02/07/2004, Story". CBS.
  23. ^ "Star Search: Episode 05, 02/14/2004, Story". CBS.
  24. ^ a b "Star Search: Episode 06, 02/21/2004, Story". CBS.
  25. ^ "Star Search: Episode 07, 02/28/2004, Story". CBS.
  26. ^ "Star Search: Junior Singer Video". CBS.
  27. ^ a b Becnel, Thomas (2008-02-20). "Sing from the Soul, Hope for Best". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Preceded by American Idol
Season 7 (2008) 		Succeeded by
Season 8 (2009)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Idol_season_7&oldid=193418979"