Pop Idol
| Pop Idol | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Simon Fuller |
| Presented by | Ant & Dec |
| Judges | Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman, Nicki Chapman, Neil Fox |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 46 |
| Production | |
| Producers | 19 Management Thames Television |
| Finalists | (With dates of elimination) |
| Series 1 | (2001-2002) |
| Will Young | Winner |
| Gareth Gates | February 9 |
| Darius Danesh | February 2 |
| Zoë Birkett | January 26 |
| Hayley Evetts | January 19 |
| Rosie Ribbons | January 12 |
| Laura Doherty | January 5 |
| Aaron Bayley | December 29 |
| Jessica Garlick | December 22 |
| Chris "Korben" Niblett | December 15 |
| Series 2 | (2003) |
| Michelle McManus | Winner |
| Mark Rhodes | December 20 |
| Sam Nixon | December 13 |
| Chris Hide | December 6 |
| Susanne Manning | November 29 |
| Roxanne Cooper | November 22 |
| Andy Scott-Lee | November 15 |
| Kim Gee | November 8 |
| Marc Dillon | November 1 |
| Brian Ormond | November 1 |
| Kirsty Crawford | October 26 |
| Leon McPherson | October 26 |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | October 5 2001 – December 20 2003 |
Pop Idol was a British television series which debuted on ITV on October 5 2001; the show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer, or 'pop idol', in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. A second series was broadcast in 2003.
The Idol series has become an international franchise, although a legal dispute with the makers of Popstars meant that the word "Pop" had to be excluded from the title. As such, spin-offs have included American Idol, Australian Idol, Latin American Idol, Idols (Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, South Africa, Serbia-Montenegro & Macedonia), Canadian Idol, Idols West Africa, Indian Idol, Indonesian Idol, New Zealand Idol, Hay Superstar (Armenia), Idol stjörnuleit (Iceland), Nouvelle Star (France), American Juniors, Pinoy Idol (Philippines), Idol (Norway), Idol (Poland), Deutschland sucht den Superstar (Germany), Singapore Idol, Malaysian Idol, Vietnam Idol, Music Idol (Bulgaria), Ídolos (Brazil and Portugal), Super Idol (Greece), Solo Idol (Solomon Islands), Super Star (Arab World), Megasztár (Hungary) and Looking For You (Bangladesh).
Unusually, the format was created not by TV producers but by music impresario Simon Fuller, in 1998. Having initially seen the project as web-based, the reality TV boom of the late '90s led him to take his format and inject elements of the variety talent shows of the 1970s and Popstars.
Series format
One of the UK's top-earning TV format exports, Pop Idol made extensive use of premium-priced viewer interactivity, with viewers voting by telephone, mobile telephone texting (not used on series one), through the "red button" on digital television sets, or via the official website. The final of the first series of Pop Idol in February 2002 received the highest-ever one-night vote for a UK TV show, making the show one of ITV1's most profitable. The sister show on ITV2, Pop Idol Extra, also made extensive use of mobile phone text messages to raise additional revenue. The first Pop Idol received very high voting figures despite allowing only telephone and Internet voting and not making use of texting or the "red button".
The Saturday night primetime show initially followed the audition process, as hopefuls sang before four judges (record producer and music executive Pete Waterman, music executive and music manager Simon Cowell, pop mogul and television personality Nicki Chapman and famous Radio DJ and television personality Neil "Dr" Fox) at various locations around the UK. Besides the successful auditionees, the poorest "singers" were often aired due to their obvious lack of talent or presence. Poor singers often faced harsh criticisms from the judges, especially from Simon Cowell (whose controversial rantings also made him famous on American Idol). The judges' reactions to such performances often ranged from disgust to nearly open laughter; their style of judgement and attitude towards pop-star wannabes resulted in the controversial opinions of others about the show's setup, including that of Take That manager, Nigel Martin Smith. [1]
Once the first round of auditions were completed, the series moved to the Criterion Theatre, where further auditions saw the judges decide on a group of 50. Unusually, this was the final point at which the judges had direct control over the contestants' fates, as the remainder of the results would be driven solely by viewer voting.
Stage 3 of the series took place in a conventional TV studio. The 50 contestants were split into five groups of ten, each of whom sang one song for the judges, accompanied only by a piano. Each judge offered their opinion, and at the end of the pre-recorded show phone lines opened for votes. Later the same evening a live show followed in which the voting results were revealed, the top two earning a place in the final ten. In series 2, a wildcard round (an innovation that originated on American Idol) was added, in which the judges selected ten rejected contestants and gave them a second chance. In this special edition, one contestant (Susanne Manning) was selected by the viewer vote, and one (Sam Nixon), chosen by the judges. This meant that the next stage began with twelve contestants, rather than the ten in series 1.
For the final stage, the show moved to a more lavish TV set, where all remaining contestants sang on live television, accompanied by either a backing track or live band. Most editions had a theme, with contestants singing songs from a particular genre or artist (no original songs were performed at any stage in the competition). Again, the judges offered comments, but the results were decided by viewer voting. Again, a live results show was broadcast later in the evening, but this time the singer with the fewest votes was eliminated, the rest continuing to the following week, until only the winner remained.
Exceptions to the usual format were limited. In series 1, Darius Danesh was promoted to the live shows when Rik Waller dropped out. Danesh was third in the results for the group where Waller had won his place. Also, the first two live shows of series 2 saw two contestants leave, in order to rebalance the numbers after the addition of the two extra performers from the wildcard show.
Results and legacy
The first series was won by Will Young, with Gareth Gates coming second. Michelle McManus won the second series. All of the top three contestants from series 1 had number 1 singles in the UK. Will Young continues to be a credible recording artist. Darius Danesh had two hit albums and has appeared in the West End musicals Chicago, playing the role of Billy Flynn, and Gone With The Wind, originating the role of Rhett Butler. He also appeared in the touring version of Guys and Dolls as Sky Masterson. Gareth Gates initially had great success, which later dried up (though his third album, released in June 2007, charted at No. 23). Series 2 contestants enjoyed significantly less chart success, which many believe damaged the credibility of the show and helped hasten its demise in its home country.
It has been common to suggest that the UK is actually the nation where the alumni of such shows are least successful, as between Popstars, Pop Idol, The X Factor, and the BBC's Fame Academy, only Will Young, Gareth Gates, Fame Academy's Lemar, Popstars' Girls Aloud, and The X Factor's G4 and Leona Lewis have gone on to achieve notable success, whereas other nations' contests, most notably American Idol, produced singers who have generally gone on to much greater success than their UK counterparts.
Immediately after the second series of Pop Idol, the same set was used to host World Idol, in which winners of various Idol series around the world, including original Pop Idol winner Will Young, American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson and Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian, competed in a one-off competition, complete with a large judging panel featuring one judge from each country (Simon Cowell officially representing American Idol, with Pete Waterman the "official" UK judge). The surprise winner was Norway's Kurt Nilsen, who proceeded to minor UK chart success. Cowell was strongly critical of World Idol, and it is highly unlikely to be staged again.
After the second series of Pop Idol in 2003, ITV put the show on indefinite hiatus. This was because judge and music executive Simon Cowell wished to produce his own show, The X Factor, which he and his record label (Syco) held the rights to. In addition, Pop Idol's second series winner, Michelle McManus, achieved little UK chart success, and ITV wanted a refreshed series (with more famous and experienced judges) of a similar format to take over – thus The X Factor was chosen as its replacement. The X Factor judging line-up was originally Simon Cowell, music manager Sharon Osbourne and Popstars: The Rivals judge and music manager Louis Walsh. This line-up was joined by pop singer Dannii Minogue in series 4. Osbourne departed The X Factor at the end of series 4, leaving Cowell, Walsh, Minogue and new judge Cheryl Cole (Osbourne's replacement), who is part of the successful girls group Girls Aloud, created by Popstars: The Rivals. The X Factor has gone on to be one of the most successful reality TV series in the UK, with international spin-offs in countries including Spain, Australia, Denmark and Italy. In 2005, Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller filed a lawsuit against The X Factor producers claiming that the format was copied from his own show. The case was eventually settled out of court.
ITV's licence to produce Pop Idol has since expired, meaning that other channels could theoretically acquire the series. Despite rumours (see below), no broadcaster has since acquired the rights to the format in the UK.
Despite running for only two series, Pop Idol's impact was immense and led 19 Entertainment and Fremantle Media to roll the format out globally; currently there are over 50 versions in 110 countries, including, notably, American Idol, again featuring Cowell as a judge.
Series one (2001/02)
Pink indicates eliminated contestant. The winner is highlighted in green. Numbers in brackets indicate number of times in the bottom two/three.
- according to voting totals released in Pop Idol book
| Date | Bottom three | ||
| 15 December | Korben | Laura Doherty | Jessica Garlick |
| 22 December | Jessica Garlick (2) | Laura Doherty (2) | Rosie Ribbons |
| 29 December | Aaron Bayley | Rosie Ribbons (2) | Laura Doherty (3) |
| 5 January | Laura Doherty (4) | Rosie Ribbons (3) | Zoë Birkett |
| Date | Bottom two | ||
| 12 January | Rosie Ribbons (4) | Hayley Evetts | |
| 19 January | Hayley Evetts (2) | Zoë Birkett (2) | |
| 26 January | Zoë Birkett (3) | Darius Danesh (2) | |
| Date | Top three | ||
| 2 February | Darius Danesh (3) | ||
| 9 February | Gareth Gates | Will Young | |
Series two (2003)
Top 12 (Songs From Your Pop Idol)
Kirsty Crawford: "I'm Outta Love" by Anastacia
Leon McPherson: "I Just Called To Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder
Brian Ormond: "A Different Corner" by George Michael
Kim Gee: "River Deep, Mountain High" by Tina Turner
Mark Rhodes: "With Or Without You" by U2
Susanne Manning: "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette
Andy Scott-Lee "If You're Not The One" by Daniel Bedingfield
Sam Nixon: "Handbags & Gladrags" by Stereophonics
Michelle McManus: "All By Myself" by Eric Carmen
Marc Dillon: "To Love Somebody" by Michael Bolton
Roxanne Cooper: "You're Still The One" by Shania Twain
Chris Hide: "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" by Elton John
Bottom 3: Kirsty Crawford, Leon McPherson, Mark Rhodes
Eliminated: Leon McPherson, Kirsty Crawford
- Note Leon McPherson was stated to have the lowest votes, Crawford had the second lowest.
Top 10 (Songs From Your Birthyear)
Marc Dillon: "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang
Susanne Manning: "Only You" by Yazoo
Sam Nixon: "True Colours" by Cindi Lauper
Kim Gee: "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer
Chris Hide: "Heaven" by Bryan Adams
Mark Rhodes: "Imagine" by John Lennon
Roxanne Cooper: "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin
Andy Scott-Lee: "She's Out Of My Life" by Michael Jackson
Brian Ormond: "Honesty" by Billy Joel
Michelle McManus: "On The Radio" By Donna Summer
Bottom 3: Brian Ormond, Kim Gee, Marc Dillon
First person eliminated: Brian Ormond
Second person eliminated: Marc Dillon
Top 8 (Songs by Elton John)
Roxanne Cooper: "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"
Chris Hide: "Circle Of Life"
Andy Scott-Lee: "Can You Feel The Love Tonight"
Michelle McManus: "Your Song"
Sam Nixon: "I Want Love"
Kim Gee: "The One"
Mark Rhodes: "Something About The Way You Look Tonight"
Susanne Manning: "I Guess Thats Why They Called It The Blues"
Bottom 3: Kim Gee, Michelle McManus, Roxanne Cooper
Bottom 2: Kim Gee, Roxanne Cooper
Eliminated: Kim Gee
Top 7 (Disco)
Susanne Manning: "Young Hearts Run Free" by Candi Staton
Andy Scott-Lee: "Rock With You" by Michael Jackson
Michelle McManus: "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman
Mark Rhodes: "More Than A Woman" by Tavares
Sam Nixon: "Blame It On The Boogie" by The Jackson Five
Roxanne Cooper: "Can You Feel It" by The Jackson Five
Chris Hide: "Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Khan
Bottom 3: Andy Scott-Lee, Chris Hide, Mark Rhodes
Bottom 2: Andy Scott-Lee, Chris Hide
Eliminated: Andy Scott-Lee
Top 6 (The Beatles)
Sam Nixon: "With A Little Help From My Friends"
Susanne Manning: "Ticket To Ride"
Chris Hide: "The Long And Winding Road"
Roxanne Cooper: "Let It Be"
Michelle McManus: "Hey Jude"
Mark Rhodes: "Help!"
Bottom 3: Mark Rhodes, Roxanne Cooper, Susanne Manning
Bottom 2: Mark Rhodes, Roxanne Cooper
Eliminated: Roxanne Cooper
Top 5 (Big Band)
Michelle McManus: "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone
Chris Hide: "Ain't That A Kick In The Head" by Dean Martin
Susanne Manning: "Cry Me A River" by Julie London
Mark Rhodes: "Have You Met Miss. Jones" by Robbie Williams
Sam Nixon: "Mr. Bojangles" by Sammy Davis Jr.
Bottom 2: Chris Hide, Susanne Manning
Eliminated: Susanne Manning
Top 4 (Christmas Songs)
Mark Rhodes: "Merry Xmas Everyone" by Slade
Mark Rhodes: "Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley
Sam Nixon: "I Wish It Could Be Chistmas Everyday" by Wizzard
Sam Nixon: "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by The Jackson Five
Chris Hide: "Winter Wonderland" by Bing Crosby
Chris Hide: "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby
Michelle McManus: "Merry Christmas Everyone" by Shakin' Stevens
Michelle McManus: "Oh Holy Night"
Bottom 2: Chris Hide, Mark Rhodes
Eliminated: Chris Hide
Top 3 (Judges Choice)
Sam Nixon: "Maggie May" by Rod Stewart
Sam Rhodes: "Always" by Bon Jovi
Michelle McManus: "I Say A Little Prayer" by Aretha Franklin
Michelle McManus: "Without You" by Harold Nilsson
Mark Rhodes: "Back For Good" by Take That
Mark Rhodes: "If You Don't Know Me By Now" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Eliminated: Sam Nixon
Top 2 (Finale)
Mark Rhodes: "All This Time" (Original Song)
Mark Rhodes: "Shes Like The Wind" by Patrick Swayze
Mark Rhodes: "Measure Of A Man" (Original Song)
Michelle McManus: "All This Time" (Original Song)
Michelle McManus: "On The Radio" by Donna Summer
Michelle McManus: "The Meaning of Love" (Original Song)
Runner Up: Mark Rhodes:
Winner: Michelle McManus
- according to voting totals released in Pop Idol book.
Note: Following the completion of the series, the official Pop Idol companion book published percentages of votes for each contestant every week. In some circumstances, the book suggested that the bottom 2 or 3 contestants were not the same as announced by the show hosts. It is not known if the incorrect result was announced, or if the book merely made a typo. However, the contestant deemed to have had the lowest percentage was always eliminated on that week, meaning the overall result of the show was not changed.
| Date | Bottom three | |||
| 25 October | Leon McPherson | Kirsty Crawford | Mark Rhodes | |
| 1 November | Brian Ormond | Marc Dillon | Kim Gee | |
| 8 November | Kim Gee (2) | Roxanne Cooper | Michelle McManus | |
| 15 November | Andy Scott-Lee | Chris Hide | Mark Rhodes (2) | |
| 22 November | Roxanne Cooper (2) | Mark Rhodes (3) | Susanne Manning | |
| Date | Bottom two | |||
| 29 November | Susanne Manning (2) | Chris Hide (2) | ||
| 6 December | Chris Hide (3) | Mark Rhodes (4) | ||
| Date | Top three | |||
| 13 December | Sam Nixon | |||
| 20 December | Mark Rhodes (5) | Michelle McManus (1) | ||
Relaunch of Pop Idol
On 1 October 2006, ITV's licence to produce Pop Idol in the UK ran out and its creator Simon Fuller, with co-producers FremantleMedia and 19 Television, began talking to UK broadcasters about reviving the show in a revamped format on a different channel. While Sky1 and Five initially expressed interest in buying the show,[2] no revival has been announced.
Video games
Pop Idol was released as a video game, where the player creates his/her own singer, then they must sing their way through the auditions, theatre stages, heats, and then the finals. The game increases in difficulty as the player progresses through the competition. With each stage of the finals, one or two players with the least public vote tally are eliminated. The gameplay mainly consists of lining up a moving symbol with a fixed object in the centre of the screen and pressing the corresponding symbol on the game's controller. If the player presses it when the symbol is in the middle of the circle, their singer sings a good note. If he or she presses it when it is not in the circle, or mistimes their press, the singer sings a bad note.
Related programmes
The Idol format has been launched in dozens of nations worldwide, and there have been many imitations of the programme.
A World Idol international television special was held in December 2003, featuring national first series Idol contest winners competing against each other; viewers worldwide voted Norwegian Idol's Kurt Nilsen "World Idol".
The similar Popstars format preceded Pop Idol, and was succeeded in Britain by one series of Popstars: The Rivals and five series so far of The X Factor. After Popstars producers threatened legal action, a deal was struck that, among other clauses, does not allow the use of the word "pop" in the title of Pop Idol editions outside of the UK.[citation needed]
See also
- American Idol
- Pop Idol: The Big Band Album
- Karaoke
- Popstars
- The X Factor (the successor of its series)
- Fame Academy
- Starmania
- Pinoy Idol
