American Idol is the most popular music reality show in the history of American television. Since its commencement in the year 2002, this show has taken over the American music loving audiences by rage.

The concept of the show is inspired by the UK TV show Pop Idols. The show conducts auditions in all the major cities of the USA to scrutinize fresh singing talent, which it lets you watch afterwards. In order to audition for American Idol, one needs to be a legal US resident without any prior contract with any other recording company. From thousands of contestants in every city, around a hundred or two hundred are selected for a tougher audition in front of the show’s producers. Of these contestants, the count goes down to around 60 singers who fly to Hollywood. The following weeks see further selections leading to up to 36 singers in the semifinals and only 12 in the final round.

The most interesting part when you watch the show is that you can make a difference in the lives of your favorite contestants by voting for them. The audience is the biggest judge of the American Idol contestants as they have the voting power in their hands, which can be exercised through calls, SMS and now even online voting. The voting commences after the show is aired and goes on for 2 hours thereafter. The voters can cast as many votes as they wish to in these 2 hours. Watch American Idol to be a part of the history of American music! The judges also have a veto power, using which they can unanimously save a contestant of their choice from being eliminated.

The finals have various theme rounds in which the viewers get to watch the contestants performing in particular styles. Some popular themes on American Idol have been Disco, the Beetles, Elvis and MJ. You can catch the installments of the show online if you miss them. There is a wild card entry in the final round of every season, in which one or more of the eliminated contestants are revived by the judges.

American Idol is known for having the most renowned stars of the music world on its panel of judges. Some of them include Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez; Ellen Degeneres, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson. The show is hosted by Ryan Seacrest each season, except the first season that was hosted by Brian Dunkleman. Watch American Idol online to witness the search for America’s brightest singing talent!

The winner of American Idol gets a record deal from a leading music company and earns at least a million dollars in the first year. The runner-up also get a chance to go on a tour of several cities in the USA, as they have no dearth of popularity.