American Idol has brought fame and fortune to many of todays top music chart performers. From Carrie Underwood, to Taylor Hicks, to Chris Daughtry Idol contestants have held their own in the music industry. American Idol premiered on television with the title of American Idol: The Search for a Superstar. It is part of an Idol series which started in the United Kingdom as Pop Idol, and now has versions all over the globe including Australian Idol and Singapore Idol. Each version of IDOL has a basic structure to follow and operate as talent shows determined to seek out the best raw new talent in each country. , American Idol has become a corporate advertisement and marketing giant that is driven by sponsors who pay a million dollars for a 30 second commercial during run time. Product placement is another key moneymaker for American Idol; you'll often see contestants drinking of Coca-Cola plastic cups or lounging backstage in the Coca-Cola Red Room, complete with a red leather Coca-Cola couch. American Idol is shown on the Fox network on US TV and managed by 19 Entertainment. Originally the American Version of Idol was rejected by many television broadcast companies,American Idol has found its permanent home partly due to the presence of judge Simon Cowell. The acid-tongued Brit, Simon Cowell, was initially a judge on Britain’s Pop Idol, and has since become an American household name due to his blunt and searing critiques of many of the American Idol contestants. Simon Cowell has since produced ill-faded American Inventor and the latest television talent competition, America's Got Talent. The growth and amazing successful results are phenomenal having won the top spot on Neilson Ratings for the last 4 years and having more loyal fans watching than the Olympics, The Grammy Awards and the NBA Playoffs. American Idol is hosted by the affable Ryan Seacrest who we first meet during the audition process. The talent competition holds auditions in several US cities including LA, Memphis. Salt Lake City and Boston. Associate judges weed through thousand of Idol hopefuls in booths and tents in arena parking lots. If a contestant has what it takes to entertain American television audiences, then he or she is passed through to Directors Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller. If the contestants impress either or both of these two men, the contestant is then allowed a chance to impress the celebrity judges by -- meeting Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. Once the contestant performs a song or two for Simon, Paula and Randy, the trio has the final decision to advance a contestant to Hollywood. A Contestants future is determined by a minimum of two votes, and if the vote is in the contestant’s favor, he or she gets the famous yellow ticket and they are sent to Hollywood At the end of Hollywood week, the top 24 have evolved and usually represent a diverse group of males and females of all races and musical genres. There are several criteria one must meet in order to try out for Idol. All audition hopefuls must be between the ages of 16-29 years of age and not have a recording contract or talent representation. Release forms must be signed by all in order to enable American Idol to use your voice or image during any part of its broadcasts. American Idol starts another season in January 2007. The American Idol concept is ingrained into our society and producers will continue to ride the gravy train. American idol is here to stay.