American Idol (season 5)
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| American Idol (Season 5) | |
|---|---|
 The winner of Season 5, Taylor Hicks. |
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| Genre | Interactive reality game show |
| Creator(s) |  Simon Fuller |
| Starring |  Ryan Seacrest Paula Abdul Simon Cowell Randy Jackson |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 42 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Nigel Lythgoe Ken Warwick Simon Fuller |
| Running time | Varies |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | FOX |
| Original run | January 17, 2006 – May 24, 2006 |
| Links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006 and concluded on May 24, 2006. It was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell returned to judge. Taylor Hicks won the competition, becoming the first white male to achieve that feat.
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[edit] Auditions
| Winner | Years as winner | Successor | Predecessor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor Hicks | May 24, 2006 - 2007 | Incumbent as of April 2007 | Carrie Underwood |
Auditions were held in seven cities in the summer and early fall of 2005 in the following order:
- Chicago, Illinois
- Denver, Colorado
- Greensboro, North Carolina
- San Francisco, California
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Austin, Texas (later stages of auditions were held in San Francisco because of Hurricane Katrina and the number of evacuees in Texas) [1]
- Foxborough, Massachusetts (Greater Boston)
Unlike Season Four, no guest judges were involved during the auditions.
[edit] Top 12 finalists
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Taylor Reuben Hicks (74094) is from Birmingham, Alabama. He is gray-haired and performed "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke at his original audition in Las Vegas. At the first audition, the judges were surprised by his appearance. He is one of three winners in American Idol history to not ever be in the bottom three. He won the competition on May 24.
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Katharine Hope McPhee's (32342) mother is a vocal coach. At the time she auditioned in San Francisco, Randy Jackson said her audition was the best he'd heard yet this season. At the end of the first semi-final round, Simon Cowell said that he had heard four very good singers that evening and that McPhee was the best among them. She is from Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California. McPhee was the runner-up on American Idol as announced on the May 24 finale.
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Image:EEY.jpg
Yamin finished 3rd.
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Efraym Elliott Yamin (19991) (pronounced Yah-MEEN) was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. He started singing at the age of five and did not have any formal training. He auditioned for American Idol in Boston. After his first semi-final performance, Simon Cowell said that he was potentially the best male vocalist in American Idol history. Yamin lost on May 17 in one of the closest outcomes in Idol history.
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Christopher Adam Daughtry (36483) is from McLeansville, North Carolina. During the audition round, he was profiled as a "Rocker Dad." He originally auditioned in Denver.
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Paris Giselle Bennett (60377), the granddaughter of Grammy Award winner Ann Nesby, sang "Cowboy Take Me Away" by The Dixie Chicks at her original audition in Greensboro. She is from Fayetteville, Georgia. Her mother and grandmother are apart of the Grammy-winning group, Sounds of Blackness.
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Kellie Dawn Pickler (61615) is from Albemarle, North Carolina, but was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was profiled as a roller-skating waitress. Her mother left when she was two and her father has had numerous legal problems; he is now free. Pickler lived with her grandfather and originally auditioned in Greensboro. She was never in the bottom three until she was eliminated.
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Brett Asa "Ace" Young (36456), who goes by his actual middle name, is from Denver and he auditioned there as well. At that time, Randy Jackson called him one of the best he'd seen so far this season. After he sang "Father Figure", Simon Cowell said that Young had the 'X-Factor' (a reference to another RTL talent show, in the UK). Young had been singing since age nine and had voice lessons.
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William Joel "Bucky" Covington (60460) is from Rockingham, North Carolina. He auditioned in Greensboro. He has an identical twin brother named Rocky.
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Mandisa Diane Hundley (6369) is from Antioch, Tennessee. She had a successful original audition in Chicago, after which Simon Cowell made jokes about her size. He later apologized after being confronted by Miss Hundley. Like Pickler, she was never in the bottom 3 until her elimination.
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Lisa Gabrielle Tucker (36047) is from Anaheim, California, and she auditioned in Denver. Simon Cowell called her the "best 16-year-old" ever to audition on the show at the time of her original Denver audition. She was also a runner-up on Star Search but lost to Tiffany Evans. A week after her elimination she appeared in an episode of The O.C.
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Kevin Patrick Covais (10182), 16 years old, is from Levittown, New York. For his audition in Boston, he sang "You Raise Me Up". Viewers gave him the nickname 'Chicken Little'.
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Melissa Christine McGhee (35673) is from Tampa, Florida. She auditioned in Denver. She sang "Can't Fight The Moonlight" by LeAnn Rimes for her audition. She had not sung on camera until her first week in the top 24.
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[edit] Semi-finals
The semi-finals began on February 21, with the names announced on February 15. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals.
There were no format changes from season 4; it featured 12 male singers and 12 female singers (24 total), with two of each being eliminated each week.
The 24 semi-finalists, announced February 15, 2006, along with their songs performed on the show, were:
[edit] Women-eliminated
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Ayla Marie Brown (14336) (born July 28, 1988) is from Wrentham, Massachusetts and is six feet tall. She attended high school at Noble and Greenough School and was a star basketball player. In 11th grade, she was the 4th woman to have ever scored 1000 points at Noble and Greenough School. During her junior year, she became only the 20th female to have ever scored 2000 points in a career at the high school stage. Her father, Scott Brown, is a Massachusetts state senator, and her mother, Gail Huff, is a local television personality at WCVB-TV. She also has a sister, Arianna Brown. She had a college basketball scholarship at Boston College. She originally auditioned in Boston, singing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." After being voted off American Idol on March 9, 2006, she has continued to tour throughout the New England area, and released with singles "Know You Better" and "I Quit" in September followed the album "Forward" in October. She performed the National Anthem at the 2006 Boston Pops July 4th concert.
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Shontai Kinnik Sky Marshall (63995) (born May 13, 1977) is from Duluth, Georgia. She auditioned in Greensboro. She was grouped with Nicole Turk, Celeste Scalone and Tyra Schwartz during the group rounds.
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Heather Josephine Cox (36338) (born January 1, 1984) is from Jonesville, North Carolina. She auditioned in Denver. Grouped with Halicia Thompson and Kellie Pickler during Hollywood group performances.
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Brenna Mema Gethers (14289) (born October 7, 1980 is from Mount Vernon, New York. She auditioned in Boston. Was known for her "catty" attitude. She's now the lead singer for Bomb Squad, a funk-rock band that won an American Music Award for Best New Music in 2003.[2]
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Stephanie "Stevie" Marie Scott (36600) (born May 22, 1986 in Fair Oaks, California). She auditioned in Denver. She sang "Emotions" with Hannah Freeman and Paris Bennett during their group performance in Hollywood. She was eliminated on February 23, 2006 along with Becky O'Donohue, Bobby Bennett, and Patrick Hall. She made a cameo appearance on the Top 6 performance show of American Idol on April 25, 2006.
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Rebecca "Becky" Clarise O'Donohue (11588) is from Dobbs Ferry, New York. Her original audition was in Boston with her twin sister (who didn't sing due to recent throat surgery). Simon Cowell praised her looks, but said no to her voice. She was let through to Hollywood by Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul.
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[edit] Men-eliminated
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Gedeon Luke McKinney (4460) (born October 1, 1988) was the 14th place semi-finalist in the fifth season of American Idol. He comes from Memphis, Tennessee, but the Memphis auditions had to be canceled due to relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina that were taking place in Memphis. He was so poor that his school let him administer a concert, and the students paid USD$2.00 to get in, so he could enter the contest in another city. He auditioned in Chicago, and made it through the first rounds and eventually was one of the top 24 contestants. He was not given enough votes to enter the top 12, and was voted off.
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William John "Will" Hudson Makar (58581) (born March 2, 1989 in The Woodlands, Texas) is an American singer and was fifteenth-place on the fifth season of American Idol. He is of Ukrainian descent and studies Japanese. Will is currently a sophomore at The Woodlands College Park High School in The Woodlands, TX. He was held back a year in elementary school by request of his parents. In school, Will has starred in several musical productions. In 1999 Will sang with the Houston Children’s Chorus for President Clinton, and again in 2002 for President Bush. After five years as a member of the Houston Children’s Chorus, Will decided he had grown too old, and "retired." In 2003, Will, along with his three friends Louis, Bobby, and Aaron, formed a band called Last Born, of which Will held the position of the lead vocals until 2005, when he decided to pursue a solo career. Will auditioned for American Idol (Season 5)] in Austin, TX. His fans called themselves the Makaritas and/or the Makaroons.
He was eliminated on March 9, 2006, which was the same week that the Top 12 was announced. He finished in 15th place. During the show, Will developed a friendship with David Radford and Kevin Covais. They had performed together during the group performance in Hollywood week.[citation needed] He later appeared in the audience during Queen week.
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José "Sway" Penala (32613) (born January 23, 1978) is from South San Francisco, and he auditioned in San Francisco. He is the only Asian-American who made it to the semi-finals this season. His music career started in 1996 when he partnered with his good friend, Darrell, to form the group “DnH” - short for Drop n Harmony. Friends, Jerome and Lionel, joined the group within the next three years. The four self-starters worked hard on their craft, practicing constantly to blend their voices into the perfect mix of breathtaking harmonies. This San Francisco based group, was a favorite in the Bay Area and were likened to a Filipino Boyz II Men. At the end of 2001, Jose began a compilation with members of other Asian-American singing groups. During this initial collaboration, the four singers: Jose, Errol, Drey, and Cyrus, realized that they shared the same passion for music and similar visions of success. This led to the creation of a new group, “6th Day”. He wears a Fedora hat & coat and a military dog tag at his performances during the season.
He developed friendship with Elliott Yamin, Taylor Hicks and Chris Daughtry during this season. Elliott was also his group mate in the Hollywood week and his roommate.
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David William Radford (2436) (born March 22, 1988 in Crystal Lake, Illinois) is a high school senior at Crystal Lake Central High School. David has also been popular in singing with many students in his high school.He has been singing "his way" since he can remember. As a child, whenever there was a spotlight, David somehow found a way to its center. In addition to singing, David plays the trumpet as well as a mean game of Ping-Pong. He originally auditioned in Chicago. He was eliminated from American Idol on March 2, 2006 along with José (Sway) Penala, Brenna Gethers and Heather Cox.
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Patrick Aaron Hall (79857) (born September 24, 1977 is from Gravette, Arkansas and was seen for the first time in Hollywood. During the Hollywood rounds, Simon Cowell called him 'very likeable', and compared him to Clay Aiken. He received many positive comments during these rounds. To separate himself from the Clay Aiken comparison, however, he chose to perform Come to My Window on the first week of the Top 24. He was eliminated that week.
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Robert Jonathan "Bobby" Bennett, Jr. (36477) is from Denver and also auditioned there. He made an appearance in the March 21 episode wherein Barry Manilow performed that night.
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[edit] Song themes
- March 14 ~ Stevie Wonder songs
- March 21 ~ 1950s music
- March 28 ~ 2000s music
- April 4 ~ Country
- April 11 ~ Queen
- April 18 ~ Great American Songbook
- April 25 ~ Love songs
- May 2 ~ Songs from year of birth/Billboard Top 10
- May 9 ~ Elvis Presley songs
- May 16 ~ Three songs per contestant
- Clive Davis's choice
- Judges' choice
- Free choice
- May 23 ~ Three songs per contestant
- Song previously performed by contestant
- Another song previously sung by contestant
- Original Song for American Idol 5: "My Destiny" (McPhee) or "Do I Make You Proud" (Hicks)
[edit] Performers on results shows
- March 15 ~ Stevie Wonder
- March 22 ~ Barry Manilow
- March 29 ~ Shakira and Wyclef Jean
- April 5 ~ Kenny Rogers
- April 12 ~ Final 8 sing a medley of Queen
- April 19 ~ Rod Stewart
- April 26 ~ Andrea Bocelli and David Foster
- May 3 ~ Top 5 perform "Together We Are One" (originally written and sung by Australian singer Delta Goodrem)
- May 10 ~ Top 4 perform a medley of Elvis songs
- May 17 ~ Each contestant of the Top 3 performs the song they will be singing on the American Idol Season 5: Encores CD.
[edit] The Finale
On the finale, Carrie Underwood sang "Inside your Heaven" solo along with the song "Through the Rain" with the 12 finalists. Also, the finalists performed 2 medleys: one medley was for the female finalists and the other for the male finalists. Several special guests performed with one of the Top Five Idols: Al Jarreau (Paris Bennett), Live (Chris Daughtry), Meat Loaf (Katharine McPhee), Mary J. Blige (Elliott Yamin) and Toni Braxton (Taylor Hicks). Also, Prince performed without an Idol while Clay Aiken performed with lookalike (circa Clay's 2003 audition look) auditioner Michael Sandecki. Towards the end of the program, the finalists performed "Thats What Friends are For" with Dionne Warwick as well as other songs in the Burt Bacharach canon, with Burt Bacharach playing the piano. Several auditionees from the first round returned to accept "Golden Idol" awards, and to sing. A group of 3 failed auditioners (Layne Johnson, Michael Evans, and Matthew Buckstein) performed in a parody of Brokeback Mountain called "Broke-Note Mountain" (though there was no mentioning of homosexuality). The trio "The Broke-Note Cowboys" then performed the Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson song Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys. In a pre-taped segment, finalist Kellie Pickler ate lunch with Wolfgang Puck at his brasserie as a way of making fun of Kellie's admitted lack of culinary savvy. Finally, just before the results were announced, Hicks and McPhee performed "(I've Had) The Time of My Life". The chairman of TeleScope Inc., the company which manages the American Idol results, came at the end of the show with the result card.
[edit] Semi-Finals/Finals elimination chart
| Female | Male | Top 12 | Top 24 |
| Stage: | Semi-Finals | Finals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Week: | 2/23 | 3/2 | 3/9 | 3/15 | 3/22 | 3/29 | 4/5 | 4/12 | 4/19 | 4/26 | 5/3 | 5/10 | 5/17 | 5/24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place | Contestant | Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Taylor Hicks | Winner | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Katharine McPhee | Btm 2 | Top 2 | Btm 2 | Runner-Up | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Elliott Yamin | Btm 2 | Btm 3 | Btm 2 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Chris Daughtry | Btm 2 | Top 2 | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Paris Bennett | Btm 3 | Btm 3 | Btm 2 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Kellie Pickler | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Ace Young | Btm 3 | Btm 3 | Btm 3 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Bucky Covington | Btm 2 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Mandisa | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Lisa Tucker | Btm 2 | Btm 3 | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Kevin Covais | Btm 3 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Melissa McGhee | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13-16 | Gedeon McKinney | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13-16 | Ayla Brown | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13-16 | Will Makar | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13-16 | Kinnik Sky | Btm 3 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17-20 | José Penala | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17-20 | Heather Cox | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17-20 | David Radford | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17-20 | Brenna Gethers | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21-24 | Patrick Hall | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21-24 | Stevie Scott | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21-24 | Robert Bennett, Jr. | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21-24 | Becky O'Donohue | Elim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] Prediction websites
[edit] DialIdol
DialIdol is both the name of a computer program for Microsoft Windows and its associated website that began tracking contestants during Season 4 but sprang to prominence at the start of Season 5. The program allows users to automatically vote for the American Idol candidates of their choice using their PC's modem. The program then reports back to the main website, which keeps track of the results based on which contestant has the most busy signals. Based on the data received, the website then predicts which contestant will be eliminated. As of May 25, 2006 its predictions for Season 5 were 87% accurate. [3]
[edit] Zabasearch
This was the first season in which the free U.S. public service website, Zabasearch.com, started to openly present voting results (starting with the top 12 and onward) that it claims are from Cingular and American Idol. It has experienced controversy over the fact that its results change throughout the day until the results show.
[edit] Controversy
- In January 2006, twins Derrell and Terrell Brittenum were charged with forgery and theft after allegedly using a false identity to purchase a car. This occurred after the "Hollywood" portion of the show was filmed, and the twins were subsequently disqualified. [4]
- Simon Cowell said that he didn't like "last year's winner" as much as Kellie Pickler. He has since said that it was a heat of the moment thing, as Carrie had performed on the show the week before and was not very fond of the performance.
- In January 2006, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) expressed concern about the show's portrayal of some contestants: "The real offense here was in the producer's decision to add insult to injury by turning a contestant's gender expression into the butt of a joke." Damon Romine, Entertainment Media Director, on January 20. [5]
- In January 2006 The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, NAAFA accused the show of being discriminatory towards its fat contestants.
- In February 2006, it was discovered that José "Sway" Penala was reportedly signed to E-Real Records with his band 6th Day, at the time of his audition.
- Two rumors about finalist Katharine McPhee circulated during early March and throughout the season. The first was that she was quitting the show and wouldn't show up for the March 7th airing. The second was sparked by the loose fitting blouses she had been wearing, leading viewers to suspect she was pregnant. Katharine denied both rumors when interviewed by host Ryan Seacrest on the March 7th show. [6]
- During the March 28th show while Mandisa Hundley was singing, her name and phone number came up, but changed for a few seconds and showed Taylor Hicks' name and phone number. At the end of the show the numbers were right. [7]
- Mandisa Hundley was voted out after country week, whereby her rendition of "Any Man of Mine" was not well received as a good song choice. The reason behind her elimination was speculated to be her statement of 'This song goes out to everybody that wants to be free, your addiction, lifestyle and situation may be big, but God is bigger' before she sang her rendition of "Shackles (Praise You)" by Mary Mary. Many Americans speculated that the "lifestyle" stated was regarding the homosexual lifestyle, which she denied, clarifying that the lifestyle she was referring to was her lifestyle of addiction to food. Mandisa is a former employee of the Southern Baptist Convention, having joined the Convention in 2000 as a telephone sales representative for their LifeWay book division, and later in their women's enrichment events area, and later Beth Moore's Living Proof Live events. (Mrs. Moore's books are published by LifeWay.) [8]
- On the April 25th show, whose theme was Greatest Love Songs and featured guest coaches Andrea Bocelli and David Foster, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe forced contestant Taylor Hicks to change his song a day before air time (and the same day as the dress rehearsal). Hicks' chosen song was "Try a Little Tenderness," but Lythgoe, in a radio interview, claimed the song was more appropriate for a Blues Brothers week and was not a song that Andrea Bocelli would sing. Hicks changed his song at the last minute to "Just Once" (James Ingram) and appeared very uncomfortable on stage. Hicks fans were distressed, feeling that a) Hicks' original choice of song was very appropriate to the theme; b) The producers changed the song at the last minute even though they must have known Hicks' choice the previous week as they must obtain clearance for all songs; c) Lythgoe's statement that it was not a song Andrea Bocelli would sing was dubious, as other song choices that were approved were songs sung by Bryan Adams ("Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman," sung by Chris Daughtry) and Donny Hathaway ("A Song for You," sung by Elliott Yamin). [9]
- During the East Coast transmission of the May 2 show, Paris Bennett was bleeped while singing Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You" at the exact point where an obscenity appears in the lyrics. However, Fox confirmed that the song was not bleeped when it was broadcast on the West Coast. Forum posters on the West Coast said Bennett sang the radio edit of the song which excludes the obscenity, leaving viewers nationwide wondering why Bennett was precensored during the earlier live transmission. Paris was eliminated in the results show the day after.[10]
- Following Chris Daughtry's eliminaton, many Idol fans claimed calls they dialed to Daughtry's line during the first few minutes of voting were misdirected. According to them, the first of his two numbers was answered by a recording of Katharine McPhee (who was also in the bottom two that night) giving thanks for their vote rather than Daughtry. [1] Others reported similar behavior dialing other lines, such as dialing Elliott Yamin's line and hearing a recording of Daughtry giving thanks for their vote. [11]
[edit] After Idol
This is the first season that a majority of finalists have major label recording contracts after Idol. Of them - Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, and Kellie Pickler are distributed by Sony BMG Music Entertainment; Bucky Covington by Universal Music Group; and Mandisa by EMI. Two finalists have deals with independent labels - Paris Bennett and Ace Young. The remaining three finalists are unsigned - Lisa Tucker, Kevin Covais, and Melissa McGhee. Also, two semi-finalists have deals with independent labels - Ayla Brown and Patrick Hall.
[edit] Major releases
[edit] Compilations
| Cover | Artists | Information | Digital Downloads |
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Top 12 Finalists | Encores
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Alphabetical order by song title
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[edit] Singles
| Cover | Artist | Information |
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Taylor Hicks | Do I Make You Proud/Takin' It to the Streets |
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Katharine McPhee | Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny |
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Kellie Pickler | Red High Heels
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Chris Daughtry | It's Not Over
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Bucky Covington | A Different World
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Katharine McPhee | Over It
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Taylor Hicks | Just to Feel That Way
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Kellie Pickler | I Wonder
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[edit] Albums
| Cover | Artist | Information |
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Kellie Pickler | Small Town Girl
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Chris Daughtry | Daughtry
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Taylor Hicks | Taylor Hicks
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Katharine McPhee | Katharine McPhee
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Elliott Yamin | Elliott Yamin
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Bucky Covington | Bucky
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[edit] Minor & independent releases
| Cover | Artist | Information |
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Cory Sellers | (EP)
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Ayla Brown | Forward (LP)
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Paris Bennett | Princess P (LP) |
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Ace Young | Scattered (Digital Download)
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Elliott Yamin | This Christmas (Digital Download)
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Katharine McPhee | I Lost You/Dangerous (Wal-Mart)
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Patrick Hall | One For The Ages (LP)
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Josh Royse | He'll Say Love (EP)
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David Radford | Swing On By (LP)
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[edit] Trivia
- In the top 24, 1 contestant was from Texas, 1 was from Alabama, 1 was from Florida, 1 was from Illinois, 1 was from Massachusetts, 2 were from Tennessee, 2 were from Georgia, 3 were from New York, 4 were from North Carolina, 4 were from California, 2 were from Colorado, and 2 were from Virginia (one of them now lives in North Carolina). One state, Arkansas, was represented for the first time in the semi-finals.
- In the top 12, 1 contestant was from New York, 1 was from Alabama, 1 was from Florida, 1 was from Georgia, 1 was from Colorado, 1 was from Tennessee, 1 was from Virginia, 2 were from California, and 3 were from North Carolina.
- One day after Chris Daughtry performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on American Idol, the single shot up to the Top 10 download list on iTunes and stayed there for a number of days. When Fuel heard Daughtry sing it, they offered him the role of lead singer of their group should he be eliminated from the competition. Daughtry was eliminated on May 10, 2006, and the band re-issued the offer on Ryan Seacrest's radio show the next day.
- After elimination, Bucky Covington was spotted attending the Dodge Charger 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race in Darlington, South Carolina. Fox, which carried the race and airs Idol, noted Covington's presence on pit road and noted his credentials holder was an old North Carolina Motor Speedway credential holder. Covington is from the Rockingham, North Carolina area.
- The final two contestants Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee are the same ages as Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood were when they were the final two contestants in the previous season – 29 and 22.
- Katharine McPhee is only the second finalist to not be from the South (Justin Guarini, of Pennsylvania, was a finalist in the first season). Taylor is the fourth finalist and second winner from Alabama (Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks won Seasons 2 and 5, Diana Degarmo season 3 and Bo Bice finished second in Season 4).
- Taylor Hicks is the first male finalist to win opposite a female finalist (In Season 1 Kelly Clarkson emerged victorious over Justin Guarini, and in Season 4, Carrie Underwood won opposite Bo Bice).
- Ayla Brown cried when she was voted off, and Paris Bennett cried at each Top 12 elimination except her own.
- Judge Simon Cowell and winner Taylor Hicks share the same birthday—October 7.
- This is the first season in which the Final 2 have not sung one of the same songs in the Finale.
[edit] Awards
Season five won American Idol the number one television show of the year on Nielsen Ratings for the third consecutive year. In 2006, American Idol also became the most nominated unscripted show ever, and has several nominations in the 2006 Emmy Awards for Season 5: [12]
- Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
- Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety, Music Program or Special - Episode #519
- Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program - Bruce Gowers
- Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Large team entries - Primarily Multi-Camera Productions) - "Audition City: Greensboro"
- Outstanding Lighting Direction - "American Classics Songbook with Rod Stewart"
- Outstanding Lighting Direction - "Finale"
- Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or Special or Animation - "American Classics Songbook with Rod Stewart"
- Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series - Episode #530
[edit] References
- ^ Idol in Austin? Not quite
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20007868_20009350_2,00.html
- ^ Predictions for elimination of contestants
- ^ 'Idol' Twins Booted for Alleged ID Theft
- ^ Some Online Media Inaccurately Report GLAAD's Concerns About American Idol
- ^ Rumors Circulate That Katharine McPhee Quit American Idol
- ^ More American Idol Phone Number Madness, Wrong Number For Mandisa
- ^ Mandisa, off 'Idol,' says fans' prayers will have 'full force'
- ^ Lythgoe on the radio
- ^ American Idol: Will Bleep Controversy Send Paris Bennett Home?
- ^ Elliott's votes going to Chris on DI
- ^ Fox 2006 Emmy nominations
[edit] External links
- Official American Idol Contestants Website
- American Idol 5's Final Four endorsing Graceland tourism
- ECU student on "American Idol" Behind-the-scenes interview from The East Carolinian, from a student of East Carolina University who was a former contestant.
- American Idol Season 5 at the Open Directory Project (suggest site)
- American Idol Season Five Auto Mash-up
| Preceded by Season 4 (2005) |
American Idol Season 5 (2006) |
Succeeded by Season 6 (2007) |
| American Idol | |
|---|---|
| Seasons | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 |
| Hosts and judges | Ryan Seacrest · Randy Jackson · Paula Abdul · Simon Cowell · Brian Dunkleman |
| Winners | Kelly Clarkson · Ruben Studdard · Fantasia Barrino · Carrie Underwood · Taylor Hicks |
| Runners-up | Justin Guarini · Clay Aiken · Diana DeGarmo · Bo Bice · Katharine McPhee |
| Other notable alumni | Chris Daughtry · Jennifer Hudson · Josh Gracin · Kellie Pickler · Tamyra Gray · Kimberley Locke · William Hung · Elliott Yamin |
| Spin-offs | From Justin to Kelly · American Juniors · An American Idol Christmas · American Idol Extra · American Idol Rewind |
| Other | Idol Gives Back · American Idol Compilation Series · Controversy · American Idol Magazine · American Idol Underground · Font · Video game · List of spin-offs · List of episodes |
