American Idol season 4
The fourth season of American Idol premiered on January 18, 2005, and continued until May 25, 2005. It was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell returned as judges. Carrie Underwood won the season with approximately 500 million votes cast in the season and 37 million for the finale, while Bo Bice was the runner-up. Underwood since became an eight-time Grammy-winning country megastar. It was also the first season of the series to be aired in high definition.
Changes from previous seasons
This was the first season where guest judges were invited to participate in the auditions.- Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, Washington, D.C. auditions
- Gene Simmons of Kiss, New Orleans auditions
- Kenny Loggins, Las Vegas auditions
- LL Cool J, Cleveland auditions
- Brandy, San Francisco auditions
This was also the first season with the age limit being raised to 28. Among those who benefited from this new rule were Constantine Maroulis, Bo Bice, Scott Savol, and Nadia Turner.
Regional auditions
Auditions for the fourth season began on August 4, 2004, in Cleveland, Ohio. An audition was originally planned for Anchorage, Alaska, but that was canceled due to a possible schedule conflict as a result of hurricanes affecting the Orlando auditions.Hollywood week
There were 193 contestants in the Hollywood rounds. They were split into two groups and performed on separate days at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The contestants first chose from a list of twelve songs selected by the producers. They were separated into groups of males and females, but they performed solo with piano accompaniment and back-up singers. Ninety-five contestants were eliminated after this round. The remaining 97 contestants competed in the second round which featured group performances. The songs for the groups were the Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," The Temptations' "Get Ready," Barry Manilow's "Jump Shout Boogie," The Marvelettes's "Please Mr. Postman," and The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go." 75 remained after this round.In the last round, they performed a cappella. After their performances, the contestants were divided into four groups in separate rooms. Two groups were eliminated and the number of contestants was cut to 44. After further deliberation by the judges, 24 semifinalists–12 men and 12 women–were selected. At the Pasadena Civic Center, each contestant took the elevator from their holding room to the floor above to see the judges, who then revealed their fate.
Semifinals
The rules for this season's semifinal round were changed so as to result in an equal number of male and female finalists. Twelve men and twelve women competed separately on consecutive nights, with two from each group being voted off each week until twelve finalists were left: six men and six women.Color key:
Top 24 (February 21 and 22)
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.Top 20 (February 28 and March 1)Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
|