American Idol season 5


The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006, and concluded on May 24, 2006. Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, and Randy Jackson returned as judges, while Ryan Seacrest returned as host. Taylor Hicks was named the winner, while Katharine McPhee was the runner-up. 18 contestants got record deals – nine of them with major labels.

Regional auditions

Auditions were held in seven cities in the summer and fall of 2005. An audition was originally planned for Memphis, Tennessee, but that was canceled due to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort that was taking place there, and replaced by Las Vegas, Nevada, and Greensboro, North Carolina.
One notable audition this season was Paula Goodspeed, a fervent fan of Paula Abdul, who auditioned in Austin. In 2008, Goodspeed made headlines when she committed suicide outside Abdul's home. Abdul later claimed that she had objected beforehand to Goodspeed being at the audition because she knew Goodspeed and had been frightened by her past behavior, but the producers overrode her objection. Producers Ken Warwick and Nigel Lythgoe denied being aware of her fears or that they would put her in danger.

Hollywood week

The Hollywood semifinal rounds were held at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles and consisted of 175 contestants. The first round of semifinals consisted of a solo a cappella performance with each contestant choosing one song from a list of twelve that were given to each contestant two weeks in advance. Those who did not impress the judges were sent home the following day. After this round, the contestants were separated into four groups, with three groups going through. In the Pasadena Civic Center, each were individually taken to the judges' station where they learned whether they would proceed or not. Twenty were cut and the final twenty-four were selected.

Semifinals

The semifinals began on February 21, 2006, with the names announced on February 15, 2006. Starting with twelve women and twelve men, the women and the men performed weekly on separate shows, and on the results show, the bottom two women and bottom two men were eliminated each week. The semifinals took place over three weeks, resulting in six women and six men making up the top 12.
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Top 24 (February 21 & 22)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 20 (February 28 & March 1)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 16 (March 7 & 8)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 12 finalists

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Top 12 – Stevie Wonder (March 15)

served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed one song from his discography and are listed in the order they performed.
ContestantStevie Wonder songResult
Ace Young"Do I Do"Bottom three
Kellie Pickler"Blame It on the Sun"Safe
Elliott Yamin"Knocks Me Off My Feet"Safe
Mandisa"Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing"Safe
Bucky Covington"Superstition"Safe
Melissa McGhee"Lately"Eliminated
Lisa Tucker"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"Bottom two
Kevin Covais"Part-Time Lover"Safe
Katharine McPhee"Until You [Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)]"Safe
Taylor Hicks"Living for the City"Safe
Paris Bennett"All I Do"Safe
Chris Daughtry"Higher Ground"Safe

Top 11 – Music from the 1950s (March 22)

served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
ContestantSongResult
Mandisa"I Don't Hurt Anymore"Safe
Bucky Covington"Oh, Boy!"Bottom two
Paris Bennett"Fever"Safe
Chris Daughtry"I Walk the Line"Safe
Katharine McPhee"Come Rain or Come Shine"Safe
Taylor Hicks"Not Fade Away"Safe
Lisa Tucker"Why Do [Fools Fall in Love (song)|Why Do Fools Fall in Love?]"Bottom three
Kevin Covais"When I Fall in Love"Eliminated
Elliott Yamin"Teach Me Tonight"Safe
Kellie Pickler"Walkin' After Midnight"Safe
Ace Young"In the [Still of the Night (The Five Satins song)|In the Still of the Night]"Safe

Top 10 – Music from the 2000s (March 29)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
ContestantSongResult
Lisa Tucker"Because of You"Eliminated
Kellie Pickler"Suds in the Bucket"Safe
Ace Young"Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)"Bottom three
Taylor Hicks"Trouble"Safe
Mandisa"Shackles (Praise You)"Safe
Chris Daughtry"What If"Safe
Katharine McPhee"The Voice Within"Bottom two
Bucky Covington"Real Good Man"Safe
Paris Bennett"Work It Out"Safe
Elliott Yamin"I Don't Want to Be"Safe

Top 9 – Country music (April 5)

served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
ContestantCountry songResult
Taylor Hicks"Home, Country Roads">Home (Michael Bublé song)">Home, Country Roads"Safe
Mandisa"Any Man of Mine"Eliminated
Elliott Yamin"If Tomorrow Never Comes"Bottom two
Paris Bennett"How Do I Live"Bottom three
Ace Young"Tonight I Wanna Cry"Safe
Kellie Pickler"Fancy"Safe
Chris Daughtry"Making Memories of Us"Safe
Katharine McPhee"Bringing Out the Elvis in Me"Safe
Bucky Covington"Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)"Safe

Top 8 – Queen (April 12)

Queen band members Brian May and Roger Taylor served as guest mentors for this week. Contestants performed one song from the Queen discography and are listed in the order they performed.
ContestantQueen songResult
Bucky Covington"Fat Bottomed Girls"Eliminated
Ace Young"We Will Rock You"Bottom three
Kellie Pickler"Bohemian Rhapsody"Safe
Chris Daughtry"Innuendo"Safe
Katharine McPhee"Who Wants to Live Forever"Safe
Elliott Yamin"Somebody to Love"Bottom three
Taylor Hicks"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"Safe
Paris Bennett"The [Show Must Go On (Queen song)|The Show Must Go On]"Safe

Top 7 – Great American Songbook (April 19)

served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed one song from the Great American Songbook and are listed in the order they performed.
ContestantSongResult
Chris Daughtry"What a Wonderful World"Bottom two
Paris Bennett"These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)"Bottom three
Taylor Hicks"You Send Me"Safe
Elliott Yamin"It Had to Be You"Safe
Kellie Pickler"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"Safe
Ace Young"That's All"Eliminated
Katharine McPhee"Someone to Watch Over Me"Safe

Top 6 – Love songs (April 26)

and David Foster served as guest mentors this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
ContestantSongResult
Katharine McPhee"I Have Nothing"Top two
Elliott Yamin"A Song for You"Safe
Kellie Pickler"Unchained Melody"Eliminated
Paris Bennett"The Way We Were"Bottom two
Taylor Hicks"Just Once"Safe
Chris Daughtry"Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?"Top two

Top 5 – Contestants' birth year & Current ''Billboard'' top 10 (May 3)

Contestants each performed two songs: one from the year they were born, and one from the current Billboard top 10 list. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
ContestantOrderSongBirth yearResult
Elliott Yamin1"On Broadway"1978Bottom two
Elliott Yamin6"Home"1978Bottom two
Paris Bennett2"Kiss"1988Eliminated
Paris Bennett7"Be Without You"1988Eliminated
Chris Daughtry3"Renegade"1979Safe
Chris Daughtry8"I Dare You"1979Safe
Katharine McPhee4"Against All Odds (Take a [Look at Me Now)]"1984Safe
Katharine McPhee9"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"1984Safe
Taylor Hicks5"Play That Funky Music"1976Safe
Taylor Hicks10"Something"1976Safe

Top 4 – Elvis Presley (May 10)

served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants each performed two songs from the Elvis Presley discography and are listed in the order they performed.
ContestantOrderElvis Presley songResult
Taylor Hicks1"Jailhouse Rock"Safe
Taylor Hicks5"In the Ghetto"Safe
Chris Daughtry2"Suspicious Minds"Eliminated
Chris Daughtry6"A Little Less Conversation"Eliminated
Elliott Yamin3"If I Can Dream"Safe
Elliott Yamin7"Trouble"Safe
Katharine McPhee4"Hound Dog" & "All Shook Up"Bottom two
Katharine McPhee8"Can't Help Falling in Love"Bottom two

Top 3 (May 17)

Each contestant performed three songs: one chosen by Clive Davis, one chosen by one of the judges, and one chosen by themselves. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
ContestantOrderSongResult
Elliott Yamin1"Open Arms"Eliminated
Elliott Yamin4"What You Won't [Do for Love (song)|What You Won't Do for Love]"Eliminated
Elliott Yamin7"I Believe to My Soul"Eliminated
Katharine McPhee2"I Believe I Can Fly"Safe
Katharine McPhee5"Over the Rainbow"Safe
Katharine McPhee8"I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues"Safe
Taylor Hicks3"Dancing in the Dark"Safe
Taylor Hicks6"You Are So Beautiful"Safe
Taylor Hicks9"Try a Little Tenderness"Safe

Top 2 – Finale (May 24)

Each contestant performed three songs, and contestants are listed in the order they performed.
ContestantOrderSongResult
Katharine McPhee1"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"Runner-up
Katharine McPhee3"Over the Rainbow"Runner-up
Katharine McPhee5"My Destiny"Runner-up
Taylor Hicks2"Living for the City"Winner
Taylor Hicks4"Levon"Winner
Taylor Hicks6"Do I Make You Proud"Winner

Elimination chart

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Controversies

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.
On the April 25 show, the theme of which was Greatest Love Songs and featured guest mentors Andrea Bocelli and David Foster, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe forced contestant Taylor Hicks to change his song a day before airtime. 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" and appeared very uncomfortable on stage. Hicks' fans were distressed, feeling that Hicks' original choice of song was very appropriate to the theme and the producers changed the song at the last minute even though they must have known Hicks' choice the previous week. They also felt that 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 and Donny Hathaway.

U.S. Nielsen ratings

American Idol was the top-rated show for the 2005–06 TV season and occupied the top two positions. The number of viewers for its Tuesday episodes averaged 31.17 million and for the Wednesday episodes 30.16 million. It is still the most-watched of all seasons with an overall average number of viewers of 30.6 million per episode. Its 17.6 household share for the season average still ranks as the highest household share rating for any season-topping series on 21st-century U.S. television.
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Post ''Idol''

This was the first season where a majority of finalists had major label recording contracts after American Idol. Of them, Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, and Kellie Pickler were distributed by Sony BMG Music Entertainment; Bucky Covington by Universal Music Group; and Ace Young and Mandisa by EMI.
Taylor Hicks' first post-Idol single, "Do I Make You Proud," debuted at number one and was certified gold. Hicks' album, Taylor Hicks, sold 703,000 copies. He later parted with Arista Records. His follow-up album, "The Distance," was released March 10, 2009, on his own label, Modern Whomp Records.
The contestant with the most commercial success was Chris Daughtry, now lead singer of the band Daughtry. Their eponymous debut album sold over 5 million copies, surpassing the two-album totals of former winners Ruben Studdard and Fantasia, and produced two top-ten singles. The album, which spent two weeks at number one in the U.S., was also the fastest-selling debut rock album in Soundscan history.
Katharine McPhee's debut album sold 374,000 copies and she had two Top 40 Billboard hits. Kellie Pickler's Small Town Girl reached number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and was certified gold, selling over 815,000 copies. Elliott Yamin's eponymous debut album was certified gold and produced a platinum-selling single. Bucky Covington's self-titled debut album sold over 400,000 copies and generated a top 20 and two top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Mandisa became the most recent finalist from American Idol as of to win a Grammy Award, after earning a nomination for True Beauty for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album in 2007 and winning for Overcomer for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album in 2014.

Music releases

The compilation album for this season was performed by the top twelve finalists.
InformationDigital Downloads
American Idol Season 5: Encores
  • Released: May 23, 2006
  • Label: RCA Records
  • Chart Positions: – 3
  • RIAA Certification: – Gold
  • U.S. sales: – 381,075
Alphabetical order by song title
  • "Father Figure"
  • "Midnight Train to Georgia"
  • "Moody's Mood for Love"
  • "Takin' It to the Streets"
  • "Think"
  • "Wanted Dead or Alive"

    Emmy nominations

  • In 2006, American Idol received several nominations in the 2006 Emmy Awards for season five:
    • 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 – "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

      Tour

    • American Idols Live! Tour 2006