What Goes On Behind The Scenes?
American Idol is one of the longest-running reality television shows, with many fans and casual viewers curious about what happens behind the scenes. Lucky for you, we’ve got the inside scoop.
Those Bad Singers Are Not Actors
While the bad singers are not paid actors, they are pre-selected by the producers to appear on television. Let’s face it, you want to watch bad singers get rejected just as much as you want to cheer on your favorites.
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There Is A Wardrobe Budget For Contestants
Finalists on American Idol are provided with a wardrobe budget for the finals. During season 3, contestants received $450 weekly to assemble their outfits. Let’s look at how that works.
All Their Clothes Have To Be Approved
Escorted by the show's stylist, contestants’ clothing choices had to be vetted to ensure they met Idol standards. Since season 3, the clothing budget has increased, allowing finalists to both sing their best and look great while doing it.
Michael Tanne, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contestant Feel Pressure When Picking Songs
Live performances on the show can be stressful because of limited song choices. The process of getting songs cleared contributes to the song list limitation. Each song must fit the week’s theme, and contestants are often asked to choose from a pre-selected list. With only a week to prepare, the pressure is high.
Real Reason We Don’t See Vote Totals
To maintain voter confidence, American Idol chooses not to reveal the vote totals for each contestant. This approach encourages continued audience participation and minimizes voter decline when fans know their favorite won’t make it.
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The Mystery Of Votes Stirs Up Drama
American Idol also keeps vote totals hidden to maintain some level of intrigue, which helps keep the audience engaged and rooting for their favorite.
Josh Hallett, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contestant Songs Need To Be Approved Before Performing
For songs to be performed on the show, a song must first be cleared due to copyright laws. This applies even to auditions, so if a contestant sings a song that hasn’t been cleared, their audition might not be aired.
Ryan Seacrest Almost Turned Down The Job Offer
Could you imagine American Idol without Ryan Seacrest? Seacrest initially turned down the offer to co-host with Brian Dunkleman, according to Mike Darnell, head of Fox’s reality TV division. Seacrest’s father, who was also his manager, didn’t think it was the right fit.
Do Contestants Make Any Money On The Show?
Many fans wonder if American Idol contestants make money from their performances on the show. After all, they’re on television, and some reality shows do pay participants. However, for Idol contestants, they are not getting paid to perform on the show.
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Contestants Only Make Money As Finalists
The only time Contestants make money is if they advance to the finals. At that point, they’re offered membership to SAG-AFTRA—the actors' union—and will need to start paying union dues. Then, they start earning an hourly wage for their time filming.
The Sacrifices Contestants Make To Be On The Show
As mentioned before, only finalists are offered an opportunity to make money on the show, so many contestants often struggle financially and must pinch every penny during their time on Idol. This means they must bear the brunt of costs both from home and at the filming location. Their lives are dedicated to the show and the possibility of winning.
Contestants’ Families Also Make Financial Sacrifices To Support Them
Even contestants’ families must absorb costs like flying to see them perform and pay out of pocket for hotel stays. That’s not to mention the cost of food during the trip—it all adds up.
Fans Couldn’t Get Enough Of Simon Cowell
Throughout season 1, Simon Cowell’s brash critiques of contestants made television history, dominating ratings with his off-the-wall commentary. Fans loved it, and Cowell became a television icon and standard of the mean judge persona.
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Simon Cowell Needed Security For The Show
Some rejected auditioners didn’t take kindly to Cowell’s ratings of their performance and tried to intimidate the judge. Producers needed to hire a security detail to maintain a safe working environment.
Jennifer Lopez’s Contract Pushback
Jennifer Lopez was approached for a judging position on American Idol for season 10, but her agents were not having it.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Flickr
Jennifer Lopez’s Contract Pushback
Deemed a career nosedive by her agents, they thought the position would tank her movie and music career. Show producer Darnell persuaded Lopez with promises that her presence on the show would increase her music profile.
Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images
Jennifer Lopez’s Contract Pushback
None of these predictions came true. Her music career remained about the same from when she started the show to when she ended her time on Idol. After she was hired, some people called the show, alleging she was a diva, but Darnell claimed that wasn’t true, stating she was the “most professional, wonderful person I’ve worked with in the business”.
Alberto E. Rodriguez, Getty Images
American Idol’s Name Origin Story
What’s in a name? At the time of creating the American Idol series, they needed to differentiate themselves from the British version of Pop Idol. Sandy Grushow, who oversaw studio production from 1999 to 2004, noted that another show called Popstars was running on WB and failing in ratings.
American Idol’s Name Origin Story
Anxious about confusion over the title, Grushow said he “doesn’t recall” who came up with the name American Idol, but when he heard it, he knew they struck gold—and thankfully it didn’t include the word “pop”.
Mariah Carey And Nicki Minaj Had Beef On The Show
During season 12, tensions escalated between the two judges. Rumors of their mutually dislike were confirmed when a leaked video of the two appeared online. According to show producer Darnell, the face-off between the two divas was “raw and real”.
Mauricio Santana, Getty Images
Mariah Carey And Nicki Minaj Had Beef On The Show
After the video was released, people assumed it was Nicki Minaj who initiated trouble because she was having issues with other celebrities. Darnell disagreed and pointed to Carey as starting the feud. Show director Nigel Lythgoe agreed and said “Nicki was not the problem….There are tapes buried in chainsaw”.
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Simon Cowell Couldn’t Commit To A Multi-Year Deal
Cowell had reservations about signing his contract when Idol first started. At the time, it was impossible to know if the American version of the U.K.’s Pop Idol had any legs in the American market.
Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images
Simon Cowell Couldn’t Commit To A Multi-Year Deal
Cowell’s representatives sensed this. Represented by Alan Berger at CAA and his lawyer Sam Fischer at Ziffren-Brittenham, Cowell refused to sign for more than one year. Despite Grushow pleading with Cowell to reconsider, he stood his ground and rejected the deal.
Segments Are Not As Quick As They Appear
When watching the fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled Idol outcomes, it’s easy to think that what you are watching is a . What the viewer sees is the final product of a professionally edited video with sound bites pieced together to create a seamless episode. Hats off to the editing team!
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Some Contestants Find Romance On The Show
It’s no surprise that contestants end up dating each other during and after the show. Since they are young and have similar goals in life, it’s only natural for these relationships to happen. Some notable relationships are Caleb Lee Hutchinson and Maddie Poppe, Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner, and of course the infamous Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini.
Rehearsals Are On The Weekends
It was mentioned before how dedicated contestants are to the show, and this includes working on the weekends. If you like to sleep in on Saturdays, this may not be the show for you to audition for.
Rehearsals Are On The Weekends
With intense rehearsals on both Saturday and Sunday, contestants are also required to rehearse for three hours for day-of performances, train with vocal coaches, and get their outfits tailored. Now that’s dedication.
When Contestants Want To Sing The Same Songs
Contestants choose from a batch of 50 pre-selected songs, so sometimes singers select the same one. To determine who gets the song, a hat draw decides the winner, while the loser must go back to the drawing board.
The Illusion Of A Large Crowd
We mentioned how the editing team can make video magic happen—and so can a clever set design. According to in-house musical mentor Bobby Bones, much goes into giving the viewer the illusion of a big audience.
The Illusion Of A Large Crowd
Since the stage is massive, the audience can be packed closer to the front, giving the illusion of a large crowd. The judges are also quite close to the singers, adding to their stage anxiety. That’s where Bones comes to the rescue, helping to calm the contestants’ nerves.
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Many Auditions Don’t Make It To Television
Hold off before telling your friends and family to tune in to watch your Idol audition—it may not be televised. With so many contestants, it can be difficult to get everyone equal airtime.
Many Auditions Don’t Make It To Television
Contestants audition with the hopes of being televised, as a broadcast can lead to a larger fanbase. However, if your audition isn’t aired, your future Idol career solely rests in the hands of the judges.
How Ryan Seacrest Always Remembers Contestant Names
Remember on season 13 when judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick, Jr. couldn’t pronounce contestant Jenna Irene’s first name? Ryan Seacrest had no issues pronouncing “Gee-na” since the teleprompter spelled her name as Gina instead of Jenna. Thankfully, Jenna was a good sport about the whole thing and appreciated her name being pronounced correctly on the show.
Some Fans Can Go Overboard About Contestants
Fans from all over North America tune in to watch their Idol favorites, and a few fans create special, one-sided relationships with contestants. Season 13’s Sam Woolf encountered a weird superfan who glued a picture of herself with her tongue sticking out onto a picture of his face. Producers screened one of her letters and threw it away because it was too creepy.
Rehearsal Time With The Band Doesn’t Always Happen
The hustle and bustle of performance time on Idol should not be underestimated, and sometimes contestants and band members only play together during live performances. Dexter Roberts, a seventh-place finalist in season 13, was under the impression the band would be with him throughout practice sessions—only to find himself alone on stage in rehearsals.
Secret Affairs Between Staff And Contestants
During a Washington Post interview, Clay Aiken revealed: “There were a few affairs between our contestants and people who worked on the show”. Aiken himself was in a relationship with a staffer at the time, so his behind-the-scenes intel was spot on.
Clay Aiken’s First Boyfriend Was An American Idol Staffer
It was quite a process for Clay Aiken to figure out he was gay, and he didn’t come out publicly until 2008. He credits the Idol staffer he was secretly dating at the time, who helped him tap into his identity— Aiken says he never realized this about himself before that relationship.
Ryan Seacrest And Brian Dunkleman’s Strained Relationship
Season 1 of American Idol featured two hosts—Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman—who couldn’t get along. Their strained working relationship was so intense that Dunkleman never returned for the second season—this saved him from being fired for his bad performance on the show.
Ryan Seacrest And Brian Dunkleman Reunite
When Dunkleman made an appearance on season 15 of Idol, he and Seacrest had made amends. Dunkleman visited Seacrest in his dressing room before rehearsal and apologized for his poor form, wishing things could have been better. Dunkleman commended Seacrest for his commitment to the role and for doing such a great job.
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