American Idol (season 6)
The sixth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host. A new record of 74 million votes were cast in the finale round, and a new record of 609 million votes were cast in the entire season. Jordin Sparks won the competition with Blake Lewis as the first runner-up and Melinda Doolittle finishing third. Jordin Sparks is also the youngest winner of the competition, winning at age 17, as well as the first winner from outside the Southern United States. Sparks remained the last female winner until the twelfth season.
Regional auditions
The Auditions were held in the following cities:Auditioning contestants were required to be between the ages 16 and 28 on August 6, 2006. Guest judges were used for audition this season.
Guest judges –
Jewel – Minneapolis audition
Carole Bayer Sager – New York audition
Olivia Newton-John – Los Angeles audition
Many of the people who auditioned had trouble with the double doors, with many often going towards the wrong door on their way out; this was spoofed by Idol later in the season with "audition footage" featuring Tony Bennett. This did not seem to be a problem for the seventh season as both doors were accessible.
An elderly man named Sherman Pore auditioned in Los Angeles this year after a successful petition drive to convince the producers to waive the age-limit rule so he can audition. He explained that he did it to ease the pain and suffering of his female companion who was dying of cancer, but had died shortly before he can audition before the judges. He later released an album for the benefit of cancer research. Another contestant that year was Melissa Sgambelluri, also known as "Fountain girl" for her appearance in the promo and opening sequence celebrating in a fountain after winning her golden ticket.
Jordin Sparks, the eventual winner this season, failed to pass through her audition in Los Angeles, but later won an audition in Seattle as a reward for winning a local Fox-affiliate-sponsored contest called Arizona Idol.
Hollywood week
The Hollywood rounds of the audition process were held over four days in November 2006 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a capella of their own choosing in front of the judges and all the other contestants of the same gender. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home, in groups of six. This extended over the first two days, first females, then males.
The second round took place on the second and third day, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants choosing, rehearsing, and then performing one of nine pre-selected songs. Groups were reviewed and contestants were then judged individually as to whether they were moving on or going home.
The third round took place on the fourth day, and consisted of individual contestants performing a song from a pre-selected list, accompanied by a piano and backup singers. Contestants were again informed of whether they had made the cut or not.
Green mile
The final pre-audience voting cut down took place at the Pasadena Civic Center on January 14 or 15, 2007, just before the regional audition shows began airing. Without any further auditioning, but possibly with some audience research having taken place, the 40 remaining contestants were reduced to 24. In a process taking a whole day, contestants wait in a sitting room until one by one, they go up an elevator and take a long walk to the other end of the Center's Gold Room. Then the three judges told them whether they have made it onto the stage show or are cut. Those cut at this phase included the "fountain girl" in the opening credits, Melissa Sgambelluri.The 24 semi-finalists were announced February 14, 2007.
Semi-finals
The semi-finals began on February 20. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals. The February 20 through May 16 shows originated from CBS Television City in Hollywood.The semi-finals featured the contestants divided by gender with the 12 male singers singing on Tuesdays and the 12 female singers on Wednesdays. Each person had the chance to select a song to sing live in front of the judges. Following the show's airing, each U.S. time zone would have two hours to vote by phone or by text-messaging. On Thursday, the two of each group with the fewest votes were eliminated each week until the finals.
Semi-finalists
Females- Sabrina Sloan is originally from Mission Viejo, California but now calls Studio City, California her home. Sloan toured the United States as part of the Broadway musical Hairspray under her maiden name, Sabrina Scherff. She earned her bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in Musical Theatre and Communication Studies. She was later signed to a recording contract with Universal Music Group, as part of a duet with Sundance Head. She was also part of the First National Tour cast with another Broadway musical, In The Heights.
- Antonella Barba auditioned with her best friend Amanda Coluccio and made it to Hollywood. An undergraduate at The Catholic University of America, she is originally from Point Pleasant, New Jersey. She made it to Round 3 with Coluccio and both passed the group round. Coluccio was eliminated in the cut for the top 40. While Barba appeared on the show, racy photographs of her emerged, including photographs of Barba topless along with other women on a beach. A full segment concerning the controversy on multiple episodes of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Photos of Barba posing in a wet T-shirt in the fountain of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. also surfaced; however, Barba's friend Coluccio has stated that the sexually explicit photos were fake. Barba is currently a non-partisan spokesperson for ElectionMall's Voter Space.
- Leslie Hunt is from Chicago, who was featured in an American Idol commercial before Season 6 started. She is a self-described indie rocker. She suffers from the autoimmune disease lupus. She is currently the lead singer for progressive rock band District 97.
- Alaina Alexander auditioned in Los Angeles. She is from West Hollywood, California. Before her American Idol 6 audition, Alexander revealed that after struggling for six years to make it in the music business in Los Angeles she had decided she was not going to sing anymore and had decided to go to college instead. She considered American Idol to be her last chance to pursue a singing career. For her Los Angeles audition, Alexander sang "Feeling Good" by Michael Bublé.
- Nicole Tranquillo is from Wernersville, Pennsylvania. She gained a vocal major at the University of the Arts. She auditioned in Memphis.
- Amy Krebs is from Federal Way, Washington. She is fluent in German. She auditioned in Seattle.
- Jason "Sundance" Head auditioned in Memphis and lives in Porter, Texas. He is the son of Roy Head, who had a number-two single with "Treat Her Right" in 1965; the song was second on the charts to The Beatles, which Jason said made his dad dislike them. He sang the classic hit "Stormy Monday." He later became a contestant on NBC's eleventh season of The Voice and won the competition as a member of Team Blake.
- Jared Cotter is from Kew Gardens, New York and attended Newfield High School. He auditioned in New York City. Cotter played basketball in college, but quit to start his music career. His rendition of "Let's Get It On" dedicated to his parents was named one of VH1's most memorable reality moments. Cotter also worked with singer-songwriter Jay Sean, featuring in the album My Own Way and co-writing the Billboard number one song "Down".
- Adrian Joseph "A.J." Tabaldo auditioned in Los Angeles and is from Santa Maria, California. Tabaldo is half-Filipino and half-Portuguese, and auditioned for American Idol five times.
- Nicholas "Nick" Pedro auditioned in New York and is from Taunton, Massachusetts. Pedro dropped out of the competition the previous season after forgetting the lyrics of "Buttercup" in Hollywood. This audition, he gave a soulful rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" which earned him a second chance to fulfill his Idol aspirations. Nick's feat seemed especially noteworthy as, unlike all other contestants making it this far, Nick received no experience ever onstage prior to Idol.
- Rudy Cardenas auditioned in Seattle and is from North Hollywood, California. Originally from Venezuela, he is part of a Los Angeles-based band called M-Pact. In his audition, he sang Journey rock classic "Open Arms". Although Simon was unimpressed with his singing, Rudy made it to Hollywood with the support of the other two judges. In Hollywood, he sang "How Deep Is Your Love" together with Chris Sligh, Blake Lewis, and Tom Lowe in group round. The judges were impressed by their vocals.
- Paul Kim auditioned in Los Angeles. He is from Saratoga, California, and attended Monta Vista High School. Kim, being Korean-American, his motivation for auditioning was to alter the stereotypical Asian image that William Hung gave during the previous seasons. His performance received unanimous praise from the judges as Randy mentioned that Kim has one of the best male vocals he has heard this season. In contrast to their early praise, the judges mentioned when they put him through that Paul made it to the top 24 by "a split decision". He sang barefoot during all of his performances. He is also known as P. Keys.
Top 24
| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Stephanie Edwards | "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" | Safe |
| 2 | Amy Krebs | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Eliminated |
| 3 | Leslie Hunt | " A Natural Woman" | Safe |
| 4 | Sabrina Sloan | "I Never Loved a Man " | Safe |
| 5 | Antonella Barba | "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" | Safe |
| 6 | Jordin Sparks | "Give Me One Reason" | Safe |
| 7 | Nicole Tranquillo | "Stay" | Eliminated |
| 8 | Haley Scarnato | "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" | Safe |
| 9 | Melinda Doolittle | " Since You've Been Gone" | Safe |
| 10 | Alaina Alexander | "Brass in Pocket" | Safe |
| 11 | Gina Glocksen | "All by Myself" | Safe |
| 12 | Lakisha Jones | "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" | Safe |
Males
| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Rudy Cardenas | "Free Ride" | Eliminated |
| 2 | Brandon Rogers | "Rock with You" | Safe |
| 3 | Sundance Head | "Nights in White Satin" | Safe |
| 4 | Paul Kim | "Careless Whisper" | Eliminated |
| 5 | Chris Richardson | "I Don't Want to Be" | Safe |
| 6 | Nick Pedro | "Now and Forever" | Safe |
| 7 | Blake Lewis | "Somewhere Only We Know" | Safe |
| 8 | Sanjaya Malakar | "Knocks Me Off My Feet" | Safe |
| 9 | Chris Sligh | "Typical" | Safe |
| 10 | Jared Cotter | "Back at One" | Safe |
| 11 | Aj Tabaldo | "Never Too Much" | Safe |
| 12 | Phil Stacey | "I Could Not Ask for More" | Safe |
Group Performance: Sowing the Seeds of Love"
Guest Performance: Fantasia: "I'm Here" from The Color Purple.
Top 20
Females| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Gina Glocksen | "Alone" | Safe |
| 2 | Alaina Alexander | "Not Ready to Make Nice" | Eliminated |
| 3 | LaKisha Jones | "Midnight Train to Georgia" | Safe |
| 4 | Melinda Doolittle | "My Funny Valentine" | Safe |
| 5 | Antonella Barba | "Because You Loved Me" | Safe |
| 6 | Jordin Sparks | "Reflection" | Safe |
| 7 | Stephanie Edwards | "Dangerously in Love" | Safe |
| 8 | Leslie Hunt | "Feeling Good" | Eliminated |
| 9 | Haley Scarnato | "Queen of the Night" | Safe |
| 10 | Sabrina Sloan | "All the Man That I Need" | Safe |
Males
| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Phil Stacey | "Missing You" | Safe |
| 2 | Jared Cotter | "Let's Get It On" | Safe |
| 3 | AJ Tabaldo | "Feeling Good" | Eliminated |
| 4 | Sanjaya Malakar | "Steppin' Out with My Baby" | Safe |
| 5 | Chris Sligh | "Trouble" | Safe |
| 6 | Nick Pedro | "Fever" | Eliminated |
| 7 | Blake Lewis | "Virtual Insanity" | Safe |
| 8 | Brandon Rogers | "Time After Time" | Safe |
| 9 | Chris Richardson | "Geek in the Pink" | Safe |
| 10 | Sundance Head | "Mustang Sally" | Safe |
Group Performances: "Joy to the World"
Guest Performance: Kellie Pickler: "I Wonder"
Top 16
Females| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Jordin Sparks | "Heartbreaker" | Safe |
| 2 | Sabrina Sloan | "Don't Let Go " | Eliminated |
| 3 | Antonella Barba | "Put Your Records On" | Eliminated |
| 4 | Haley Scarnato | "If My Heart Had Wings" | Safe |
| 5 | Stephanie Edwards | "Sweet Thing" | Safe |
| 6 | Lakisha Jones | "I Have Nothing" | Safe |
| 7 | Gina Glocksen | "Call Me When You're Sober" | Safe |
| 8 | Melinda Doolittle | "I'm a Woman" | Safe |
Males
| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Blake Lewis | "All Mixed Up" | Safe |
| 2 | Sanjaya Malakar | "Waiting on the World to Change" | Safe |
| 3 | Sundance Head | "Jeremy" | Eliminated |
| 4 | Jared Cotter | "If You Really Love Me" | Eliminated |
| 5 | Chris Richardson | "Tonight I Wanna Cry" | Safe |
| 6 | Brandon Rogers | "I Just Want to Celebrate" | Safe |
| 7 | Phil Stacey | "I Need You" | Safe |
| 8 | Chris Sligh | "Wanna Be Loved" | Safe |
Group Performance: Stealers Wheel: "Stuck in the Middle with You"
Guest Performance: Carrie Underwood: "Wasted"
Finals
Finalists
The 12 finalists were announced on March 8, 2007. As in past years, the top 12 will appear on the annual compilation album while the top 10 will be the participants in the American Idol summer concert tour. Also as in past years, one finalist was eliminated every week, with the exception of the April 25 show, when all contestants were declared safe. As a result, two of the participants were eliminated on the May 2, 2007 results program.The following is first in reverse chronological order by elimination date, then in alphabetical order by family name, where applicable.
Top 12 – Diana Ross
Mentor: Diana Ross| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Brandon Rogers | "You Can't Hurry Love" | Eliminated |
| 2 | Melinda Doolittle | "Home" | Safe |
| 3 | Chris Sligh | "Endless Love" | Safe |
| 4 | Gina Glocksen | "Love Child" | Safe |
| 5 | Sanjaya Malakar | "Aint No Mountain High Enough" | Bottom 2 |
| 6 | Haley Scarnato | "Missing You" | Safe |
| 7 | Phil Stacey | "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" | Bottom 3 |
| 8 | Lakisha Jones | "God Bless the Child" | Safe |
| 9 | Blake Lewis | "You Keep Me Hanging On" | Safe |
| 10 | Stephanie Edwards | "Love Hangover" | Safe |
| 11 | Chris Richardson | "The Boss" | Safe |
| 12 | Jordin Sparks | "If We Hold On Together" | Safe |
Group Performance: "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love" and "Stop! In The Name of Love"
Guest Performance: Diana Ross: "More Today Than Yesterday"
Top 11 – British Invasion
Mentors: Peter Noone and Lulu| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Haley Scarnato | "Tell Him" | Safe |
| 2 | Chris Richardson | "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" | Bottom 2 |
| 3 | Stephanie Edwards | "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" | Eliminated |
| 4 | Blake Lewis | "Time of the Season" | Safe |
| 5 | Lakisha Jones | "Diamonds Are Forever" | Safe |
| 6 | Phil Stacey | "Tobacco Road" | Safe |
| 7 | Jordin Sparks | "I " | Safe |
| 8 | Sanjaya Malakar | "You Really Got Me" | Safe |
| 9 | Gina Glocksen | "Paint It Black" | Safe |
| 10 | Chris Sligh | "She's Not There" | Safe |
| 11 | Melinda Doolittle | "As Long As He Needs Me" | Safe |
Guest Performances: Peter Noone: "There's a Kind of Hush" and Lulu: "To Sir, With Love"
Top 10 – No Doubt/Songs That Inspired Gwen Stefani
Mentor: Gwen Stefani| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Lakisha Jones | "Last Dance" | Safe |
| 2 | Chris Sligh | "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" | Eliminated |
| 3 | Gina Glocksen | "I'll Stand by You" | Safe |
| 4 | Sanjaya Malakar | "Bathwater" | Safe |
| 5 | Haley Scarnato | "True Colors" | Bottom 2 |
| 6 | Phil Stacey | "Every Breath You Take" | Bottom 3 |
| 7 | Melinda Doolittle | "Heaven Knows" | Safe |
| 8 | Blake Lewis | "Lovesong" | Safe |
| 9 | Jordin Sparks | "Hey Baby" | Safe |
| 10 | Chris Richardson | "Don't Speak" | Safe |
Guest Performance:"The Sweet Escape"
Top 9 – American Classics
Mentor: Tony Bennett| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Blake Lewis | "Mack The Knife" | Safe |
| 2 | Phil Stacey | "Night And Day" | Bottom 3 |
| 3 | Melinda Doolittle | "I Got Rhythm" | Top 3 |
| 4 | Chris Richardson | "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" | Safe |
| 5 | Jordin Sparks | "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" | Top 3 |
| 6 | Gina Glocksen | "Smile" | Eliminated |
| 7 | Sanjaya Malakar | "Cheek to Cheek" | Safe |
| 8 | Haley Scarnato | "Ain't Misbehavin" | Bottom 2 |
| 9 | Lakisha Jones | "Stormy Weather" | Top 3 |
Guest Performance: Michael Bublé: "Call Me Irresponsible"
Top 8 – Latin
Mentor: Jennifer Lopez| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Melinda Doolittle | "Sway" | Safe |
| 2 | Lakisha Jones | "Conga" | Safe |
| 3 | Chris Richardson | "Smooth" | Bottom 3 |
| 4 | Haley Scarnato | "Turn the Beat Around" | Eliminated |
| 5 | Phil Stacey | "Maria Maria" | Bottom 2 |
| 6 | Jordin Sparks | "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" | Safe |
| 7 | Blake Lewis | "I Need to Know" | Safe |
| 8 | Sanjaya Malakar | "Bésame Mucho" | Safe |
Group Performance: "Bailamos"
Guest Performance: Akon: "Don't Matter" and Jennifer Lopez: "Qué Hiciste"
Top 7 – Country
Mentor: Martina McBride| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Phil Stacey | "Where the Blacktop Ends" | Safe |
| 2 | Jordin Sparks | "A Broken Wing" | Safe |
| 3 | Sanjaya Malakar | "Something to Talk About" | Eliminated |
| 4 | Lakisha Jones | "Jesus, Take the Wheel" | Bottom 2 |
| 5 | Chris Richardson | "Mayberry" | Safe |
| 6 | Melinda Doolittle | "Trouble Is a Woman" | Safe |
| 7 | Blake Lewis | "When the Stars Go Blue" | Bottom 3 |
Group Performance: "I'm Alright"
Guest Performance: Fergie: "Big Girls Don't Cry" and Martina McBride: "Anyway"
Top 6 (first week) – Inspirational Songs (Idol Gives Back)
Top 6 (second week) – Bon Jovi
Mentors: Jon Bon Jovi and David Bryan| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Phil Stacey | "Blaze of Glory" | Eliminated |
| 2 | Jordin Sparks | "Livin' on a Prayer" | Safe |
| 3 | Lakisha Jones | "This Ain't a Love Song" | Safe |
| 4 | Blake Lewis | "You Give Love a Bad Name" | Safe |
| 5 | Chris Richardson | "Wanted Dead or Alive" | Eliminated |
| 6 | Melinda Doolittle | "Have a Nice Day" | Safe |
Guest Performance: Robin Thicke: "Lost Without U" and Bon Jovi: " Make a Memory"
Top 4 – Barry Gibb
Mentor: Barry Gibb| Order | Contestant | Song | Result |
| 1 | Melinda Doolittle | "Love You Inside Out" | Safe |
| 2 | Blake Lewis | "You Should Be Dancing" | Safe |
| 3 | Lakisha Jones | "Stayin' Alive" | Eliminated |
| 4 | Jordin Sparks | "To Love Somebody" | Safe |
| 5 | Melinda Doolittle | "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" | Safe |
| 6 | Blake Lewis | "This Is Where I Came In" | Safe |
| 7 | Lakisha Jones | "Run to Me" | Eliminated |
| 8 | Jordin Sparks | "Woman in Love" | Safe |
Group Performance: medley of Barry Gibb songs
Guest Performance: Pink: "Who Knew" and Barry Gibb: "To Love Somebody"
Top 3 – Judges' Choice, Producers choice, Contestants Choice
Guest Performances: Elliott Yamin: "Wait for You" and Maroon 5: "Makes Me Wonder"Top 2 – Contestant Choice, Previous Song, Winning Song
Guest Performance: Daughtry: "Home"Grand Finale
The Grand Finale of season 6 aired on May 23, 2007, live from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Jordin Sparks was announced as the winner at 10:05pm EDT, with Blake Lewis as the runner-up.Guest performers included Smokey Robinson, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Gladys Knight and Tony Bennett. Every past winner of Idol also performed, except for Fantasia Barrino who was appearing in The Color Purple in New York City.
After Carrie Underwood performed "I'll Stand by You", Clive Davis gave a speech extolling the state of "the American Idol album franchise", then presented Underwood with a special award for achieving 6 million U.S. album sales for her album Some Hearts.
Performances
- Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks sang "I Saw Her Standing There".
- Gwen Stefani sang "4 in the Morning" via satellite.
- Kelly Clarkson sang "Never Again".
- Top 6 male finalists sing "Ooo Baby Baby", then are joined by Smokey Robinson for a medley of "Being with You" and "The Tears of a Clown".
- Blake Lewis beatboxed with Doug E. Fresh, performing variations upon "The Show".
- Top 6 female finalists sing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", then are joined by Gladys Knight to sing a medley of "I Feel a Song " and "Midnight Train to Georgia".
- Tony Bennett sang "For Once in My Life".
- Melinda Doolittle sang "Hold Up the Light" with BeBe and CeCe Winans, with whom she used to sing backup.
- The 12 finalists sang "Time After Time" in a Ford music video which featured outtakes of the previous music videos.
- Carrie Underwood sang her charity single "I'll Stand by You".
- The African Children's Choir performed.
- Sanjaya Malakar performed "You Really Got Me" with Joe Perry of Aerosmith as well as an appearance by "The Crying Girl", Ashley Ferl.
- Green Day performed their charity single "Working Class Hero".
- Taylor Hicks sang "Heaven Knows".
- Ruben Studdard, with Jordin Sparks, sang "You're All I Need to Get By".
- Bette Midler sang "Wind Beneath My Wings".
- An ensemble tribute to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with the past Idol winners as well as the top 12. Included were portions of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" featuring Kelly Clarkson and Joe Perry, "A Day in the Life" featuring Taylor Hicks, "She's Leaving Home" featuring Carrie Underwood, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" featuring Ruben Studdard, and "With a Little Help from My Friends" from the top 12.
- Jordin Sparks performed the songwriter contest winning single "This Is My Now" after the announcement of her victory.
Special performances
Elimination chart
Note: Bottom 2 indicates that the contestant was 'saved' last. This may or may not indicate his or her actual vote rank. Sometimes, Seacrest will announce that the contestant is in the bottom 2, sometimes he will not. On the March 22 show, only the bottom 2 were announced.Contestants who appeared on other seasons/shows
- Lakisha Jones appeared on The Winner Is. She was eliminated on the first round of episode 1.
- Sundance Head won the eleventh season of The Voice as a member of Team Blake.
- Jordin Sparks previously appeared on America's Most Talented Kid.
- Chikezie – auditioned in Los Angeles, cut on the last day of Hollywood Week. Chikezie finished in tenth place.
- Luke Menard – auditioned in Memphis, did not make it to Hollywood Round
- Danny Noriega – auditioned in Los Angeles, cut on the first day of Hollywood Round
- Pia Toscano – auditioned in New York, cut on the first day of Hollywood Round. Toscano finished in ninth place.
- Rachel Zevita – auditioned in New York, cut on the first day of Hollywood Round
- Baylie Brown – auditioned in San Antonio, cut on the group day of Hollywood Round
"The Crying Girl"
Ferl started to cry not long after Malakar began his performance of "You Really Got Me", and because of this, Sanjaya came down to give her a hug after his performance. She was also shown crying for several more contestants. She admitted that she not only liked Sanjaya but also many other contestants. She has been asked who her favorite contestant is but replies that she has several favorites. At the end of the show, she went on stage a second time, and got a chance to hug and get autographs from all of the contestants and was introduced to the judges; she received a pair of earrings from Paula Abdul before the show began. Television vans from E!, Access Hollywood and Fox were waiting outside of her house the next day, and, that evening, NBC paid for Ferl's entire family to fly to the taping of the Today Show. She subsequently gave several other radio and news interviews to sources such as MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and Entertainment Tonight.
Saturday Night Live spoofed both Malakar and Ferl following the former's elimination. Kristen Wiig portrayed Ferl in the sketches. Ferl has also been spoofed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live with Regis and Kelly and Family Guy, as well as mentioned on Best Week Ever and The Soup and shown on Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Ashley Ferl returned during Malakar's performance in the finale and was again crying.
She was briefly spoofed on Meet the Spartans.
''American Idol'' songwriter contest
On the April 3, 2007 show, Ryan Seacrest announced the first American Idol Songwriter: a songwriting contest. Following an open online submission process where over 25,000 submissions were received, twenty songs were selected for competition by Simon Fuller and A&R representatives of his 19 Entertainment. Beginning May 2, 2007 and ending May 8, 2007, with "one online vote per fan", the American public were able to listen to snippets from each song and rated them on a scale from 1 to 10 on the American Idol Songwriter website. On the May 22, 2007 show, the two finalists performed the winning song, "This Is My Now." The song was released as a single by Jordin Sparks, the winner of American Idol Season 6.The titles of the twenty songs are:
- "Close to Me" – Michael Doane and AnneMarie Milazzo
- "Forever Starts Today" – Erin Boheme and CJ Vanston
- "If You Ask Me To" – Jennifer Hamady and Shedrick Mitchell
- "I'm Going to Be Me" – Lane Lenhart
- "In Your Eyes" – Colin Armstrong
- "I Saw Stars" – Reed Waddle
- "Lost " – Cal Harris, Jr.
- "Love Me till the Lonely's Gone" – Michael Patzig and Tracey Naples
- "The Next Big Thing" – Ray Grant and Sam Sims
- "One Night" – Kelley Hill
- "Right Here with Me" – Kelli Trontell and Don Gatlin
- "Secrets and Lies" – Drew Yowell and Byron Zanos
- "Send Me on My Way" – Matthew Rogers and Scott Young
- "Someday" – Nelson Kole
- "This Is My Now" – Jeff Peabody and Scott Krippayne – Contest Winner
- "Tonight" – Kelly Corsino
- "Waking in a Dream" – R. J. Martinez and Stacy Hogan
- "When You Need a Moment" – Christie Leigh
- "With All the Love Your Heart Can Hold" – Robin Randall and Diana De Witt
- "You Never Gave Up on Me" – Billy Aerts and Burton Collins
Controversies
- There was controversy surrounding the judges' comments over the audition of a Special Olympics participant named Jonathan Jayne. American Idol producer Ken Warwick responded saying that "It's not a conscious decision, It's just that the further we go in the series, there are less and less good singers, so the numbers are made up by more bad ones." Warwick said that he thinks everyone has the right to audition, and added that in some instances when there are singers with certain disabilities who just want to meet the judges, the producers will "turn the cameras off and bring them in. We give them a good experience."
- A series of provocative photos surfaced on the Internet of Season 6 Top 24 Contestant Antonella Barba.
- Teenager Sanjaya Malakar was seen as the season's most polarizing and talked about American Idol contestant, as he continued to survive elimination for several weeks. The weblog Vote for the Worst and satellite radio personality Howard Stern both encouraged fans to vote for Sanjaya. However, on April 18, after over 38 million votes, Sanjaya was voted off.
- On Tuesday, April 17, 2007, the day after the Virginia Tech massacre, in which a student named Seung-Hui Cho used guns to kill 32 students and professors before committing suicide, while contestant Chris Richardson and Ryan Seacrest were discussing the shooting after Chris's critique, Simon Cowell apparently appeared to be rolling his eyes at the incident, when he was actually speaking to Paula Abdul and did not hear what Chris had said. On the results show the next day, Cowell stated: "I may not be the nicest person in the world, but I would never, ever, ever, disrespect those families or those victims, and I felt it was important to set the record straight." To clear Cowell's name, a video was shown on the result show which showed Cowell and Abdul talking with an inset of Chris and Seacrest discussing the shooting. Also, Seacrest began the performance show by acknowledging what had happened the day before.
- Fans and critics alike were stunned at Melinda Doolittle's departure. Simon Cowell admitted that the sixth season's crown should have rightfully gone to Melinda. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe responded, noting that " were so engrossed with the mentors and didn't really focus on the Melinda Doolittles of the show."
- During the finale, the show went over its scheduled 2-hour time limit and ended at 10:09 PM EST; the previous two seasons' finales also ran over time. As a result, many users who recorded the program on DVRs reported that as recordings of the broadcast concluded at the program's scheduled end time of 10:00PM, they missed the announcement of the winner. Fox executives issued an apology, and a TiVo spokesperson advised users to "pad" recordings of live broadcasts by adding several minutes of extra recording time "as insurance."
Reception
U.S. Nielsen ratings
Live + same day ratingsAmerican Idol ended the season as the top show of the 2006–2007 TV season. Its Wednesday episodes ranked first with an average of 30.02 million viewers, followed by the Tuesday episodes which averaged 29.54 million. The premiere episode became the series' highest rated debut episode, viewed by 37.44 million viewers and receiving a 15.8/36 Nielsen rating in the Adult 18-49 demographic.
Live + 7 day ratings
Critical response
Awards and nominations
Related programming
American Idol ExtraAmerican Idol Extra, a behind-the-scenes show, also returned for a second season, corresponding with the start of the finals in March. It aired Thursdays on Fox Reality.
Idol Gives Back 2007
On the March 8, 2007 results show, Ryan Seacrest announced an initiative to give back to people in poverty in both Africa and the United States. The event took place over two episodes of the series. For every vote cast immediately following the April 24, 2007 broadcast, many sponsors donated funds to the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund. The fund will distribute the money raised to many charities in the US as well as in Africa. News Corporation pledged to donate 10 cents for every vote made to the show for the first 50 million calls, that is, up to $5 million. MySpace created a special profile page for the event in order to spread the word. Donations from viewers were accepted by phone and website during the April 25, 2007 results show, in a manner similar to a telethon. Near the end of the broadcast, Seacrest announced the show raised 30 million US dollars, with the final tally coming on May 1, 2007. As of May 1, 2007, over $70 million has been raised as a result of Idol Gives Back.
Between contestant performances, video vignettes showing the judges and Seacrest visiting and observing squalid conditions in Africa and the United States were aired. Similar vignettes were aired during the results show. For this special, the voting period was doubled to four hours following the show, rather than the usual two. In response to the anticipated call volume, each contestant was assigned two toll free numbers. Over 70 million votes were cast.
The results show was broadcast from two locations—the regular American Idol stage and Walt Disney Concert Hall—and included many celebrity actors and personalities. The show also included numerous performers; for a full list of performances, see the main article. Ellen DeGeneres co-hosted the event from the Disney Hall stage. Proceeds from ticket sales benefited the fund. Videos of the results show's performances are available for purchase on iTunes, with proceeds going to charity.
Due to the "charity" theme of the show, no contestant was eliminated on the April 25 results show. This was a surprise both to viewers, to whom Seacrest promised the "most shocking elimination ever", and to the contestants. When Ryan Seacrest was about to eliminate Jordin Sparks he said since it was a charity night none of the contestants were voted off, and the votes from that week were added to the votes from the following week to eliminate two singers. Both weeks saw a two-hour extension of the regular two-hour voting window, and in the end, the two-week combined voting totaled 135 million votes.
Idol Chat
TV Guide Channel aired its third season of Idol Chat.
Idol Tonight
TV Guide Channel brought back a second season of Idol Tonight, the live pre-show to American Idol, which aired on Wednesdays starting in March. The show features former Idol runner-up Justin Guarini as a correspondent along with Kimberly Caldwell and Rosanna Tavarez.
International broadcasts
UK editionFor the UK back-to-back repeat of the performance and results shows on the following Friday night on ITV2, Cat Deeley presents additional sections preceding and following each commercial break, and follows the end of the show with a short interview with that week's eliminated contestant.
Music releases
Unlike previous seasons the top 12 compilation album did not come out while the show was airing. The top 12 recorded studio versions of each of the songs they sang on the show. The songs were available for purchase on AmericanIdol.com as digital downloads through the night of the finale. Sparks' and Lewis' songs remained available on the Idol website and iTunes Store through June 20, 2007,.Originally, a collage of the finalists' head shots from the top 24 photo shoot was used as album art on AmericanIdol.com, with the title American Idol 6: Greatest Moments; at present, the covers of Sparks' and Lewis' EPs are used instead. The were eventually released on June 12, 2007 on iTunes/Americanidol.com. This is the only season that the season's collection is not distributed by Sony BMG/RCA Records.
Sparks' first non-American Idol single was the top hit "Tattoo", which received platinum certification. Her second single was the Billboard Hot 100 number three hit "No Air" with Chris Brown. The song went to number one in several countries, and also topped Billboard's Pop Airplay chart. "No Air" had been certified platinum in April but recently passed the 3 million copies mark. It stands as the best-selling single by any Idol contestant. Sparks released a third single off her album, "One Step at a Time", which peaked at number 17. "One Step at a Time" has so far sold over a million copies and is certified platinum. Sparks released her second album Battlefield in July 2009. The album's title track became Jordin's fifth top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 10. This makes Jordin Sparks the only American Idol contestant to have their first five singles become Top 20 Hits.
Blake Lewis's first single was "Break Anotha!", which failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. His second single, "How Many Words", also failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 25 in the Bubbling Under chart. Shortly afterward, Lewis confirmed that he had been dropped by Arista records. His album sales are just over 300,000. The drop also canceled his apparent plans for a third single release.
"This Is My Now" as performed by Jordin Sparks was released as a radio single. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 15.
On May 24, 2007, the winner Jordin Sparks and runner-up Blake Lewis released five-song EPs on iTunes Store; though only iTunes calls them "EPs", they are also available as "bundles" for the same price on AmericanIdol.com through June 20, 2007.
Sparks' EP contained the winner's single, "This Is My Now", as well as four songs she performed on Idol: "I ", "A Broken Wing", "To Love Somebody", and "Wishing on a Star".
Lewis' EP did not contain "This Is My Now"; all of the tracks were songs he performed on the show: "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Time of the Season", "I Need to Know", "Love Song", and "When the Stars Go Blue".
On June 12, 2007, Apple released five song EPs for the rest of the top 12 finalists along with the compilation album as a collector's edition of the season's songs. Each of the songs are also available for individual purchase.
Phil Stacey, tied for fifth place with Chris Richardson, is now signed to Lyric Street and has released his first single "If You Didn't Love Me". Richardson recently produced his first single, "All Alone." Tenth place finalist Chris Sligh recently released a Christian album after signing with Brash Music.
Jordin Sparks
- Jordin Sparks
- Battlefield
- A.D.D.
- Heartbreak on Vinyl
- Coming Back to You
- My Funny Valentine
- So Glad I'm Me
- All Alone
- Phil Stacey
- Into the Light
- Dancing to the Music in my Head
- Running Back To You
- On Our Way
- Here I Am
- "From the Strange to a Stranger"
- "Your Hair Is on Fire"
- "Wait for It"
- Fly Away
- Now That I Found You
- Didn't Matter That
- One
- The Thrill of Hope
- For My Lady Love''