- American Idol premiered in June 2002 and became the surprise summer hit show of 2002. The first show drew 9.9 million viewers.
- The show reached its peak in Season 5 with numbers averaging 30.6 million.
- American Idol is the highest rated television program in the United States behind only the Academy Awards and the Super Bowl.
- Since the show's inception in 2002, six of the nine Idol winners, including its first five have come from the American South.
- American Idol is the US version of the British hit TV show, Pop Idol.
- The show had been criticized in earlier seasons over the onerous contract contestants had to sign that gave excessive control to 19 Entertainment over their future career, and handed large part of their future earnings to the management.
- Voting results have been a consistent source of controversy, for example when Jennifer Hudson was eliminated in Season 3.
- Celebrity mentors have included Jennifer Lopez, Elton John, and Gwen Stefani.
- Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of American Idol on Fox. It is one of the highest-rated TV shows in the history of television.
- Towards the end of 2009, American Idol alumni had sold a total of over 46 million albums and 56 million download tracks in the U.S., and 66 million albums worldwide.
American idol quick facts
