Best Season of American Idol and Why?

[IAN27TAY]

American Idol

 is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It initially aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to April 7, 2016, for 15 seasons. It had a hiatus for two years, until March 11, 2018, when a revival of the series aired on ABC

 

It started as an addition to the Idols format that was based on Pop Idol from British television, and became one of the most successful shows in the history of American television. The concept of the series involves discovering recording stars from unsigned singing talents, with the winner determined by American viewers using phones, Internet, and SMS text voting. The winners of the first eighteen seasons, as chosen by viewers, are Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze, Scotty McCreery, Phillip Phillips, Candice Glover, Caleb Johnson, Nick Fradiani, Trent Harmon, Maddie Poppe, Laine Hardy, and Just Sam respectively.

 

American Idol employs a panel of vocal judges who critique the contestants' performances. The original judges, for the first through eighth seasons, were record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, singer and choreographer Paula Abdul, and music executive and manager Simon Cowell. The judging panel for the last three seasons on Fox consisted of singers Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, and Harry Connick Jr.The sixteenth season brought three new judges: singers Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. The first season was hosted by radio personality Ryan Seacrest and comedian Brian Dunkleman, but Seacrest has been the sole master of ceremonies for the rest of the series.

The success of American Idol has been described as "unparalleled in broadcasting history".

 

A rival TV executive said the series was "the most impactful show in the history of television". It became a recognized springboard for launching the career of many artists as bona fide stars. According to Billboard magazine, in its first ten years, "Idol has spawned 345 Billboard chart-toppers and a platoon of pop idols, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Adam Lambert, and Jordin Sparks while remaining a TV ratings juggernaut."

 

For an unprecedented eight consecutive years, from the 2003–04 television season through the 2010–11 season, either its performance show or result show was ranked number one in U.S. television ratings.

 

[blackfield]

the best seasons were 4,5,7,8

best overall group of contestants and the highest number of successful artists the show produced. 

season 18 had the most potential of the new idol if it wasn't for the pandemic to screwed things up. some would have benefit from the live show some wouldn't have made as far as they did from the home edition. the top 10/11 would have been very different if they had a regular season. 

season 15 could have been better if they had let them participate in the finale. but they kind of forgot the contestants during the celebrations. 

[Blirel]

I’ll admit I started watching in Season 10 but have went back some. Of the more modern seasons (Post-Simon)... Season 11 was my favorite. 
 

I liked Phillip and Jessica quite a bit (wish Jessica would’ve won). My favorite was probably Elise Testone (Whole Lotta Love, one of my favorites to date), Joshua was a solid vocalist although not a fan, Hollie & Colton both turned in a lot of consistent and solid performances. Even the bottom contestants weren’t bad like robbed Erika, Skylar was decent for country, Heejun was a guilty pleasure. Jeremy and Shannon could still sing. Jermaine was alright. Wasn’t a fan of DeAndre due to his overusing of falsetto. 

Also even though at the time I wasn’t huge on Season’s 10 Scotty and Lauren. Haley is my favorite idol competitor of all time. James was also a great rocker. Pia was also very good. Season 11 was simply better due to it being deeper
 

[Blirel]

12 hours ago, blackfield said:

the best seasons were 4,5,7,8

best overall group of contestants and the highest number of successful artists the show produced. 

season 18 had the most potential of the new idol if it wasn't for the pandemic to screwed things up. some would have benefit from the live show some wouldn't have made as far as they did from the home edition. the top 10/11 would have been very different if they had a regular season. 

season 15 could have been better if they had let them participate in the finale. but they kind of forgot the contestants during the celebrations. 

Yes Season 18’s Top 40 show was stellar as well as top 20 virtually but then it simmered down and just was too fast due to the pandemic. Sad. Sigh

[m1key]

Season 11 is my favorite of the old Idol be because of the diverse artists, memorable contestants, good song choices, and great singers that kept me craving more week after week.

 

Of the new Idol, none of the seasons have been amazing in my opinion. I agree that Season 18 had the most potential and couldve been one of the best Idol seasons  had Miss Rona not arrived. The Top 20 was super diverse with great vocalists and artists, but the competitions format didnt allow for stellar performances or growth from contestants.

 

 

[v-streamer]

I just don't think any season will surpass season 2 for me. The contestants were regular people, the production had no bandzilla.All the worn out songs idol does were new then and  I really enjoyed the group numbers and medleys. The voices blended well.

The show was just beginning to act likea juggernaut. There were actual water-cooler discussions in the workplace. Then you had the whole Ruben vs. Clay drama, and the voting scandal. It really got me back into going to live concerts (Idol and others). It was so much fun meeting Idols and fans and holding up signs. Made a lot of friends and acquaintances through that season.

Season 4 was also very good - Carrie vs. Bo. Great voices. And I liked the David Cook Season 7 a lot. He was such an unexpected winner.  S5 gets honorable mention because Elliott didn't win.

[BogoGog24]

I didn’t start watching until season 5 and stopped watching around Laine’s season so my votes go to seasons 7 and 10. Honorable mentions to 5, 11, 15, and 16.

 

I feel that seasons 7 and 10 just had some of the strongest pools of contestants of any seasons. Seasons 10 and 11 in particular were very diverse in terms of genre and I liked nearly everyone from those seasons. Season 5 was special because it was my first year watching and I fell in love with the show. I feel like since this was right after Carrie’s win, this was when the ratings were at their peak I think. Season 5 gave us some great non-winners like Kellie Pickler, Elliot Yamin, and of course Daughtry. Stellar talent that year.

 

Season 7 I really loved Brooke White, Carly Smithson, and Michael Johns (RIP). All such talented singers. 
 

Season 15 gets an honorable mention purely because Dalton Rapattoni is my all-time favorite Idol. It was also the show’s pseudo-finale and the finale was incredibly well done with bringing back all the past Idols. The only issue with that season was that the contestants did unfortunately take a back seat due to all the finale hype. 
 

Finally, season 16/ABC 1 gets an honorable mention because I think they did a pretty good job resurrecting the show despite being on a different network, new panel of judges, etc. I wasn’t sure how it would be and whether it would still feel like Idol, but I thought it turned out pretty well overall. I really liked that year’s crop of contestants and it was great to see Gabby get a major record deal and a 2x platinum, #1 single, showing that Idol can still help produce stars even though it’s been on the air for close to 2 decades. 
 

 

[saturn93]

4 was the #1 choice for me, as it was the only time the winner prediction was correct.

Also had to choose 10, as it was a huge roller coaster of a season, and was to see how a new judging panel would fare out, post-Simon.

Other honorables were 6 and 9 for local influences, and 7 for the Cook/Archie final.

 

I have not been impressed with the ABC seasons, but season 3/18 could have been good, especially that it had an earlier start to the season.  However, Coronavirus came, shut everything down, and all plans had to be changed.

  

[MargoK]

I think the best seasons were 4, 6, 2, 7 and 14.  That is my opinion; I know others don't agree.

 

I didn't vote in the poll because I didn't really understand how to vote.

[kamil24]

Season 11 was honestly stacked... the entire Top 7 had something going for them.

[BogoGog24]

On 7/23/2020 at 11:29 AM, MargoK said:

I think the best seasons were 4, 6, 2, 7 and 14.  That is my opinion; I know others don't agree.

 

I didn't vote in the poll because I didn't really understand how to vote.

I guess you can only fit a certain number of choices in the poll so OP split them into 2 sections. You get to vote for each section. 

[kresslia]

1. 8 was the peak of my interest. I was obsessed with Adam Lambert, I still dig his songs and am super proud when I see him around, like at the Oscars last year. I also loved Allison, I wish she hit it big! Her album had some bops ("Holiday", anyone?). Kris wasn't really to my taste, but he had some good performances and his friendship with Adam was adorbs. Gokey was fun to make fun of.

2. 11 might actually have the strongest cast from top to bottom. The top 7 was FANTASTIC. It felt like someone new was slaying each week. I was heartbroken when Colton self-destructed. Cried when Skylar was eliminated. And elated when Phillip won! "Home" is the greatest coronation song by far, imo.

3. 10 was a super fun, well-rounded cast. Felt like maybe the last time Idol was super big, outside of "Home"? The country vs. country finale was a huge letdown, though. Haley kicked ass. We all know I ain't here for country but I did like Scotty, his voice sounded unique to me even if it's commonplace in country music (idk lmao). Pia was my queen and she was done so dirty it disgusts me.

[SwimmerStud87]

1 & 8, 11 & 14  

[KelseyW]

7, 8, 10, 11, 16, and 17. IMO

 

AND THE BEST JUDGE'S PANEL WAS NEVER ON FOX BUT ABC KTHXBYE.

 

Also obligatory KATY/CATIE GIF because they both don't get the love on here!  

 

[Bk1234]

Out of the seasons I have watched, seasons 7 and 11. 
 

Season 7- Crazy talent! I pretty much loved the entire group. I loved Archie (of course), Syesha (second favorite), Carly, Michael, Brooke, Jason, and David Cook. 
 

Season 11- Another crazy talented group! My favorite was Hollie, but I also really liked Jessica (second favorite), Skylar, Elise, Phillip, and Colton. 

[countrynineteen]

10 was my favorite, but 11 is probably the strongest overall.
 

But it’s telling that most of the top 11 from Season 10 got signed to a label. I think Out of the top 11 just Jacob, Thia, and Paul didn’t get signed. There was a lot of star power from that season. 

 

In 11 I feel like the only real weak link was HeeJun and even he had his moments. Everybody else in the top 10, you could think of an argument of why they should win. I wish we had more people get signed from this season. 

[avafrankie]

Season 12: A historic season. After Lazaro Arbos got voted off, a Vote for the Girls victory occurred. 

Season 11: YES I AUDITIONED FOR THAT SEASON!!!