The seventh season of American Idol, the annual reality show and singing competition, began on January 15, 2008 and concluded on May 21, 2008. Ryan Seacrest continued to host the show with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson returning as judges. David Cook was announced the winner of the competition on May 21, 2008, defeating runner-up David Archuleta by a margin of roughly 12 million votes out of over 97 million, the highest recorded total in the show's history. The split was 56 percent to 44 percent.
The seventh season was the first season in which neither the winner nor the runner-up were ever in the bottom two or three during any week before the finale on May 21, 2008. This is also the second season where both the winner and the runner-up are male, with the second season being the first in this case.
The show made some changes for the seventh season, including: allowing contestants to play musical instruments,[1] an element that originated on Australian Idol and can also be seen on Norway's Idol and Canadian Idol; building a brand new set; and creating a new introduction credit sequence. There would also be fewer celebrity mentors so that the producers could focus more on the contestants. The season finale also moved from the Kodak Theatre to the larger Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.
Early process
Regional auditions
For Season 7, auditions were held in the following cities:[2]
Contestants were required to be between the ages of 16 and 28 on July 28, 2007, and eligible to work in the United States. Those ineligible include former contestants who reached the top 40 of past seasons, those holding recording or management contracts, or those who are not US citizens or landed immigrants (i.e. permanent residents).
Hollywood phase
As in years past, the Hollywood round took place at the Pasadena Civic Center in Pasadena, over a period of four days. A total of 164 contestants were invited from the seven audition cities. This year the process was altered slightly to ensure that no talent would be prematurely dismissed.
On the first day, all of the contestants took the stage individually and sang for the judges. For the first time ever, contestants had the option of either being accompanied by the band or playing an instrument themselves. Some were shown playing the keyboard, guitar, or even the drums. If the judges approved of the contestant's performance, they received a "free pass" to the third day of auditions. Unlike previous seasons, contestants whose performances were not considered good enough were given a second chance on day two. They were required to line up on stage in small groups and sing a short segment of a song "a cappella." After each group had finished, the judges cut those they felt were not talented enough. Those who were not cut joined the recipients of the free passes on day three of the Hollywood round. Each of these remaining contestants sang with the band, as well as three backup singers, a setup similar to the one used in the semifinals and finals. This replaced the group performances required in past seasons. After each performance, the judges decided whether or not to cut the contestant. By the end of the day, only 50 contestants were remaining. The judges then deliberated on who would be in the Top 24, and their decision was revealed at the end of the process.
Semi-finalists
Male semi-finalists
Semi-finalists Danny Noriega and Kady Malloy.
Daniel 'Danny' Anthony Noriega (born September 29, 1989 in Azusa, California) is an 18-year-old who auditioned in San Diego. He sang "Proud Mary." He previously auditioned for Idol in season 6 and made it to Hollywood week but was cut in the first round. His elimination song was "Tainted love" by Soft Cell. Shortly following his elimination, Noriega received an offer from Rosie O' Donnell to perform on her cruise.[8]
Jason Yeager (born August 26, 1979) is a 29-year-old (28 at the time of that show) from Grand Prairie, Texas who auditioned in Dallas. He appeared and was a finalist on the first season of Making the Band, the MTV reality show that led to the formation of boy band O-Town. He released a Christian Album called The Heart of Me in 2008
Asia'h Epperson (born April 29, 1988) is a 20-year-old (19 at the time of that show) from Joplin, Missouri who auditioned in Atlanta singing "How Do I Live." Two days before the auditions, her father died in a car accident. Her elimination song was "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston. She currently has a few songs of her own on her MySpace page, including a cover of "Can't Buy Me Love."
Kady Malloy (born May 9, 1989) is a 19-year old (18 at the time of that show) from Houston, Texas who auditioned in Dallas. She became known on the show for her impersonation of Britney Spears and can also impersonate several other artists. Malloy is trained in opera singing. Her elimination song was "Who Wants to Live Forever" by Queen. She has released several songs to her MySpace and shot a video for a cover of "Time After Time" with Colton Berry. Simon's comment after her audition was: "Out of all of the people we have seen during this season you are the best." She as well is in the trio Whitaker Malloy with Alaina and Brittney Whitaker. The group has opened at least one show for Travis Tritt.
Alaina Whitaker (born February 21, 1991) is a 17-year-old contestant from Tulsa, Oklahoma who auditioned in Dallas. She is a member of the group Whitaker Malloy along with her sister Brittney, and Kady Malloy. Before the show, she and her sister won a talent competition in Tulsa, beating one of David Cook's bands, Midwestern Kings. Whether or not Cook was in the band at the time is unknown.
Alexandréa Lushington (born February 13, 1991) is a 17-year-old from Douglasville, Georgia who auditioned in Atlanta. In 2004, she sang against fellow Idol semi-finalist David Archuleta on an episode of the television show Star Search.[12]
Joanne Borgella (born May 29, 1982) is a 26-year-old model (25 at the time of that show) from Hoboken, New Jersey who auditioned in Philadelphia. Before auditioning for Idol, she appeared in and won Mo'Nique's Fat Chance.
David Cook (born December 20, 1982 in Houston, Texas) is a 25-year-old native of Blue Springs, Missouri who auditioned in Omaha, Nebraska. Cook's interest in music began early in life; he received his first guitar at the age of 2.[14] Prior to Idol he worked as a bartender at the "Blank Slate" in Tulsa, where he would also occasionally play shows. He released an album entitled Analog Heart. He enjoys doing crossword puzzles in his spare time and calls himself a "word nerd."[14] On May 21, 2008, he was declared winner over finalist David Archuleta.
Since the Top 12 week, he has also been wearing an orange wristband to support a seven-year-old fan with leukemia. He was never in the "bottom three".
David Archuleta (born December 28, 1990 in Miami, Florida) is a 17-year-old from Murray, Utah who auditioned in San Diego. In 2003, at the age of 12, he sang on several episodes of the television show Star Search[12] and went on to win the season finale and the $100,000 grand prize.[16] On one episode, he competed against Alexandréa Lushington, who was a fellow semi-finalist this season. He was never in the "bottom three".[12]
"In This Moment" (written by Ryan Gillmor) (contestant's choice new song)[15] - Runner Up May 21, 2008
"Imagine" (John Lennon) (contestant's choice) - Runner Up May 21, 2008
Syesha Mercado
Syesha Mercado (born January 2, 1987 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is a 21-year-old from Sarasota, Florida who auditioned in Miami. She is a student at Florida International University and has been singing and dancing since she was a child. During Hollywood week, she became ill and almost completely lost her voice. In preparation for her final audition, she went on voice rest and wrote down everything she had to say on a pad of paper. Prior to American Idol, she appeared on The One: Making a Music Star, a short-lived program on ABC; it was cancelled after two weeks due to low ratings.[17]
Jason Castro (born March 25, 1987) is a 21-year-old from Rockwall, Texas who auditioned in Dallas. [18] He started in music playing the drums. In high school, he played for a band, Keeping Lions, which has since disbanded. [19] In 2006, he appeared on Cheyenne Kimball's MTVreality TV series, as her real-life dating interest. Castro is the first person in his family, which is originally from Colombia, to be born in the United States. He is a student at Texas A&M University, with a construction science major and music minor. He began growing his hair out for dreadlocks during his senior year of high school.
Brooke White (born June 2, 1983 in Mesa, Arizona) is a 25-year-old (24 at time of show) nanny from Van Nuys, California who auditioned in Philadelphia. During her audition, she admitted to never having seen an R-rated movie, prompting Cowell to state that the show will "bring her over to the dark side." In 2005, she released an album titled Songs from the Attic under New Millennium Records.[20]
Carly Smithson (born September 12, 1983 in Dublin, Ireland) is a 25-year-old professional singer and bartender/waitress from San Diego, California, where she has been living for the past three years. Smithson previously signed a recording contract with major USA label MCA Records and released an album in 2001 entitled Ultimate High under her birth name, Carly Hennessy. The album sold approximately 300 copies in the first three months following its release. Smithson was also a contestant in season five, but was dropped from the show due to a problem with her visa.
Kristy Lee Cook (born January 18, 1984) is a 24-year-old horse trainer from Selma, Oregon who sold her prized horse in order to afford the trip to audition in Philadelphia. In 2001, she was signed to a major label, Arista Nashville.[21][12] Cook also signed with Britney Spears' production company, and Spears herself was supposed to have a cameo in Cook's first video.[21][12] At the time of signing, she was managed by the former manager of LeAnn Rimes.[21][12] In 2005, she released a CD called Devoted with Ren-Hen Records.[22]
Michael Johns (born on October 20, 1978 in Perth, Western Australia) is a 29-year-old Australian rock/soul singer/songwriter. He moved to the United States from Australia in 1998 and lived in Buckhead (Atlanta) for six years, performing at local venues solo and with local band Film. He has since lived in Los Angeles, California. After recording a demo and traveling to Los Angeles to showcase for a number of labels in 2001, Johns signed with Maverick Records and formed a rock band called The Rising.[23]
Before focusing on his singing career, Johns was a sportsman. He won a tennis scholarship[24] to become a professional tennis player and coaches the sport. He also played Australian rules football for the USAFL club Atlanta Kookaburras.[25][26]
Ramiele Malubay (born September 6, 1987 in Saudi Arabia[27]) is a 20-year-old Filipino-American from Miramar, Florida who auditioned in Miami. She was raised in the Philippines. Prior to auditioning on Idol, she was a nursing student at Broward Community College and worked part-time at a sushi restaurant. She started Polynesian Dancing when she was in the first grade and started singing at the age of twelve. Since the age of 12, Ramiele has sung at various Filipino-American events.[28].
Chikezie (born Chikezie Eze on September 11, 1985 in Inglewood, California) is a 22-year-old Nigerian American from Inglewood, California who auditioned in San Diego. During the competition, he dropped using his last name because it was so frequently mispronounced ('eh-zee' and not 'EE-zee').[29]He previously auditioned for the show's sixth season, and made it into the Hollywood Round, where he was cut before the top 44. Before auditioning for Idol, he worked as a TSA officer at Los Angeles International Airport.
Amanda Overmyer (born October 26, 1984) is a 23-year-old Harley-riding nurse from Mulberry, Indiana who auditioned in Atlanta. She received a nursing degree from Ivy Tech Community College and deals predominantly in respiratory issues. She has been the lead singer of several local hard rock bands, including Steeleto and Ruinaces. Before Hollywood week, she was in a near-fatal car accident. She is engaged to Casey Taylor. Since her elimination, she has been slated to play at The Whisky a Go Go bar in West Hollywood, and is also reportedly in talks to play her real-life musical influence Janis Joplin in a film about the aforementioned bar.
In addition, songs are played during the elimination night to promote an artist, single, album, or the show itself. Included is a list of those songs with their BillboardHot 100 and Hot Digital Songs reactions. This chart does not include finale performances.
1 Due to the Idol Gives Back special airing on the show's regular Wednesday results night, the results show was moved to Thursday.
2 From this point forward, neither the bottom 3 nor bottom 2 contestants were explicitly identified.
Idol Gives Back
The "Idol Gives Back" initiative returned on April 9 for a second consecutive year, with a special start time of 7:30 p.m. ET, running for 150 minutes (the show ran several minutes late). Producers are hoping to exceed last year's $76 million raised. Again, proceeds will go to children's charities in Africa and the United States. Unlike "Idol Gives Back 2007" when no finalist was eliminated (and two were eliminated in the following week), Michael Johns was still eliminated during "Idol Gives Back 2008."
Finale
Controversies
Season 7 contestant Carly Smithson stirred up controversy due to a prior major label record deal she had with MCA Records. It has been reported that MCA spent over 2 million dollars promoting Smithson's previous album "Ultimate High," which she made under the name Carly Hennessy. The album only sold 378 copies but is now available on iTunes. To further complicate things, Randy Jackson worked for MCA during the same period of time that Smithson was signed. The show made no mention of this deal, despite the fact that the show goes to great lengths to chronicle the personal lives of its contestants (such as the homelessness of Josiah Leming). According to a poll conducted by AOL Television, 63 percent of those polled believed that contestants who have already had record deals should not be contestants on American Idol.[36]
David Hernandez was revealed by VotefortheWorst.com to have worked as a stripper in Phoenix, AZ. According to the owner of Dick's Cabaret, David's job included a routine featuring full nudity and performing lap dances for male clientele. [37][38]
On the April 29 show, the five remaining contestants each sang two songs. Diverting from their usual format, due to time constraints, the judges' critiques after each performance were instead to be bundled until after both songs were performed. However, after the first round had finished, host Ryan Seacrest asked for comments, and judge Paula Abdul, in discussing Jason Castro, delivered feedback on his second song before he had performed it. This has led to speculation that the show is scripted or rigged, or that Abdul was either very crazy or drunk or "some freaky combination between the two"[39] The next day, Abdul claimed on Seacrest's radio show that she listened to the performance in rehearsal and in the rushed atmosphere of the show was confused and thought she was supposed to critique both.[40]
Following the May 8 show, David Archuleta's father, Jeff, was banned from rehearsals. It was reported that Mr. Archuleta was constantly involved in his son's preparation, much to the dismay of the series' producers. The catalyst that caused the producers to ban him from rehearsals was when Mr. Archuleta insisted on altering David's rendition of "Stand by Me" to include the lyrics of Sean Kingston's "Beautiful Girls" despite being warned not to do so. This lyric change caused additional licensing costs to the show. [41][42] In a post-Idol radio interview, David Archuleta stated that he was not informed by the producers that the additional lyrics would be a problem until after his performance took place.
Releases
iTunes
This season, American Idol has partnered with iTunes to make available for sale exclusive performance videos and full length studio recordings of the songs contestants performed on the show. In order to keep the competition fair, these singles are not allowed to appear on iTunes sales charts until after the finale. As a result only David Cook and David Archuleta's songs charted.
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