<P> Once in Hollywood, the contestants performed individually or in groups in a series of rounds . Until season ten, there were usually three rounds of eliminations in Hollywood . In the first round the contestants emerged in groups but performed individually . For the next round, the contestants put themselves in small groups and performed a song together . In the final round, the contestants performed solo with a song of their choice a cappella or accompanied by a band‍--‌depending on the season . In seasons two and three, contestants were also asked to write original lyrics or melody in an additional round after the first round . In season seven, the group round was eliminated and contestants may, after a first solo performance and on judges approval, skip a second solo round and move directly to the final Hollywood round . In season twelve, the executive producers split up the females and males and chose the members to form the groups in the group round . </P> <P> In seasons ten and eleven, a further round was added in Las Vegas, where the contestants performed in groups based on a theme, followed by one final solo round to determine the semi-finalists . At the end of this stage of the competition, 24 to 36 contestants were selected to move on to the semi-final stage . In season twelve the Las Vegas round became a Sudden Death round, where the judges had to choose five guys and five girls each night (four nights) to make the top twenty . In season thirteen, the Las Vegas round was eliminated and a new round called "Hollywood or Home" was added, where if the judges were uncertain about some contestants, those contestants were required to perform soon after landing in Los Angeles, and those who failed to impress were sent back home before they reached Hollywood . In season fourteen, a Showcase round was added, where the contestants performed at a LA nightclub or auditorium for the judges and a live audience, and these performances determine who makes into the Top 24 . </P> <P> From the semi-finals onward, the fate of the contestants was decided by public vote . During the contestant's performance as well as the recap at the end, a toll - free telephone number for each contestant was displayed on the screen . For a two - hour period after the episode ends (up to four hours for the finale) in each US time zone, viewers may call or send a text message to their preferred contestant's telephone number, and each call or text message was registered as a vote for that contestant . Viewers were allowed to vote as many times as they can within the two - hour voting window . However, the show reserves the right to discard votes by power dialers . One or more of the least popular contestants may be eliminated in successive weeks until a winner emerges . Over 110 million votes were cast in the first season, and by season ten the seasonal total had increased to nearly 750 million . Voting via text messaging was made available in the second season when AT&T Wireless joined as a sponsor of the show, and 7.5 million text messages were sent to American Idol that season . The number of text messages rapidly increased, reaching 178 million texts by season eight . Online voting was offered for the first time in season ten . The votes are counted and verified by Telescope Inc . </P> <P> In the first three seasons, the semi-finalists were split into different groups to perform individually in their respective night . In season one, there were three groups of ten, with the top three contestants from each group making the finals . In seasons two and three, there were four groups of eight, and the top two of each selected . These seasons also featured a wildcard round, where contestants who failed to qualify were given another chance . In season one, only one wildcard contestant was chosen by the judges, giving a total of ten finalists . In seasons two and three, each of the three judges championed one contestant with the public advancing a fourth into the finals, making 12 finalists in all . </P>

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