<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> External links </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> www.americanidol.com </Td> </Tr> <P> American Idol is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by FremantleMedia North America . It began airing on Fox on June 11, 2002, and ended its first - run on April 7, 2016 . On March 11, 2018, the show will make its debut on ABC . It started off as an addition to the Idols format based on the British series Pop Idol, 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 the viewers in America through telephones, Internet, and SMS text voting . Winners chosen by viewers in its fifteen seasons were Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze, Scotty McCreery, Phillip Phillips, Candice Glover, Caleb Johnson, Nick Fradiani, and Trent Harmon . </P> <P> American Idol employed a panel of judges who critiqued the contestants' performances . The original judges were record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, pop singer and choreographer Paula Abdul and music executive and manager Simon Cowell . The judging panel for the final seasons on Fox consisted of country singer Keith Urban, singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, and jazz singer Harry Connick, Jr . The first season was hosted by radio personality Ryan Seacrest and comedian Brian Dunkleman, with Seacrest as the sole master of ceremonies for the rest of the series . </P>

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