<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> External links </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Website </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 initially aired on Fox from June 11, 2002 to April 7, 2016 for 15 seasons . On March 11, 2018, the 16th season made its debut on ABC . </P> <P> 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 sixteen 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, and Maddie Poppe . </P>

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