Out of Nowhere! American Idol Premiered 15 Years Ago: Remembering Kelly Clarkson's Remarkable Journey to the Finale
When American Idol premiered 15 years ago today, on June 11, 2002, it had two hosts, one well-known judge in Paula Abdul . a British pedigree and a fetching premise: One talented singer would be plucked out of obscurity and become.
The success of that quaint premise would end up changing the entire entertainment landscape, turning unscripted programming into must-see TV and send networks racing to find their own flagship competition shows to add to the mix.
In fact, ABC just went ahead and picked up American Idol for itself after Fox decided it was time to pack it in after 15 seasons.
The question of whether ABC's version will be a shell of its former self (basically an extension of the conversation that started around season 13 or so) or whether Fox foolishly gave up on a classic is still to be answered.
Not that everything was perfect right out of the gate. The show didn't need two hosts. Ryan Seacrest had brought his earnestly frosted '90s hair with him. No one quite knew what this acerbic Simon Cowell character was about yet. And it was on during the summer—a situation Fox immediately remedied the following season once the network knew it had a hit on its hands.
Irrefutably glorious and cringe-worthy moments would pile up over the years. Eventually Seacrest was the only ringmaster left from the original show, with Randy Jackson opting to leave after 12 seasons. The formula persisted. On every season premiere, right up until the end, Ryan's introduction and then the strains of the theme song never failed to delight. It's no one's fault that there are just so many darn shows now, many only in existence because Idol came first, that it became hard to get that excited about an entire Idol season.
Or maybe it's Idol 's fault. Its last year at the top of the prime-time ratings, 2011, was also the year The Voice premiered.
Fault is such a strong word.
Yet in American Idol 's earliest days, there was nothing like it. More polish would be added, the production would become slicker in due time and the show would start firing on all cylinders a few seasons later, when in 2005 it became the most-watched series of the year (the two nights a week it was on were No. 1 and 2), despite only being on from January to May (half of the barely still in existence "traditional" TV season).
American Idol Series Finale: See the Stars' Arrivals
But it was Kelly Clarkson 's triumphant sprint to the finish line in 2002 that started it all. She's the first one, out of all of the aspiring stars who would follow in her wake, to come out of nowhere and become exactly what Idol promised its winners they'd become.
In honor of the anniversary of one of the biggest TV game-changers of all time, this is Kelly's inaugural AmericanIdol journey:
The first round of auditions were held in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, Atlanta and Miami. Roughly 10,000 people tried out.
"The numbers were nothing like what they are now," executive producer Ken Warwick told Billboard last year, "but it was good enough. We got Kelly Clarkson out of it, didn't we. There were fewer people, but the talent level was a bit higher because no one had ever done it before."
A then 20-year-old Clarkson tried out in Dallas at the Wyndham Anatole hotel, wearing a strapless denim top she'd crafted herself out of a pair of jeans. The Burleston, Texas, native had already moved to L.A. and back after not being able to make a living as a singer during her first go-round. She waited tables, worked as an extra and came across "expert" after "expert" who told her she needed to lose weight, her voice wasn't right, blah blah blah. When the apartment she'd been sharing caught fire in 2002, she tried living out of her car for a bit, but then decided to cut her losses and go back to Texas.
Her outfit and sweet demeanor caught the producers' attention outside the audition room, and she was one of the bunch who got a little extra face time with the camera before her tryout.
"I'm going to be a fashion designer if this doesn't work out," joked Clarkson, who had been working as a cocktail waitress and a part-time Red Bull promoter in Texas. "Call it a hunch, but we don't think Kelly's going to need that plan," ye olde co-host Brian Dunkleman intoned as she went in to meet the judges and audition with a few bars of Madonna 's "Express Yourself."
"I love that song. I worked on that song, Madonna, you did a very good job," Randy offered, prompting immediate snickers from Paula and Simon, who were already used to Randy's name-dropping ways.
Have we forgotten that Kelly's one of the few hopefuls to ever get Randy out of his chair—and into the spotlight, no less? "Not in a trillion, billion years will this man ever make it to Hollywood," Simon observed.
However, none of this was seen on Idol 's series premiere. Clarkson was cute and talented, but as a vocalist she didn't stand out all that much—and she ended up being the only eventual winner who wasn't featured during the regional audition round. (She was obviously worth the highlight by the time American Idol Rewind aired in syndication in 2010.)
During Hollywood Week (which aired the day after the premiere), Kelly wowed almost everyone with her unaccompanied rendition of Vanessa Williams ' "Save the Best for Last."
But yes, that was Simon saying quietly at the judges' table, "I just don't like this girl."
Despite Simon's reservations, Clarkson made the top 30, from which only 10 would move onto the live shows.
"I honestly don't know what to say," the still-unforgiving Simon told Clarkson after her semifinal performance of "Respect." "You have a good voice. But I couldn't remember you from the previous rounds, other than the fact did you not swap places with Randy?" His memory jogged, he added, "That's the only thing I can remember."
Still, Kelly advanced. Joining her from her group of 10 were Justin Guarini and A.J. Gill.
So, the inaugural Idol top 10 consisted of Clarkson, Guarini, Gill, Nikki McKibbin. Tamyra Gray. R.J. Helton. Christina Christian. Ryan Starr. Jim Verraros and EJay Day .
With that, Simon Cowell's reputation for getting it right every time was born.
Ranking All of American Idol 's Judges
But now it was up to America to actually pick up the phone—there was no other way to do it yet—and vote.
When the top 10 performed on July 16, 2002, Motown Week, Kelly—powering through laryngitis—went with Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell 's "You're All I Need to Get By."
And that was indeed all she needed, because even Simon complimented that she had just "raised the game."
Which merited this reaction from the stage:
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