Leon Jackson enter, and also on the high-profile dismissals of judge Louis Walsh and presenter Kate Thornton, to be replaced by choreographer and "Grease Is the Word" judge Brian Friedman and "Big Brother's Little Brother" host Dermot O'Leary respectively. Before hiring Freidman and Minogue, Cowell had apparently approached colleague and fellow "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson, and close friend and "X Factor" mentor Sinitta. Walsh, however, was quickly reinstated, with Friedman becoming the show's choreographer. Jackson's prize as winner was a £1 million recording contract. His first single release was "When You Believe", arranged for the finalists by composer Stephen Schwartz and
American Idol American Idol American Idol is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle USA and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It initially aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to April 7, 2016, for 15 seasons. On March 11, 2018, the sixteenth season debuted on ABC. 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