American Idol (season 6) American Idol (season 6) The sixth season of "American Idol" premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host. A new record of 74 million votes were cast in the finale round, and a new record of 609 million votes were cast in the entire season (the seasonal total record was surpassed by the tenth season and the finale vote record was broken by the eleventh season).
Idol (franchise) from major networks. Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch, persuaded her father to buy the rights for an American adaptation. The series, "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar", debuted on the Fox network on 11 June 2002. "American Idol" also featured Cowell as its judge, who also proved to be popular among the American audiences. "American Idol" quickly rose to the top of the U.S. TV ratings, due to the popularity of the judges (particularly Cowell) and its contestants, which were led by its first winner, Kelly Clarkson. The success brought by "American Idol" led to