American Idol (season 5) American Idol (season 5) The fifth season of reality television singing competition "American Idol" began on January 17, 2006, and concluded on May 24, 2006. Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell returned to judge, and Ryan Seacrest returned to host. It is the most successful season to date ratings-wise, and resulted in 18 contestants (including all of the top 10 and a few semifinalists) getting record deals – nine of them with major labels. It was the first season with a male winner (Taylor Hicks) and a female runner-up (Katharine McPhee). It was also the first season of the
Latin American Idol (season 4) Latin American Idol (season 4) The fourth season of Latin American Idol premiered on September 9, 2009. This season brings new changes as host Monchi Balestra and judge Gustavo Sánchez leave the show. The show was hosted by Erika de la Vega, judges Jon Secada and Mimi return to judge once again and a new judge joins them, Oscar Mediavilla, an Argentine producer. The auditions for Season 4 were on July 2009. There was a form to fill in the "Latin American Idol" MySpace site to try for auditions for 2009. Auditioners had to be between the ages of 18