American Idol 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, respectively. "American Idol" employs a panel of vocal judges who critique the contestants' performances. The original judges, for the first through eighth seasons, were record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, singer and choreographer Paula Abdul, and music executive and manager Simon
American Idol Extra first exit interview is now conducted on "Live with Regis and Kelly". No other elements of this program have survived. Weekly segments include interviews with audience members who watched the performance show, interviews with past "Idol" contestants, a trivia contest, and a viewer question submitted by text messages from AT&T (formerly Cingular) subscribers. American Idol Extra American Idol Extra is a television show that was shown on the Fox Reality Channel and Star! and billed as "the show that picks up right where "American Idol" leaves off". The program featured the first full-length interview with the most recent eliminated contestant