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 multicentered popular culture of the future." Others focused on the personalities in the show; Ramin Setoodeh of "Newsweek" accused judge Simon Cowell's cruel critiques in the show of helping to establish in the wider world a culture of meanness, that "Simon Cowell has dragged the rest of us in the mud with him." Some such as singer John Mayer disparaged the contestants, suggesting that those who appeared on "Idol" are not real artists with self-respect. Some in the entertainment industry were critical of the star-making aspect of the show. Usher, a mentor on the show, bemoaning the loss of the