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 Peña was the only contestant who was about to be eliminated, because he was never in any bottom.. This season was characterized by the intention of the production of the show to penetrate more in the Mexican market. Latin American Idol Latin American Idol was the Spanish American edition of the popular British franchise of "Idols", well known for its American version "American Idol". The show aimed to discover the pop idol of the Latin American region. The show was filmed in Buenos Aires and was transmitted to over 23 nations in the region via the Sony Entertainment Television network.