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 (season 5) Ninth-place finisher Mandisa's "True Beauty" album earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album in 2007. Season five is the season from the first ten seasons of "American Idol" with the most number of finalists who have made it onto the Billboard charts. The compilation album for this season was performed by the top twelve finalists. In 2006, American Idol also became the most nominated unscripted show ever, and has several nominations in the 2006 Emmy Awards for season five: American Idol (season 5) The fifth season of reality television singing competition "American Idol" began on January 17,