Fox's American Idol is More Than Just a Talent Contest

American Idolwww.idolonfox.com in it's fifth season on the FOX Network has captured the country's television audience and the ratings apon which advertising rates are set by the broadcast networks. 24,999,999 other viewers and myself were captivated by Kellie Pickler singing Walking After Midnight and Katharine McPhee's interprertation of Come Rain or Come Shine. Two songs with evocative emotional lyrics that take a lot of heart and technique to perform successfully.

American Idol is produced by www.freemantlemedia.com which is owned by Bertelsmann, the European owner of half of the joint venture with www.sony.com and www.bmg.com/. The familiar record labels www.aristanashville.com and www.rcalablegroup.com are owned and operated by BMG.

Carrie Underwood who won American Idol on May 25, 2005 signed a recording contract with Arista. Her CD Inside Your Heaven was released June 14, 2005; recording what would become the Billboard Music Award winner as the best selling country single of the year was not accomplished by running on pure innate talent and the lessons learned in Mrs. Coopers music class for the 5th grade musical back in Checotah Oklahoma. Freemantle Media takes the finalists and provides vocal coaches, lessons in singing and performing for the cameras. Freemantle adds value to the American Idols; whether they win or not they will take that professional training with them as they continue their careers.

Carrie Underwood www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com/ was majoring in Journalism at Northeastern State University in Talequah, Oklahoma when she auditioned for American Idol the search for a superstar. She sings on her CD Some Hearts that she Hopes I Never Forget Where I Come From because I Ain't in Checotah Anymore. Freemantle Media wants winners that will be embraced by all Americans, not just Rock or Country fans. The company invests time in training them to be performers with a wide selection of material they can sing with confidence.

Katharine McPhee singing Come Rain or Come Shine and Kellie Picklerrenditionof Walking After Midnight were chosen to fit the 1950's, one of the themes of the final weeks that are meant to challenge the singers. This is where so many stumble, it's not easy to move from performing contemporary songs to those of another era convincingly.

The producers want a winner that can appeal to the wide range of tastes in the American audience. Costantine Maroulis attended the Boston Conservatory after finishing high school in Brookyln New York. After college graduation in 2002 he appeared in the musical Rent.

He auditioned for the www.prayforthesoulofbetty.com band and in 2003 his prayers were answered as he was chosen as the band's vocalist. As an American Idolist, Constantine raised the television audiences' awareness of the band. They were on their way to a higher level in the music business.

Freemantle Media has interests in music publishing and recording, film and television production and the merchandising of the products created by the artists or with their imprint on them. The company is building a franchise for the long term; American Idol is going to be a major factor in the discovery and development of talent in the United States for years to come.

Before American Idol www.idolonfox.com came along the Music Industry was in dire straights. Sales had stopped growing, even the back-catalog (of the music-buying publics' purchase of their old favorites on new CDs) well had run dry. Consumers were complaining about having to buy CDs with just two "good songs" on them that performers had recorded just to fulfill their contractual obligations and were going online to file-sharing sites to get what they wanted instead of to "record stores" which were closing more locations. The record companies fired thousands of employees and cut the artists contracted down to just the ones that could be counted-on to "move the units". Finding and developing talent had ceased to be part of the recording industries' business plan.