List of Idols winners
A combined 204 artists have won the television series Idols, a reality singing competition adapted in forty-six regions. The series, originally created by British television executive Simon Fuller as Pop Idol, aims to find the most outstanding independent solo singer. Through mass auditions, a group of semi-finalists is selected by a panel of judges based on their performances. The finalists are then selected amongst a group of semi-finalists by the television audiences and the judges (through wildcard rounds), with the finalist receiving the most number of votes by the television audiences in their weekly performance being declared the winner.
Each winner is given a recording contract, a monetary prize, and a title as that nation's Idol, SuperStar or Star. The first winner of the format was Will Young of the United Kingdom in 2002. Two winners of the series were also able to win for another regional title: Kurt Nilsen of Norway also won World Idol in 2003, and Hady Mirza of Singapore also won Asian Idol in 2007. In addition, Jason Hartman and Sasha-Lee Davids of South Africa were the only two finalists to be declared as co-winners of the format.
Winning the Idols series provides a unique opportunity for the winning artist(s) to launch or further their music careers, due to the surrounding publicity and the recording contract offerings. However, only a few of them have managed to further their international careers. The most notable winner of the series was Kelly Clarkson of the United States, who has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. Other notable winning artists who also have managed to chart internationally include Agnes Carlsson of Sweden, Alexander Klaws of Germany, Nilsen of Norway, Guy Sebastian of Australia, Carrie Underwood of the United States, and Young of the United Kingdom.
Winners
National versions
Multinational versions
| Region | Series title (alternative title) |
Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Arab states8 | SuperStar (سوبر ستار) |
|
| Arab Idol |
| |
| Czech Republic and Slovakia | SuperStar (Česko Slovenská Superstar) |
|
| East Africa9 | Idols |
|
| Latin America9 | Latin American Idol | |
| Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia | Idol (Идол) |
|
| West Africa11 | Idols |
|
Junior competitions
| Region | Series title | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Ídolos Kids |
|
| Germany | Deutschland sucht den Superstar Kids |
|
| India | Indian Idol Junior |
|
| Indonesia | Indonesian Idol Junior |
|
| Norway | Idol Jr |
|
| Portugal | Ídolos Kids |
|
| Puerto Rico | Idol Kids Puerto Rico |
|
Winner competitions
| Region | Series title | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Asia12 | Asian Idol |
|
| World13 | World Idol |
|
Notes
- ^ Citizens of Macedonia were eligible to participate in the first season.
- ^ Citizens of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are eligible to participate throughout the series.
- ^ Citizens of Wallonia and Québec were eligible to participate in the first season.
- ^ Citizens of Austria and Switzerland are eligible to participate throughout the series.
- ^ Citizens of Cyprus were eligible to participate in Super Idol.
- ^ Citizens of Belarus and Ukraine were eligible to participate in the first and second season.
- ^ Citizens of Puerto Rico were eligible to participate in the eighth season.
- ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include all the member states of the Arab League.
- ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include: Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion (a part of France), Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include all of the Latin American countries, with the exception of Brazil.
- ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
- ^ Winners of Indian Idol, Indonesian Idol, Malaysian Idol, Philippine Idol, Singapore Idol, SuperStar KZ, and Vietnam Idol participated in Asian Idol, in which the winner was determined the greatest percentage of votes.
- ^ Winners of inaugural seasons of American Idol, Australian Idol, Canadian Idol, Deutschland sucht den Superstar, Idool, Idols (Dutch version), Idols (South African version), Idol (Polish version), Idol (Norwegian version), Pop Idol, and SuperStar (Arab version) participated in World Idol, in which the winner was determined by the most collective points given by each of the other participating countries (similar to the Eurovision Song Contest).
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