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| Network: | Fox |
The fourth season of American Idol premiered on January 18, 2005, and continued until May 25, 2005. It was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell also returned as judges. Carrie Underwood won the season with approximately 500 million votes cast in the season and 37 million for the finale, while Bo Bice was the runner-up. Underwood has since gone on to become an eight-time Grammy-winning country megastar. It was also the first season of the series to be aired in high definition.
This was the first season where guest judges were invited to participate in the auditions.
Where there were four judges present, three "yes" votes were required for the audition to proceed to Hollywood.
This was also the first season where the age limit was raised to 28. Among those who benefited from this new rule were Constantine Maroulis, Bo Bice, Scott Savol, and Nadia Turner.
Auditions for the fourth season began on August 4, 2004, in Cleveland, Ohio.[1] An audition was originally planned for Anchorage, Alaska, but that was cancelled due to a possible schedule conflict as a result of hurricanes affecting the Orlando auditions.[2]
| Preliminary date | Preliminary venue | Filming date(s) | Filming venue | Golden tickets | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland, Ohio | August 4, 2004 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | August 14–15, 2004 | Intercontinental Cleveland | 32 | |
| St. Louis, Missouri | August 8, 2004 | Edward Jones Dome | August 2004 | Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark | 32 | |
| Washington, D.C. | August 18, 2004 | Washington Convention Center | August 20–21, 2004 | Renaissance Hotel Ninth St.[3] | 42 | |
| Orlando, Florida | August 26, 2004 | Orange County Convention Center | September 14, 2004 | MGM Grand Las Vegas | 16 | |
| New Orleans, Louisiana | August 31, 2004 | September 4–5, 2004 | The Roosevelt (Fairmont)[4] | 16 | ||
| Las Vegas, Nevada | September 12, 2004 | Orleans Arena | September 15–16, 2004 | MGM Grand Conference Center[5] | 24 | |
| San Francisco, California | October 5, 2004 | October 7–8, 2004 | The Regency Center | 32 | ||
| Total number of tickets to Hollywood | 194 | |||||
There were 193 contestants in the Hollywood rounds. They were split into two groups and performed on separate days at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The contestants first chose from a list of twelve songs selected by the producers. They were separated into groups of males and females, but they performed solo with piano accompaniment and back-up singers. 95 contestants were eliminated after this round. The remaining 97 contestants competed in the second round which featured group performances. The songs for the groups were Four Tops's "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," The Temptations' "Get Ready," Barry Manilow's "Jump Shout Boogie," The Marvelettes's "Please Mr. Postman," and The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go." 75 remained after this round.
In the last round, they performed a cappella. After their performances, the contestants were divided into four groups in separate rooms. Two groups were eliminated and the number of contestants was cut to 44. After further deliberation by the judges, 24 semifinalists – 12 men and 12 women – were then selected. At the Pasadena Civic Center, each contestant took the elevator from their holding room to the floor above to see the judges, who then revealed their fate.
The rules for this season's semifinal round were changed so as to result in an equal number of male and female finalists. Twelve men and twelve women competed separately on consecutive nights, with two from each group being voted off each week until twelve finalists were left: six men and six women.
Color key:
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
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Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
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Color key:
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessica Sierra | "Shop Around" | Bottom three | |
| Anwar Robinson | "A House is Not a Home" | Safe | |
| Mikalah Gordon | "Son of a Preacher Man" | Bottom two | |
| Constantine Maroulis | "You've Made Me So Very Happy" | Safe | |
| Lindsey Cardinale | "Knock on Wood" | Eliminated | |
| Anthony Fedorov | "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" | Safe | |
| Nadia Turner | "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" | Safe | |
| Bo Bice | "Spinning Wheel" | Safe | |
| Vonzell Solomon | "Anyone Who Had a Heart" | Safe | |
| Scott Savol | "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" | Safe | |
| Carrie Underwood | "When Will I Be Loved" | Safe | |
| Nikko Smith | "I Want You Back" | Safe |
Contestants performed one song from the list of Billboard number one hits and are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Fedorov | "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" | Bottom three | |
| Carrie Underwood | "Alone" | Safe | |
| Scott Savol | "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" | Safe | |
| Bo Bice | "Time in a Bottle" | Safe | |
| Nikko Smith | "Incomplete" | Safe | |
| Vonzell Solomon | "Best of My Love" | Safe | |
| Constantine Maroulis | "I Think I Love You" | Safe | |
| Nadia Turner | "Time After Time" | Bottom two | |
| Mikalah Gordon | "Love Will Lead You Back" | Eliminated | |
| Anwar Robinson | "Ain't Nobody" | Safe | |
| Jessica Sierra | "Total Eclipse of the Heart" | Safe |
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bo Bice | "Remedy" | Safe | |
| Jessica Sierra | "On the Side of Angels" | Eliminated | |
| Anwar Robinson | "I Believe I Can Fly" | Bottom two | |
| Nadia Turner | "I'm the Only One" | Bottom three | |
| Constantine Maroulis | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Safe | |
| Nikko Smith | "Can We Talk" | Safe | |
| Anthony Fedorov | "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" | Safe | |
| Carrie Underwood | "Independence Day" | Safe | |
| Scott Savol | "One Last Cry" | Safe | |
| Vonzell Solomon | "I Have Nothing" | Safe |
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Broadway song | Musical | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Savol | "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)" | Man of La Mancha | Bottom two | |
| Constantine Maroulis | "My Funny Valentine" | Babes in Arms | Safe | |
| Carrie Underwood | "Hello, Young Lovers" | The King and I | Safe | |
| Vonzell Solomon | "People" | Funny Girl | Bottom three | |
| Anthony Fedorov | "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" | The Sound of Music | Safe | |
| Nikko Smith | "One Hand, One Heart" | West Side Story | Eliminated | |
| Anwar Robinson | "If Ever I Would Leave You" | Camelot | Safe | |
| Bo Bice | "Corner of the Sky" | Pippin | Safe | |
| Nadia Turner | "As Long as He Needs Me" | Oliver! | Safe |
Contestants performed one song from the year they were born and are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Year | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nadia Turner | "When I Dream" | 1977 | Eliminated | |
| Bo Bice | "Free Bird" | 1975 | Bottom two | |
| Anwar Robinson | "I'll Never Love This Way Again" | 1979 | Safe | |
| Anthony Fedorov | "Everytime You Go Away" | 1985 | Safe | |
| Vonzell Solomon | "Let's Hear It for the Boy" | 1984 | Safe | |
| Scott Savol | "She's Gone" | 1976 | Bottom three | |
| Carrie Underwood | "Love Is a Battlefield" | 1983 | Safe | |
| Constantine Maroulis | "Bohemian Rhapsody" | 1975 | Safe |
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constantine Maroulis | "Nights on Broadway" | Safe | |
| Carrie Underwood | "MacArthur Park" | Safe | |
| Scott Savol | "Everlasting Love" | Bottom three | |
| Anthony Fedorov | "Don't Take Away the Music" | Bottom three | |
| Vonzell Solomon | "I'm Every Woman" | Safe | |
| Anwar Robinson | "September" | Eliminated | |
| Bo Bice | "Vehicle" | Safe |
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrie Underwood | "When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues" | Safe | |
| Bo Bice | "I Don't Want to Be" | Safe | |
| Vonzell Solomon | "I Turn to You" | Bottom three | |
| Anthony Fedorov | "I Surrender" | Bottom two | |
| Constantine Maroulis | "How You Remind Me" | Eliminated | |
| Scott Savol | "Dance with My Father" | Safe |
Each contestant performed two songs: one written by songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and one from the Billboard current chart. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Fedorov | 1 | "Poison Ivy" | Bottom two |
| 6 | "Incomplete" | ||
| Scott Savol | 2 | "On Broadway" | Eliminated |
| 7 | "Everytime You Go Away" | ||
| Vonzell Solomon | 3 | "Treat Me Nice" | Safe |
| 8 | "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" | ||
| Bo Bice | 4 | "Stand by Me" | Safe |
| 9 | "Heaven" | ||
| Carrie Underwood | 5 | "Trouble" | Safe |
| 10 | "Bless the Broken Road" |
Each contestant performed two songs and are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Order | Country song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrie Underwood | 1 | "Sin Wagon" | Safe |
| 5 | "If You Don't Know Me by Now" | ||
| Bo Bice | 2 | "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" | Safe |
| 6 | "For the Love of Money" | ||
| Vonzell Solomon | 3 | "How Do I Live" | Bottom two |
| 7 | "Don't Leave Me This Way" | ||
| Anthony Fedorov | 4 | "I'm Already There" | Eliminated |
| 8 | "If You Don't Know Me by Now" |
Each contestant performed three songs: one chosen by Clive Davis, one chosen by one of the judges, and one chosen by themselves. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
Simon Cowell believed that Bo Bice would have won had he able to save his a cappella rendering of "In a Dream" for his final performance.[6]
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vonzell Solomon | 1 | "I'll Never Love This Way Again" | Eliminated |
| 4 | "Chain of Fools" | ||
| 7 | "On the Radio" | ||
| Bo Bice | 2 | "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" | Safe |
| 5 | "In a Dream" | ||
| 8 | "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" | ||
| Carrie Underwood | 3 | "Crying" | Safe |
| 6 | "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" | ||
| 9 | "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" |
Each contestant performed three songs and are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bo Bice | 1 | "Long, Long Road" | Runner-up |
| 3 | "Vehicle" | ||
| 5 | "Inside Your Heaven" | ||
| Carrie Underwood | 2 | "Inside Your Heaven" | Winner |
| 4 | "Independence Day" | ||
| 6 | "Angels Brought Me Here" |
| Performers | Song | |
|---|---|---|
| Top 12 | "Fun, Fun, Fun" "Barbara Ann" "In My Room" "Surfer Girl" "I Get Around" "Good Vibrations" | |
| Bo Bice | "Vehicle" | |
| Carrie Underwood | "Angels Brought Me Here" | |
| Carrie Underwood & Bo Bice | "Up Where We Belong" | |
| "Bless the Broken Road" | ||
| "I Believe I Can Fly" | ||
| "Walk This Way" | ||
| "On Broadway" | ||
| "With You I'm Born Again" | ||
| "Every Time I Close My Eyes" | ||
| "Sweet Home Alabama" | ||
| Carrie Underwood | "Inside Your Heaven" |
Color key:
| Semifinals | Top 12 | Top 11 | Top 10 | Top 9 | Top 8 | Top 7 | Top 6 | Top 5 | Top 4 | Top 3 | Finale | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/23 | 3/2 | 3/9 | 3/16 | 3/24 | 3/30 | 4/6 | 4/13 | 4/20 | 4/27 | 5/4 | 5/11 | 5/18 | 5/25 | ||
| Carrie Underwood | 1 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner |
| Bo Bice | 2 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-up |
| Vonzell Solomon | 3 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Safe | Bottom two | Eliminated | |
| Anthony Fedorov | 4 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Bottom two | Bottom two | Eliminated | ||
| Scott Savol | 5 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom three | Bottom three | Safe | Eliminated | |||
| Constantine Maroulis | 6 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | ||||
| Anwar Robinson | 7 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | |||||
| Nadia Turner | 8 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom three | Safe | Eliminated | ||||||
| Nikko Smith | 9 | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | |||||||
| Jessica Sierra | 10 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Safe | Eliminated | ||||||||
| Mikalah Gordon | 11 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Lindsey Cardinale | 12 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | ||||||||||
| Mario Vazquez | Safe | Safe | Safe | Withdrew | |||||||||||
| Amanda Avila | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | ||||||||||||
| Janay Castine | Safe | Safe | |||||||||||||
| Travis Tucker | Safe | Safe | |||||||||||||
| David Brown | Safe | Eliminated | |||||||||||||
| Aloha Mischeaux | Safe | ||||||||||||||
| Joseph Murena | Safe | ||||||||||||||
| Celina Rae | Safe | ||||||||||||||
| Judd Harris | Eliminated | ||||||||||||||
| Melinda Lira | |||||||||||||||
| Sarah Mather | |||||||||||||||
| Jared Yates | |||||||||||||||
During the season, Corey Clark, a second season contestant who was disqualified for having an undisclosed arrest record, alleged in an interview on ABC's Primetime Live that he had had an affair with Paula Abdul while on the show.[7]
During the top 11 competition show, three of the contestants had their voting telephone numbers improperly displayed. The Wednesday night show, which was supposed to have been the elimination night, allowed viewers to vote again as the numbers were fixed, and the elimination took place on Thursday.
Bo Bice was revealed to have been arrested on a felony cocaine possession charge in June 2001 in Madison County, Alabama, and was also arrested two years later for marijuana possession, public intoxication, and possession of drug paraphernalia.[8] Scott Savol was also revealed to have been convicted of a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct for domestic violence.[9] However, no action was taken against either contestant by the show producers because they had revealed their misdemeanors to them in advance.[10]
The fourth season of American Idol had an overall average viewership of 26.8 million and was the top show for the 2004–2005 TV season. Its Tuesday episodes averaged 27.32 million (ranked first) while the Wednesday episodes averaged 26.07 million (ranked third).[11] It also drove Fox, for the first time ever, to become the top network in the 18-to-49 demographic for the season.[12] [13]
Note 1: The Top 11 Wednesday night was a repeat performance night due to a mix-up in the phone numbers for the contestants. The result show was moved to Thursday.The compilation album for this season was performed by the top twelve finalists.