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The fifth season of American Idol began on January 17, 2006, and concluded on May 24, 2006. Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, and Randy Jackson returned as judges, while Ryan Seacrest returned as host. Taylor Hicks was named the winner, while Katharine McPhee was the runner-up. 18 contestants (including all of the top 10 and a few semifinalists) got record deals – nine of them with major labels.
Auditions were held in seven cities in the summer and fall of 2005.[1] An audition was originally planned for Memphis, Tennessee, but that was canceled due to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort that was taking place there,[2] and replaced by Las Vegas, Nevada, and Greensboro, North Carolina.[3]
| Preliminary date(s) | Preliminary venue | Filming date(s) | Filming venue | Golden tickets | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, California | August 18, 2005 | Cow Palace | Unknown | Parc 55 San Francisco | 18 | |
| Austin, Texas | August 25–26, 2005 | Frank Erwin Center | September 28, 2005 | 12 | ||
| Boston, Massachusetts | August 31, 2005 | Gillette Stadium | October 27, 2005 | Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center[4] | 28 | |
| Denver, Colorado | September 11, 2005 | Invesco Field at Mile High | Unknown | Colorado Convention Center | 37 | |
| Chicago, Illinois | September 16, 2005 | Soldier Field | September 20, 2005 | W Hotel[5] | 34 | |
| Greensboro, North Carolina | October 3, 2005 | Greensboro Coliseum | October 6, 2005 | Marriott Downtown | 33 | |
| Las Vegas, Nevada | October 10–11, 2005 | Las Vegas Convention Center | October 12–13, 2005 | Renaissance Las Vegas[6] | 11 | |
| Total number of tickets to Hollywood | 175 | |||||
One notable audition this season was Paula Goodspeed, a fervent fan of Paula Abdul, who auditioned in Austin.[7] In 2008, Goodspeed made headlines when she committed suicide outside Abdul's home.[8] Abdul later claimed that she had objected beforehand to Goodspeed being at the audition because she knew Goodspeed and had been frightened by her past behavior, but the producers overrode her objection.[9] Producers Ken Warwick and Nigel Lythgoe denied being aware of her fears or that they would put her in danger.[10] [11]
The Hollywood semifinal rounds were held at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles and consisted of 175 contestants. The first round of semifinals consisted of a solo a cappella performance with each contestant choosing one song from a list of twelve that were given to each contestant two weeks in advance. Those who did not impress the judges were sent home the following day. After this round, the contestants were separated into four groups, with three groups going through (with 44 contestants chosen). In the Pasadena Civic Center, each were individually taken to the judges' station where they learned whether they would proceed or not. Twenty were cut and the final twenty-four (twelve men and twelve women) were selected.
The semifinals began on February 21, 2006, with the names announced on February 15, 2006. Starting with twelve women and twelve men, the women and the men performed weekly on separate shows, and on the results show, the bottom two women and bottom two men were eliminated each week. The semifinals took place over three weeks, resulting in six women and six men making up the top 12.
Color key:
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
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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:
Stevie Wonder served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed one song from his discography and are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Stevie Wonder song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ace Young | "Do I Do" | Bottom three | |
| Kellie Pickler | "Blame It on the Sun" | Safe | |
| Elliott Yamin | "Knocks Me Off My Feet" | Safe | |
| Mandisa | "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing" | Safe | |
| Bucky Covington | "Superstition" | Safe | |
| Melissa McGhee | "Lately" | Eliminated | |
| Lisa Tucker | "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" | Bottom two | |
| Kevin Covais | "Part-Time Lover" | Safe | |
| Katharine McPhee | "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" | Safe | |
| Taylor Hicks | "Living for the City" | Safe | |
| Paris Bennett | "All I Do" | Safe | |
| Chris Daughtry | "Higher Ground" | Safe |
Barry Manilow served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandisa | "I Don't Hurt Anymore" | Safe | |
| Bucky Covington | "Oh, Boy!" | Bottom two | |
| Paris Bennett | "Fever" | Safe | |
| Chris Daughtry | "I Walk the Line" | Safe | |
| Katharine McPhee | "Come Rain or Come Shine" | Safe | |
| Taylor Hicks | "Not Fade Away" | Safe | |
| Lisa Tucker | "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" | Bottom three | |
| Kevin Covais | "When I Fall in Love" | Eliminated | |
| Elliott Yamin | "Teach Me Tonight" | Safe | |
| Kellie Pickler | "Walkin' After Midnight" | Safe | |
| Ace Young | "In the Still of the Night" | Safe |
Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa Tucker | "Because of You" | Eliminated | |
| Kellie Pickler | "Suds in the Bucket" | Safe | |
| Ace Young | "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" | Bottom three | |
| Taylor Hicks | "Trouble" | Safe | |
| Mandisa | "Shackles (Praise You)" | Safe | |
| Chris Daughtry | "What If" | Safe | |
| Katharine McPhee | "The Voice Within" | Bottom two | |
| Bucky Covington | "Real Good Man" | Safe | |
| Paris Bennett | "Work It Out" | Safe | |
| Elliott Yamin | "I Don't Want to Be" | Safe |
Kenny Rogers served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Country song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor Hicks | "Take Me Home, Country Roads" | Safe | |
| Mandisa | "Any Man of Mine" | Eliminated | |
| Elliott Yamin | "If Tomorrow Never Comes" | Bottom two | |
| Paris Bennett | "How Do I Live" | Bottom three | |
| Ace Young | "Tonight I Wanna Cry" | Safe | |
| Kellie Pickler | "Fancy" | Safe | |
| Chris Daughtry | "Making Memories of Us" | Safe | |
| Katharine McPhee | "Bringing Out the Elvis in Me" | Safe | |
| Bucky Covington | "Best I Ever Had (Grey Sky Morning)" | Safe |
Queen band members Brian May and Roger Taylor served as guest mentors for this week. Contestants performed one song from the Queen discography and are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Queen song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bucky Covington | "Fat Bottomed Girls" | Eliminated | |
| Ace Young | "We Will Rock You" | Bottom three | |
| Kellie Pickler | "Bohemian Rhapsody" | Safe | |
| Chris Daughtry | "Innuendo" | Safe | |
| Katharine McPhee | "Who Wants to Live Forever" | Safe | |
| Elliott Yamin | "Somebody to Love" | Bottom three | |
| Taylor Hicks | "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" | Safe | |
| Paris Bennett | "The Show Must Go On" | Safe |
| Song | ||
| Top 8 | Queen medley |
|---|
Rod Stewart served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed one song from the Great American Songbook and are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Daughtry | "What a Wonderful World" | Bottom two | |
| Paris Bennett | "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" | Bottom three | |
| Taylor Hicks | "You Send Me" | Safe | |
| Elliott Yamin | "It Had to Be You" | Safe | |
| Kellie Pickler | "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" | Safe | |
| Ace Young | "That's All" | Eliminated | |
| Katharine McPhee | "Someone to Watch Over Me" | Safe |
Andrea Bocelli and David Foster served as guest mentors this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katharine McPhee | "I Have Nothing" | Top two | |
| Elliott Yamin | "A Song for You" | Safe | |
| Kellie Pickler | "Unchained Melody" | Eliminated | |
| Paris Bennett | "The Way We Were" | Bottom two | |
| Taylor Hicks | "Just Once" | Safe | |
| Chris Daughtry | "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" | Top two |
Contestants each performed two songs: one from the year they were born, and one from the current Billboard top 10 list. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Order | Song | Birth year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliott Yamin | 1 | "On Broadway" | 1978 | Bottom two |
| 6 | "Home" | |||
| Paris Bennett | 2 | "Kiss" | 1988 | Eliminated |
| 7 | "Be Without You" | |||
| Chris Daughtry | 3 | "Renegade" | 1979 | Safe |
| 8 | "I Dare You" | |||
| Katharine McPhee | 4 | "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" | 1984 | Safe |
| 9 | "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" | |||
| Taylor Hicks | 5 | "Play That Funky Music" | 1976 | Safe |
| 10 | "Something" |
| Song | ||
| Top 5 | "Together We Are One" |
|---|
Tommy Mottola served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants each performed two songs from the Elvis Presley discography and are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Order | Elvis Presley song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor Hicks | 1 | "Jailhouse Rock" | Safe |
| 5 | "In the Ghetto" | ||
| Chris Daughtry | 2 | "Suspicious Minds" | Eliminated |
| 6 | "A Little Less Conversation" | ||
| Elliott Yamin | 3 | "If I Can Dream" | Safe |
| 7 | "Trouble" | ||
| Katharine McPhee | 4 | "Hound Dog" & "All Shook Up" | Bottom two |
| 8 | "Can't Help Falling in Love" |
| Song | ||
| Top 4 | Elvis Presley medley |
|---|
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.
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elliott Yamin | 1 | "Open Arms" | Eliminated |
| 4 | "What You Won't Do for Love" | ||
| 7 | "I Believe to My Soul" | ||
| Katharine McPhee | 2 | "I Believe I Can Fly" | Safe |
| 5 | "Over the Rainbow" | ||
| 8 | "I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues" | ||
| Taylor Hicks | 3 | "Dancing in the Dark" | Safe |
| 6 | "You Are So Beautiful" | ||
| 9 | "Try a Little Tenderness" |
| Performers | Song | |
|---|---|---|
| Taylor Hicks | "Takin' It to the Streets" | |
| Katharine McPhee | "Think" | |
| Elliott Yamin | "Moody's Mood for Love" |
Each contestant performed three songs, and contestants are listed in the order they performed.
| Contestant | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katharine McPhee | 1 | "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" | Runner-up |
| 3 | "Over the Rainbow" | ||
| 5 | "My Destiny" | ||
| Taylor Hicks | 2 | "Living for the City" | Winner |
| 4 | "Levon" | ||
| 6 | "Do I Make You Proud" |
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 | 3/15 | 3/22 | 3/29 | 4/5 | 4/12 | 4/19 | 4/26 | 5/3 | 5/10 | 5/17 | 5/24 | ||
| Taylor Hicks | 1 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner |
| Katharine McPhee | 2 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Safe | Safe | Top two | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Runner-up |
| Elliott Yamin | 3 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom three | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Eliminated | |
| Chris Daughtry | 4 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Top two | Safe | Eliminated | ||
| Paris Bennett | 5 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Safe | Bottom three | Bottom two | Eliminated | |||
| Kellie Pickler | 6 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | ||||
| Ace Young | 7 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Safe | Bottom three | Safe | Bottom three | Eliminated | |||||
| Bucky Covington | 8 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | ||||||
| Mandisa | 9 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | |||||||
| Lisa Tucker | 10 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom three | Eliminated | ||||||||
| Kevin Covais | 11 | Safe | Bottom three | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Melissa McGhee | 12 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | ||||||||||
| Ayla Brown | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | ||||||||||||
| Will Makar | Safe | Safe | |||||||||||||
| Gedeon McKinney | Safe | Safe | |||||||||||||
| Kinnik Sky | Safe | Bottom three | |||||||||||||
| Heather Cox | Safe | Eliminated | |||||||||||||
| Brenna Gethers | Safe | ||||||||||||||
| José "Sway" Penala | Safe | ||||||||||||||
| David Radford | Safe | ||||||||||||||
| Bobby Bennett | Eliminated | ||||||||||||||
| Patrick Hall | |||||||||||||||
| Becky O'Donohue | |||||||||||||||
| Stevie Scott | |||||||||||||||
In January 2006, twins Derrell and Terrell Brittenum were charged with forgery and theft after allegedly using a false identity to purchase a car. This occurred after the Hollywood portion of the show was filmed, and the twins were subsequently disqualified.[12]
On the April 25 show, the theme of which was Greatest Love Songs and featured guest mentors Andrea Bocelli and David Foster, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe forced contestant Taylor Hicks to change his song a day before airtime. Hicks' chosen song was "Try a Little Tenderness," but Lythgoe, in a radio interview, claimed the song was more appropriate for a Blues Brothers week and was not a song that Andrea Bocelli would sing. Hicks changed his song at the last minute to "Just Once" and appeared very uncomfortable on stage. Hicks' fans were distressed, feeling that Hicks' original choice of song was very appropriate to the theme and the producers changed the song at the last minute even though they must have known Hicks' choice the previous week. They also felt that Lythgoe's statement that it was not a song Andrea Bocelli would sing was dubious, as other song choices that were approved were songs sung by Bryan Adams ("Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman") and Donny Hathaway ("A Song for You").[13]
American Idol was the top-rated show for the 2005–06 TV season and occupied the top two positions. The number of viewers for its Tuesday episodes averaged 31.17 million and for the Wednesday episodes 30.16 million.[14] It is still the most-watched of all seasons with an overall average number of viewers of 30.6 million per episode. Its 17.6 household share for the season average still ranks as the highest household share rating for any season-topping series on 21st-century U.S. television.
This was the first season where a majority of finalists had major label recording contracts after American Idol. Of them, Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee, Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, and Kellie Pickler were distributed by Sony BMG Music Entertainment; Bucky Covington by Universal Music Group; and Ace Young and Mandisa by EMI.
Taylor Hicks' first post-Idol single, "Do I Make You Proud," debuted at number one and was certified gold.[34] Hicks' album, Taylor Hicks, sold 703,000 copies. He later parted with Arista Records. His follow-up album, "The Distance," was released March 10, 2009, on his own label, Modern Whomp Records.
The contestant with the most commercial success was Chris Daughtry, now lead singer of the band Daughtry. Their eponymous debut album sold over 5 million copies, surpassing the two-album totals of former winners Ruben Studdard and Fantasia, and produced two top-ten singles. The album, which spent two weeks at number one in the U.S., was also the fastest-selling debut rock album in Soundscan history.[35]
Katharine McPhee's debut album sold 374,000 copies and she had two Top 40 Billboard hits. Kellie Pickler's Small Town Girl reached number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and was certified gold, selling over 815,000 copies. Elliott Yamin's eponymous debut album was certified gold and produced a platinum-selling single. Bucky Covington's self-titled debut album sold over 400,000 copies and generated a top 20 and two top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Mandisa became the most recent finalist from American Idol as of to win a Grammy Award, after earning a nomination for True Beauty for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album in 2007 and winning for Overcomer for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album in 2014.
The compilation album for this season was performed by the top twelve finalists.
In 2006, American Idol received several nominations in the 2006 Emmy Awards for season five:[36]