American Idol season 4

Changes from previous seasons

This was the first season where guest judges were invited to participate in the auditions.

• Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, Washington, D.C. auditions
• Gene Simmons of Kiss, New Orleans auditions
• Kenny Loggins, Las Vegas auditions
• LL Cool J, Cleveland auditions
• Brandy, San Francisco auditions

Where there were four judges present, three "yes" votes were required for the auditioner to proceed to Hollywood.

This was also the first season with the age limit being raised to 28. Among those who benefited from this new rule were Constantine Maroulis, Bo Bice, Scott Savol, and Nadia Turner.

Regional auditions

Auditions for the fourth season began on August 4, 2004, in Cleveland, Ohio. An audition was originally planned for Anchorage, Alaska, but that was canceled due to a possible schedule conflict as a result of hurricanes affecting the Orlando auditions.

Hollywood week

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. Ninety-five contestants were eliminated after this round (and one withdrew). The remaining 97 contestants competed in the second round which featured group performances. The songs for the groups were the Four Tops' "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 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.

Semifinals

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:

Top 24 (February 21 and 22)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

|}

Top 20 (February 28 and March 1)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

|}

Top 16 (March 7 and 8)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

|}

Top 12 finalists

• Carrie Underwood (born March 10, 1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma; 21 years old at the time of the show) was from Checotah, Oklahoma, and she auditioned in St. Louis with Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me." She performed Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free" in Hollywood.
• Bo Bice (born November 1, 1975, in Huntsville, Alabama; 29 years old at the time of the show) was from Helena, Alabama, and auditioned in Orlando with The Allman Brothers Band's "Whipping Post." He performed The Box Tops's "The Letter" and The Temptations' "Get Ready" in Hollywood.
• Vonzell Solomon (born March 18, 1984, in Baxley, Georgia; 20 years old at the time of the show) was from Fort Myers, Florida, and auditioned in Orlando with Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools." She performed Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" in Hollywood.
• Anthony Fedorov (born May 4, 1985, in Yalta, Ukraine; 19 years old at the time of the show) was from Trevose, Pennsylvania, and auditioned in Cleveland with Jon Secada's "Angel." He performed Diana Ross' "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" and "Angel" again in Hollywood.
• Scott Savol (born April 30, 1976, in Cleveland, Ohio; 28 years old at the time of the show) was from Shaker Heights, Ohio and auditioned in Cleveland with The Carpenters' "Superstar." He performed the Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself" in Hollywood.
• Constantine Maroulis (born September 17, 1975, in Brooklyn, New York; 29 years old at the time of the show) was from New York City and auditioned in Washington with Aerosmith's "Cryin'." In Hollywood, he performed The Box Tops's "The Letter" and the Four Tops's "I Can't Help Myself."
• Anwar Robinson (born April 21, 1979, in Newark, New Jersey; 25 years old at the time of the show) was from East Orange, New Jersey, and auditioned in Washington. He performed the Four Tops's "I Can't Help Myself" in Hollywood.
• Nadia Turner (born January 11, 1977, in Miami; 28 years old at the time of the show) auditioned in San Francisco with Aretha Franklin's "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)."
• Nikko Smith (born April 28, 1982, in San Diego, California; 22 years old at the time of the show) was from St. Louis, Missouri, and auditioned there with Stevie Wonder's "All I Do." In Hollywood, he performed The Temptations' "Get Ready."
• Jessica Sierra (born November 11, 1985, in Tampa, Florida; 19 years old at the time of the show) auditioned in Orlando with Etta James' "At Last." In Hollywood, she performed Diana Ross' "When You Tell Me That You Love Me."
• Mikalah Gordon (born January 14, 1988, in Las Vegas; 17 years old at the time of the show) auditioned in Las Vegas with Ella Fitzgerald's "Lullaby of Broadway" and Lauryn Hill's "Killing Me Softly with His Song." She performed Dusty Springfield's "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" in Hollywood.
• Lindsey Cardinale (born February 5, 1985, in Hammond, Louisiana; 19 years old at the time of the show) was from Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and auditioned in New Orleans with Karla Bonoff's "Standing Right Next to Me." She performed The Supremes' "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" in Hollywood.

Finals

Color key:

Top 12 – Music from the 1960s (March 15)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 11 – ''Billboard'' number ones (March 22)

Contestants performed one song from the list of Billboard number one hits and are listed in the order they performed.

Top 10 – Music from the 1990s (March 29)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 9 – Classic Broadway (April 5)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 8 – Contestants' birth year (April 12)

Contestants performed one song from the year they were born and are listed in the order they performed.

Top 7 – 1970s dance music (April 19)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 6 – Music from the 21st century (April 26)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 5 – Leiber and Stoller and ''Billboard'' current chart (May 3)

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.

Top 4 – Country & Gamble and Huff (May 10)

Each contestant performed two songs and are listed in the order they performed.

Top 3 (May 17)

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.

Top 2 – Finale (May 24)

Each contestant performed three songs and are listed in the order they performed.

Elimination chart

Color key:

Controversies

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.

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. Scott Savol was also revealed to have been convicted of a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct for domestic violence. However, no action was taken against either contestant by the show producers because they had revealed their misdemeanors to them in advance.

U.S. Nielsen ratings

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). It also propelled Fox, for the first time ever, to become the top network in the 18-to-49 demographic for the season.

|} 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.

Music releases

The compilation album for the season was performed by the top twelve finalists.

Related programming

• American Idol Rewind (season 4) Episodes of the fourth season were shown in syndication as American Idol Rewind, paired with season 3 as part of the third edition of American Idol Rewind. Because of limitations after cutting off most of season 3 for reasons beyond control, each episode doubles the weekly top performances, plus there is a special episode about this season’s winner.

References

References

1. (July 16, 2004). "Fox announces first 'American Idol 4' auditions, raises age limit to 28". Reality TV World.
2. "Alaska Airlines' Last Chance 'Flight to Fame' to Bring Musical Dreamers to Final 'American Idol' Audition.".
3. "Wail Watch At 'Idol'". [[The Washington Post]].
4. "'American Idol's' Caldwell brawls".
5. [http://www.clickorlando.com/news/3680536/detail.html Thousands Flock To 'American Idol' Tryouts In Orlando]{{dead link. (December 2017)
6. [http://kennyboudreaux.writersresidence.com/samples/a-journalist%E2%80%99s-american-idol-audition-story-if-you-believe-you-can-achieve-a-music-dream A journalist's American Idol audition story: If you believe, you can achieve a music dream] {{webarchive. link. (April 2, 2012)
7. "REACHING FOR THE STARS: It takes hours of idle time to become 'American Idol'".
8. (November 5, 2019). "Mario Vazquez Drops Out of 'American Idol'".
9. Corey Moss. (May 25, 2005). "Carrie Underwood Wins 'American Idol'".
10. "Foolish Hearts".
11. (July 22, 2010). ""Idol" Finalist Dodged Cocaine, Pot Raps".
12. (July 22, 2010). "American Idol Finalist's Violence Rap".
13. "Bice Squad".
14. link. (April 21, 2012)
15. "Carrie'd to Victory".
16. "Nets Set Their Sights on 2005-06".
17. [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/News2005/jan05/jan24/3_wed/news2wednesday.html AI week 1] {{webarchive. link. (September 18, 2011)
18. "AI week 2".
19. "AI week 3".
20. "AI week 4".
21. "AI week 5".
22. "AI week 6".
23. [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news2005/mar05/mar07/3_wed/news5wednesday.html AI week 7] {{webarchive. link. (September 6, 2011)
24. [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news2005/mar05/mar14/3_wed/news4wednesday.html AI week 8] {{webarchive. link. (September 30, 2007)
25. "EW - AI week 9".
26. "EW - AI week 10".
27. "EW - AI week 11".
28. [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news2005/april05/apr11/3_wed/news2wednesday.html AI week 12] {{webarchive. link. (September 30, 2007)
29. [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news2005/april05/apr18/3_wed/news2wednesday.html AI week 13] {{webarchive. link. (April 21, 2006)
30. "AI week 14".
31. [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/News2005/may05/may02/3_wed/news3wednesday.html AI week 15] {{webarchive. link. (February 21, 2009)
32. "AI week 16".
33. [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/News2005/may05/may16/3_wed/news4wednesday.html AI week 17] {{webarchive. link. (September 18, 2011)
34. [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/News2005/may05/may23/3_wed/news4wednesday.html AI week 18] {{webarchive. link. (February 17, 2009)
35. "AI week 19".
36. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060619034657/http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2006/05/idol_anthology_.html#more Idol anthology: Best initial sales ever]
37. [http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6581427.html TV Guide Network Ramps Up Red Carpet, Celebrity Coverage] Multichannel news (7/27/08). Retrieved May 8, 2025.