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The sixth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company on January 16, 2007 and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host. Jordin Sparks won the competition with Blake Lewis as the first runner-up and Melinda Doolittle finishing third. At 17, Sparks was the youngest winner in the show's history.

This season also attracted a lot of attention because of a scandal involving sexy photos posted on the Internet of contestant Antonella Barba, who didn't make the top 12 despite making it all the way through the semifinals. Fellow contestant Sanjaya Malakar also attracted attention due to the support he received from the anti-Idol website Vote For The Worst, which encouraged people to vote for him despite poor song choices and frequent criticisms from the judges, who constantly called him out on his bad performances. Even radio shock jock Howard Stern pledged his support to Malakar, who ended up finishing in 7th place that season, higher then what others had predicted.

This season is also notable because people who competed during this time tried out for the show again in later seasons such as Rachel Zevita, who went on to make the top 24 during season 10, Pia Toscano, who finished in 9th place during season 10, and Baylie Brown, who auditioned for season 11 and made it to the top 25 that season.

Auditions[]

For Season 6, auditions were held in the following cities:

  • Minneapolis, Minnesota: Target Center - September 8
  • Seattle, Washington: KeyArena - September 19
  • Memphis, Tennessee: FedEx Forum - September 3
  • New York City, New York: Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford - August 14
  • Birmingham, Alabama: Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex - August 21
  • Los Angeles, California: Rose Bowl, Pasadena - August 6
  • San Antonio, Texas: Alamodome - August 11

Auditioning contestants were required to be between the ages 16 and 28 on August 6. Many of the people who auditioned had trouble with the double doors, with many often going towards the wrong door on their way out; this was spoofed by Idol later in the season with "audition footage" featuring Tony Bennett. This did not seem to be a problem for the seventh season as both doors were accessible.

Hollywood[]

The so-called "Hollywood" phase of the audition process was held over four days in mid-November 2006 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a capella of their own choosing in front of the judges and all the other contestants of the same gender. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home, in groups of six. This extended over the first two days, first females, then males. The second round took place on the second and third day, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants choosing, rehearsing, and then performing one of nine pre-selected songs. Groups were reviewed and contestants were then judged individually as to whether they were moving on or going home. The third round took place on the fourth day, and consisted of individual contestants performing a song from a pre-selected list, accompanied by a piano and backup singers. Contestants were again informed of whether they had made the cut or not. The final pre-audience voting cut down took place at the Pasadena Civic Center on January 14 or 15, 2007, just before the regional audition shows began airing. Without any further auditioning, but possibly with some audience research having taken place, the 96 remaining contestants were reduced to 72. In a process taking a whole day, contestants wait in a sitting room until one by one, they go up an elevator and take a long walk to the other end of the Center's Gold Room. Then the three judges told them whether they have made it onto the stage show or are cut. Those cut at this phase included the "fountain girl" in the opening credits, Melissa Sgambelluri.

The 72 semi-finalists were announced February 14, 2007.

Semi-finals[]

The semi-finals began on February 20. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals. The February 20 through May 16 shows originated from CBS Television City in Hollywood. There are no format changes from season 4 and 5. The semi-finals featured the contestants (24 total) divided by gender with the 36 male singers singing on Tuesdays and the 36 female singers on Wednesdays. Each person had the chance to select a song to sing live in front of the judges. Following the show's airing, each U.S. timezone would have two hours to vote by phone or by text-messaging. On Thursday, the two of each group with the lowest amount of votes were eliminated each week until the finals.

Females:

Stephanie Edwards Amy Krebs Leslie Hunt Sabrina Sloan Antonella Barba Jordin Sparks
Nicole Tranquillo Haley Scarnato Melinda Doolittle Alaina Alexander Gina Glocksen LaKisha Jones

Males:

Rudy Cardenas Brandon Rogers Sundance Head Paul Kim Chris Richardson Nick Pedro
Blake Lewis Sanjaya Malakar Chris Sligh Jared Cotter Aj Tabaldo Phil Stacey

Top 12 Finalists[]

The following contestants were Season 6's Top 12

Females

AmericanIdol 12 0018s 1183123502

The Finalists; Standing: Phil Stacey, Haley Scarnato, LaKisha Jones, Gina Glocksen, Chris Sligh & Jordin Sparks; Seated: Blake Lewis, Brandon Rogers, Melinda Doolittle, Chris Richardson, Stephanie Edwards & Sanjaya Malakar

Males

Finals[]

Top 12 perform[]


During the first round of the finals, the Top 12 performed a song from Diana Ross for a spot in the Top 11.

Eliminated Contestant[]

S6finalist12

Brandon Rogers was the first contestant to be eliminated on March 14, 2007 bringing the total down to 11 remaining contestants.

Top 11[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 11.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performance:

  • "Where Did Our Love Go"/"Baby Love"/"Stop! In The Name of Love" by The Supremes

Top 11 perform[]


During the first round of the finals, the Top 10 performed a song from the British Invasion for a spot in the Top 10.

Eliminated Contestant[]

S6finalist11

Stephanie Edwards was the second contestant to be eliminated on March 21, 2007 bringing the total down to 10 remaining contestants.

Top 10[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 10.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Top 10 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 10 performed a song from the band No Doubt and a song that inspires Gwen Stefani for a spot in the Top 9.

Eliminated Contestant[]

S6finalist10

Chris Sligh was the eliminated contestant on March 28, 2007, bringing the total down to 9 remaining contestants.

Top 9[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 9.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Top 9 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 9 performed a song from American Classics for a spot in the Top 8.

Eliminated Contestant[]

S6finalist9

Gina Glocksen was the eliminated contestant on April 4, 2007, bringing the total down to 8 remaining contestants.

Top 8[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 8.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Top 8 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 8 performed a song from Latin music for a spot in the Top 7.

Eliminated Contestant[]

S6finalist8

Haley Scarnato was the eliminated contestant on April 11, 2007, bringing the total down to 7 remaining contestants.

Top 7[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 7.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performance:

  • "Bailamos" by Enrique Iglesias

Top 7 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 7 performed a country song for a spot in the Top 6.

Eliminated Contestant[]

S6finalist7

Sanjaya Malakar was the eliminated contestant on April 11, 2007, bringing the total down to 6 remaining contestants.

Top 7[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 7.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performance:

  • "I'm Alright" by Jo Dee Messina

Top 6 perform (first week)[]


On the first week during "Idol Gives Back", the Top 6 performed an inspirational song.

Eliminated Contestant[]

No eliminated contestant on April 25, prior to the "Idol Gives Back".

Top 6[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and remained on to the Top 6.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Top 6 perform (second week)[]


On the second week week, the Top 7 performed a song from Bon Jovi for a spot in the Top 6.

Eliminated Contestants[]

S6finalist6

Phil Stacey was one of the two eliminated contestants on May 2, 2007, bringing the total down to 11 remaining contestants

S6finalist5


Chris Richardson was one of the two eliminated contestants on May 2, 2007, bringing the total down to 11 remaining contestants.

Top 4[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 4.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Top 4 perform[]


During this round of the finals, each contestant will perform two songs from Barry Gibb for a spot in the Top 3.

Eliminated Contestant[]

S6finalist4

LaKisha Jones was the eliminated contestant on May 9, 2007, bringing the total down to 3 remaining contestants.

Top 3[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 3.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performance:

  • Medley of Barry Gibb songs

Top 3 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 3 performed a song picked by the Judges, a song picked by the producers and a song of their choice for a spot in the Top 2.

Eliminated Contestant[]

S6finalist3

Melinda Doolittle was the eliminated contestant on May 16, 2007, bringing the total down to 2 remaining contestants.

Top 2[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 2.

Performances[]

(The first round of performances were chosen by the judges, the second round were chosen by the producers and the final round was the contestant's choice). The contestants performed in the following order:

Top 2 perform[]

During the final round of the finals, the Top 2 performed a song of their choice, their previous song from the past round, and their first winning single for a spot as Season 6's American Idol.

Runner-up[]

S6finalist2

Blake Lewis was the runner-up of Season 6. Jordin Sparks being the winner.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Winner[]

S6finalist

Jordin Sparks was the winner of American Idol Season 6 on May 23, 2007. She is the youngest contestant to win the competition at the age of 17. 

Results Performances[]

Controversies[]

Shocking Eliminations[]

  • During the top 16 results show many fans were upset when Haley Scarnato beat out Sabrina Sloan for the final spot in the top 12 for the girls. Prior to this Sloan had mostly gotten very positive reviews from the judges while Scarnato had consistently gotten mediocre reviews for her performance. Fans were also upset when Sanjaya Malakar, who had received nothing but poor reviews for his performances, beat out fan favorite Sundance Head for the final spot in the top 12 for guys. The judges were visibly shocked when Scarnato and Malakar had made it.
  • During the top 3, viewers and the judges were stunned when Melinda Doolittle was voted off. Doolittle had blown away the judges and audience members alike with her consistently great performances and vocal abilities, that many thought she was a shoe in for the win. Many viewers blamed the young fanbases of Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis for Doolittle's departure

Virginia Tech[]

After Chris Richardson's performance of Mayberry during Country night, he sent out his prayers to those affected by the Virginia Tech Massacre. While he was doing this the camera went to a disinterested Simon rolling his eyes. This caused controversy as many viewers felt it was very inappropriate and rude of Cowell to do that. Later on the results show, Cowell addressed the controversy stating that he was reacting to what Richardson had said earlier after Cowell had critiqued his performance and that he wasn't reacting to Richardson's tribute to those effected by the tragedy.

Notable past contestants[]

  • Sundance Head, who finished in the top 16, later tried out for & won season 11 of The Voice in 2016. His mentor was country music superstar Blake Shelton. He is the first Idol alum to win The Voice.
Season 6
Finalists
Jordin Sparks  ยท Blake Lewis ยท Melinda Doolittle  ยท LaKisha Jones  ยท Chris Richardson  ยท Phil Stacey  ยท Sanjaya Malakar  ยท Haley Scarnato  ยท Gina Glocksen  ยท Chris Sligh  ยท Stephanie Edwards  ยท Brandon Rogers
Semifinalists
Sundance Head  ยท Sabrina Sloan  ยท Antonella Barba  ยท Jared Cotter  ยท Leslie Hunt  ยท A.J. Tabaldo  ยท Alaina Alexander  ยท Nicholas Pedro  ยท Rudy Cardenas  ยท Nicole Tranquillo  ยท Amy Krebs  ยท Paul Kim
American Idol
Seasons
1  ยท 2  ยท 3  ยท 4 ยท 5  ยท 6  ยท 7  ยท 8  ยท 9  ยท 10  ยท 11 ยท 12 ยท 13 ยท 14 ยท 15 ยท 16 ยท 17 ยท 18 ยท 19 20. 21|-style="background:#5D8AA8" align="center" width="100%" Judges
Simon Cowell (Seasons 1-9)  ยท Paula Abdul (Seasons 1-8) ยท Randy Jackson (Seasons 1-12) ยท Kara DioGuardi (Seasons 8-9) ยท Ellen DeGeneres (Season 9) ยท Steven Tyler (Seasons 10-11)  ยท Nicki Minaj (Season 12)  ยท Mariah Carey (Season 12) ยท Jennifer Lopez (Seasons 10-11,13-15)  ยท Keith Urban (Seasons 12-15)  ยท Harry Connick, Jr. (Seasons 13-15)  ยท Katy Perry (Seasons 16-)  ยท Luke Bryan (Seasons 16-)  ยท Lionel Richie (Seasons 16-)
Hosts
Ryan Seacrest (Seasons 1-16) ยท Brian Dunkleman (Season 1)
Winners
Kelly Clarkson ยท Ruben Studdard ยท Fantasia Barrino ยท Carrie Underwood ยท Taylor Hicks ยท Jordin Sparks ยท David Cook ยท Kris Allen ยท Lee DeWyze ยท Scotty McCreery ยท Phillip Phillips ยท Candice Glover ยท Caleb Johnson ยท Nick Fradiani ยท Trent Harmon ยท Maddie Poppe ยท Laine Hardy ยท Just Sam  ยทChayce Beckham  ยท Noah Thompson  ยท Iam Tongi
Justin Guarini ยท Clay Aiken ยท Diana DeGarmo ยท Bo Bice ยท Katharine McPhee ยท Blake Lewis ยท David Archuleta ยท Adam Lambert ยท Crystal Bowersox ยท Lauren Alaina ยท Jessica Sanchez ยท Kree Harrison ยท Jena Irene ยท Clark Beckham ยท La'Porsha Renae ยท Caleb Lee Hutchinson ยท Alejandro Aranda ยท Arthur Gunn  ยท Willie Spence  ยท Huntergirl  ยท| Megan Danielle

style="background:#5D8AA8" align="center" width="100%"

Coronation Songs
"A Moment Like This" ยท "Flying Without Wings" ยท "I Believe" ยท "Inside Your Heaven" ยท "Do I Make You Proud" ยท "This Is My Now" ยท "The Time of My Life" ยท "No Boundaries" ยท "Beautiful Day" ยท "I Love You This Big" ยท "Home" ยท "I Am Beautiful" ยท "As Long As You Love Me" ยท "Beautiful Life" ยท "Falling" ยท "Going Going Gone" ยท "Flame"" ยท "Rise Up  ยท 23  ยท One Day Tonight  ยท " I'll Be Seeing You
From Justin to Kelly ยท Juniors ยท Christmas
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