American Idol season 7
season of television series
The seventh season of American Idol began on January 15, 2008 and concluded on May 21, 2008. Ryan Seacrest continued to host the show, while Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned as judges. David Cook was announced as the winner on May 21, 2008, defeating runner-up David Archuleta by a margin of roughly 12 million votes out of over 97 million, which was at that time the highest recorded vote total in the show's history.
Changes from previous seasons
Prior to the start of the seventh season, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe admitted that the sixth season had placed more focus on the guest mentors than the contestants. Changes were planned for the seventh season designed to return attention to the contestants by providing more information on their backgrounds and families.
In a major change for the seventh season, contestants were allowed to play musical instruments, an element which originated on Australian Idol. A brand new set was built, and a new introduction credit sequence was created. The season finale also moved from the Kodak Theatre to the larger Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, which became the venue for the live series finale for the next six years.
Regional auditions
For the seventh season, auditions began in San Diego, California, on July 30, 2007, and continued in these cities:
Contestants were required to be between the ages of 16 and 28 on July 28, 2007, and eligible to work in the United States. Those ineligible included former contestants who had previously reached the semifinals of the first through third seasons, or the last phase of the Hollywood round of the fourth through sixth seasons, those holding recording or management contracts, or those who were not U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “American Idol season 7” is season of television series. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through American, Idol and season, not as a finished interpretation.
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