American Idol
Season 6
Hosted byRyan Seacrest
JudgesPaula Abdul
Simon Cowell
Randy Jackson
WinnerJordin Sparks
Runner-upBlake Lewis
Finals venueKodak Theatre
Release
Original networkFox
Original releaseJanuary 16 (2007-01-16) 
May 23, 2007 (2007-05-23)
Season chronology

The sixth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned as judges, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host. A new record of 74 million votes were cast in the finale round, and a new record of 609 million votes were cast in the entire season. Jordin Sparks won the competition, while Blake Lewis was the runner-up.

Regional auditions

Contestants were required to be between the ages 16 and 28 on August 6, 2006. Guest judges were used for auditions this season.[1]

Auditions were held in the following cities:

American Idol (season 6) – regional auditions
City Preliminary date Preliminary venue Filming date(s) Filming venue Golden tickets
Los Angeles, California August 6, 2006 Rose Bowl, Pasadena September 26, 2006 Millennium Biltmore Hotel[2] 40
San Antonio, Texas August 11, 2006 Alamodome August 26, 2006 Henry B. González Convention Center[3] 24
New York City, New York August 14, 2006 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford August 30, 2006 Chelsea Piers[4] 35
Birmingham, Alabama August 21, 2006 Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex September 29–30, 2006 Sheraton Hotel[5] 20
Memphis, Tennessee September 3, 2006 FedExForum October 5–6, 2006 Memphis Cook Convention Center[6] 22
Minneapolis, Minnesota September 8, 2006 Target Center September 12, 2006 Minneapolis Convention Center[7] 17
Seattle, Washington September 19, 2006 KeyArena October 2–3, 2006 W Hotel[8] 14
Total number of tickets to Hollywood 172

Jordin Sparks, this season's winner, originally failed to pass through her audition in Los Angeles,[9] but later won an audition in Seattle as a reward for winning a local Fox-affiliate-sponsored contest called Arizona Idol.[10]

Hollywood week

The Hollywood rounds of the audition process were held over four days in November 2006 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.

The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a cappella in front of the judges. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home in groups of six. This extended over the first two days.

The second round took place on the second and third days, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants 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, where each contestant performed one 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 round took place at the Pasadena Civic Center on January 14–15, 2007, just before the regional audition shows began airing. Without any further auditioning, the 40 remaining contestants were reduced to 24. In a process taking a whole day, contestants waited in a sitting room until, one by one, they went up to the center's Gold Room. The three judges told them whether they had made it onto the stage show or were cut. The 24 semifinalists were announced on February 14, 2007.

Semifinals

The live show portion of the semifinals began on February 20, 2007, with the names announced on February 14. Starting with 12 women and 12 men, the women and men performed weekly on separate shows and on the result show, the bottom two male and two female contestants were eliminated. The semifinals took place over three weeks, leaving the other six to form the top 12. The females performed on the first night, followed by the males the next night.

Color key:

  This contestant was saved by the public vote.
  This contestant was eliminated.

Top 24 (February 20 & 21)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 24 (Female contestants)
Contestant Song Result
Stephanie Edwards "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" Safe
Amy Krebs "I Can't Make You Love Me" Eliminated
Leslie Hunt "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" Safe
Sabrina Sloan "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" Safe
Antonella Barba "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Safe
Jordin Sparks "Give Me One Reason" Safe
Nicole Tranquillo "Stay" Eliminated
Haley Scarnato "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" Safe
Melinda Doolittle "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" Safe
Alaina Alexander "Brass in Pocket" Safe
Gina Glocksen "All by Myself" Safe
Lakisha Jones "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" Safe
Top 24 (Male contestants)
Contestant Song Result
Rudy Cardenas "Free Ride" Eliminated
Brandon Rogers "Rock with You" Safe
Sundance Head "Nights in White Satin" Safe
Paul Kim "Careless Whisper" Eliminated
Chris Richardson "I Don't Want to Be" Safe
Nick Pedro "Now and Forever" Safe
Blake Lewis "Somewhere Only We Know" Safe
Sanjaya Malakar "Knocks Me Off My Feet" Safe
Chris Sligh "Typical" Safe
Jared Cotter "Back at One" Safe
AJ Tabaldo "Never Too Much" Safe
Phil Stacey "I Could Not Ask for More" Safe
Non-competition performances
Performers Song
Top 24 "Sowing the Seeds of Love"
Fantasia "I'm Here"

Top 20 (February 27 & 28)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 20 (Female contestants)
Contestant Song Result
Gina Glocksen "Alone" Safe
Alaina Alexander "Not Ready to Make Nice" Eliminated
LaKisha Jones "Midnight Train to Georgia" Safe
Melinda Doolittle "My Funny Valentine" Safe
Antonella Barba "Because You Loved Me" Safe
Jordin Sparks "Reflection" Safe
Stephanie Edwards "Dangerously in Love" Safe
Leslie Hunt "Feeling Good" Eliminated
Haley Scarnato "Queen of the Night" Safe
Sabrina Sloan "All the Man That I Need" Safe
Top 20 (Male contestants)
Contestant Song Result
Phil Stacey "Missing You" Safe
Jared Cotter "Let's Get It On" Safe
AJ Tabaldo "Feeling Good" Eliminated
Sanjaya Malakar "Steppin' Out with My Baby" Safe
Chris Sligh "Trouble" Safe
Nick Pedro "Fever" Eliminated
Blake Lewis "Virtual Insanity" Safe
Brandon Rogers "Time After Time" Safe
Chris Richardson "Geek in the Pink" Safe
Sundance Head "Mustang Sally" Safe
Non-competition performances
Performers Song
Top 20 "Joy to the World"
Kellie Pickler "I Wonder"

Top 16 (March 6 & 7)

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 16 (Female contestants)
Contestant Song Result
Jordin Sparks "Heartbreaker" Safe
Sabrina Sloan "Don't Let Go (Love)" Eliminated
Antonella Barba "Put Your Records On" Eliminated
Haley Scarnato "If My Heart Had Wings" Safe
Stephanie Edwards "Sweet Thing" Safe
Lakisha Jones "I Have Nothing" Safe
Gina Glocksen "Call Me When You're Sober" Safe
Melinda Doolittle "I'm a Woman" Safe
Top 16 (Male contestants)
Contestant Song Result
Blake Lewis "All Mixed Up" Safe
Sanjaya Malakar "Waiting on the World to Change" Safe
Sundance Head "Jeremy" Eliminated
Jared Cotter "If You Really Love Me" Eliminated
Chris Richardson "Tonight I Wanna Cry" Safe
Brandon Rogers "I Just Want to Celebrate" Safe
Phil Stacey "I Need You" Safe
Chris Sligh "Wanna Be Loved" Safe
Non-competition performances
Performers Song
Top 16 "Stuck in the Middle with You"
Carrie Underwood "Wasted"

Top 12 finalists

The top 12 finalists were announced on March 8, 2007. As in past years, the top 12 appeared on the annual compilation album while the top 10 participated in the American Idol summer concert tour. Also as in past years, one finalist was eliminated every week, with the exception of the April 25 show, when all contestants were declared safe. As a result, two of the participants were eliminated on the May 2 results program.

From left to right: Phil Stacey, Sanjaya Malakar, Gina Glocksen, Chris Sligh, and Brandon Rogers

Finals

There were eleven weeks of finals with twelve contestants competing. One contestant was eliminated every week based on the public's votes, with the exception of the top 6 week, where one week featured a non-elimination and the following week a double-elimination.

Color key:

  This contestant was saved by the public vote.
  This contestant was in the top three.
  This contestant was in the bottom two or three, but was saved by the public vote.
  This contestant was eliminated.
  This contestant won American Idol.
  This contestant was the runner-up.

Top 12 – Diana Ross (March 15)

Diana Ross served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed one song each from her discography and are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Diana Ross song Result
Brandon Rogers "You Can't Hurry Love" Eliminated
Melinda Doolittle "Home" Safe
Chris Sligh "Endless Love" Safe
Gina Glocksen "Love Child" Safe
Sanjaya Malakar "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" Bottom two
Haley Scarnato "Missing You" Safe
Phil Stacey "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" Bottom three
Lakisha Jones "God Bless the Child" Safe
Blake Lewis "You Keep Me Hangin' On" Safe
Stephanie Edwards "Love Hangover" Safe
Chris Richardson "The Boss" Safe
Jordin Sparks "If We Hold on Together" Safe
Non-competition performances
Performers Song
Top 12 "Where Did Our Love Go"
"Baby Love"
"Stop! In the Name of Love"
Diana Ross "More Today Than Yesterday"

Top 11 – British Invasion (March 24)

British singers Peter Noone and Lulu served as guest mentors this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Song Result
Haley Scarnato "Tell Him" Safe
Chris Richardson "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" Bottom two
Stephanie Edwards "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" Eliminated
Blake Lewis "Time of the Season" Safe
Lakisha Jones "Diamonds Are Forever" Safe
Phil Stacey "Tobacco Road" Safe
Jordin Sparks "I (Who Have Nothing)" Safe
Sanjaya Malakar "You Really Got Me" Safe
Gina Glocksen "Paint It Black" Safe
Chris Sligh "She's Not There" Safe
Melinda Doolittle "As Long as He Needs Me" Safe
Non-competition performances
Performers Song
Peter Noone "There's a Kind of Hush"
Lulu "To Sir with Love"

Top 10 – Gwen Stefani (March 31)

Gwen Stefani served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed songs from her discography or songs that inspired her, and are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Song Result
Lakisha Jones "Last Dance" Safe
Chris Sligh "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" Eliminated
Gina Glocksen "I'll Stand by You" Safe
Sanjaya Malakar "Bathwater" Safe
Haley Scarnato "True Colors" Bottom two
Phil Stacey "Every Breath You Take" Bottom three
Melinda Doolittle "Heaven Knows" Safe
Blake Lewis "Lovesong" Safe
Jordin Sparks "Hey Baby" Safe
Chris Richardson "Don't Speak" Safe
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
Gwen Stefani & Akon "The Sweet Escape"

Top 9 – American classics (April 6)

Tony Bennett served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Song Result
Blake Lewis "Mack the Knife" Safe
Phil Stacey "Night and Day" Bottom three
Melinda Doolittle "I Got Rhythm" Top three
Chris Richardson "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" Safe
Jordin Sparks "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" Top three
Gina Glocksen "Smile" Eliminated
Sanjaya Malakar "Cheek to Cheek" Safe
Haley Scarnato "Ain't Misbehavin" Bottom two
Lakisha Jones "Stormy Weather" Top three
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
Michael Bublé "Call Me Irresponsible"

Top 8 – Latin (April 11)

Jennifer Lopez served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Latin song Result
Melinda Doolittle "Sway" Safe
Lakisha Jones "Conga" Safe
Chris Richardson "Smooth" Bottom three
Haley Scarnato "Turn the Beat Around" Eliminated
Phil Stacey "Maria Maria" Bottom two
Jordin Sparks "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" Safe
Blake Lewis "I Need to Know" Safe
Sanjaya Malakar "Bésame Mucho" Safe
Non-competition performances
Performers Song
Top 8 "Bailamos"
Akon "Don't Matter"
Jennifer Lopez "Qué Hiciste"

Top 7 – Country (April 18)

Martina McBride served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Country song Result
Phil Stacey "Where the Blacktop Ends" Safe
Jordin Sparks "A Broken Wing" Safe
Sanjaya Malakar "Something to Talk About" Eliminated
Lakisha Jones "Jesus, Take the Wheel" Bottom two
Chris Richardson "Mayberry" Safe
Melinda Doolittle "Trouble Is a Woman" Safe
Blake Lewis "When the Stars Go Blue" Bottom three
Non-competition performances
Performers Song
Top 7 "I'm Alright"
Fergie "Big Girls Don't Cry"
Martina McBride "Anyway"

Top 6 (Idol Gives Back) – Inspirational songs (April 25)

Owing to a special theme week – Idol Gives Back – Ryan Seacrest announced that this week would be a non-elimination, and that the votes cast for this week would be combined with the votes from the following week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Song Result
Chris Richardson "Change the World" Safe
Melinda Doolittle "There Will Come a Day" Safe
Blake Lewis "Imagine" Safe
Lakisha Jones "I Believe" Safe
Phil Stacey "The Change" Safe
Jordin Sparks "You'll Never Walk Alone" Safe

Top 6 – Bon Jovi (May 2)

Jon Bon Jovi and David Bryan served as guest mentors this week. Contestants performed one song from the Bon Jovi discography, and are listed in the order they performed. Two contestants were eliminated based on the combined votes from last week and this week.

Contestant Bon Jovi song Result
Phil Stacey "Blaze of Glory" Eliminated
Jordin Sparks "Livin' on a Prayer" Safe
Lakisha Jones "This Ain't a Love Song" Safe
Blake Lewis "You Give Love a Bad Name" Safe
Chris Richardson "Wanted Dead or Alive" Eliminated
Melinda Doolittle "Have a Nice Day" Safe
Non-competition performances
Performers Song
Robin Thicke "Lost Without U"
Bon Jovi "(You Want to) Make a Memory"

Top 4 – Bee Gees (May 9)

Barry Gibb served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed two songs each from the Bee Gees discography and are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Order Bee Gees song Result
Melinda Doolittle 1 "Love You Inside Out" Safe
5 "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"
Blake Lewis 2 "You Should Be Dancing" Safe
6 "This Is Where I Came In"
Lakisha Jones 3 "Stayin' Alive" Eliminated
7 "Run to Me"
Jordin Sparks 4 "To Love Somebody" Safe
8 "Woman in Love"
Non-competition performances
Performers Song
Top 4 Bee Gees medley
Pink "Who Knew"
Barry Gibb "To Love Somebody"

Top 3 (May 16)

Each contestant performed three songs: one chosen by one of the judges, one chosen by the producers, and one chosen by themselves. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestant Order Song Result
Jordin Sparks 1 "Wishing on a Star"[lower-alpha 1] Safe
4 "She Works Hard for the Money"
7 "I (Who Have Nothing)"
Blake Lewis 2 "Roxanne"[lower-alpha 2] Safe
5 "This Love"
8 "When I Get You Alone"
Melinda Doolittle 3 "I Believe in You and Me"[lower-alpha 3] Eliminated
6 "Nutbush City Limits"
9 "I'm a Woman"
Non-competition performances
Performers Song
Elliott Yamin "Wait for You"
Maroon 5 "Makes Me Wonder"
  1. Song chosen by Simon Cowell
  2. Song chosen by Paula Abdul
  3. Song chosen by Randy Jackson

Top 2 – Finale (May 23)

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

Contestant Order Song Result
Blake Lewis 1 "You Give Love a Bad Name" Runner-Up
3 "She Will Be Loved"
5 "This Is My Now"
Jordin Sparks 2 "Fighter" Winner
4 "A Broken Wing"
6 "This Is My Now"
Non-competition performance
Performers Song
Daughtry "Home"[lower-alpha 1]
Jordin Sparks & Blake Lewis "I Saw Her Standing There"
Gwen Stefani "4 in the Morning"
Kelly Clarkson "Never Again"
Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson,
Phil Stacey, Sanjaya Malakar,
Chris Sligh & Brandon Rogers
with Smokey Robinson
"Ooo Baby Baby"
"Being with You"
"The Tears of a Clown"
Blake Lewis
with Doug E. Fresh
"The Show"
Jordin Sparks, Melinda Doolittle,
LaKisha Jones, Haley Scarnato,
Gina Glocksen & Stephanie Edwards
with Gladys Knight
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
"I Feel a Song (In My Heart)"
"Midnight Train to Georgia"
Tony Bennett "For Once in My Life"
Melinda Doolittle
with BeBe & CeCe Winans
"Hold Up the Light"
Top 12 "Time After Time"
Carrie Underwood "I'll Stand by You"
African Children's Choir
Sanjaya Malakar
with Joe Perry
"You Really Got Me"
Green Day "Working Class Hero"
Taylor Hicks "Heaven Knows"
Jordin Sparks & Ruben Studdard "You're All I Need to Get By"
Bette Midler "Wind Beneath My Wings"
Top 12
with Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Hicks,
Ruben Studdard & Carrie Underwood
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
"A Day in the Life"
"She's Leaving Home"
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
"With a Little Help from My Friends"
Jordin Sparks "This Is My Now"
  1. Performed on the May 22 episode.

The finale aired on May 23, 2007, live from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Every past winner of American Idol gave a special performance except for Fantasia, who was appearing in The Color Purple in New York City and was thus unavailable.

After Carrie Underwood performed "I'll Stand by You", Clive Davis gave a speech extolling the state of "the American Idol album franchise," and then presented Underwood with a special award for achieving 6 million U.S. album sales for her album Some Hearts.

Elimination chart

Color key:

  Winner
  Runner-up
  Saved by the public
  Top two
  Bottom two or three
  Eliminated
American Idol (season 6) - Eliminations
Contestant Pl. Semifinals Top 12 Top 11 Top 10 Top 9 Top 8 Top 7 Top 6 Top 4 Top 3 Finale
2/22 3/1 3/8 3/15 3/24 3/31 4/6 4/11 4/18 4/25[lower-alpha 1] 5/2 5/9 5/16 5/23
Jordin Sparks 1 Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Top three Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Winner
Blake Lewis 2 Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom three Safe Safe Safe Safe Runner-up
Melinda Doolittle 3 Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Top three Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated
LaKisha Jones 4 Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Top three Safe Bottom two Safe Safe Eliminated
Chris Richardson 5 Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Safe Safe Bottom three Safe Safe Eliminated
Phil Stacey Safe Safe Safe Bottom three Safe Bottom three Bottom three Bottom two Safe Safe
Sanjaya Malakar 7 Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated
Haley Scarnato 8 Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Bottom two Eliminated
Gina Glocksen 9 Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated
Chris Sligh 10 Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated
Stephanie Edwards 11 Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated
Brandon Rogers 12 Safe Safe Safe Eliminated
Antonella Barba Safe Safe Eliminated
Jared Cotter Safe Safe
Sundance Head Safe Safe
Sabrina Sloan Safe Safe
Alaina Alexander Safe Eliminated
Leslie Hunt Safe
Nicholas Pedro Safe
A.J. Tabaldo Safe
Rudy Cardenas Eliminated
Paul Kim
Amy Krebs
Nicole Tranquillo
  1. There was no elimination on April 25, as the week held a Idol Gives Back telethon performance. Votes from this week carried into the following week, where the two contestants with the fewest combined votes were eliminated.

American Idol songwriter contest

On the April 3 show, Ryan Seacrest announced the first American Idol songwriting contest. Following an open online submission process, where over 25,000 submissions were received, twenty songs were selected for competition by Simon Fuller and A&R representatives of 19 Entertainment. Beginning on May 2, 2007, and ending on May 8, 2007, with "one online vote per fan", the American public were able to listen to snippets from each song and rate them on the American Idol website. On the May 22 show, the two finalists performed the winning song: "This Is My Now". The song was released as a single by Jordin Sparks.[12]

The titles of the twenty songs were:[13]

Controversies

There was controversy surrounding the judges' comments over the audition of a Special Olympics participant named Jonathan Jayne.[14] American Idol producer Ken Warwick responded by saying: "It's not a conscious decision, It's just that the further we go in the series, there are less and less good singers, so the numbers are made up by more bad ones." Warwick said that he thinks everyone has the right to audition, and added that in some instances when there are singers with certain disabilities who just want to meet the judges, the producers will "turn the cameras off and bring them in. We give them a good experience."[15]

A series of provocative photos surfaced on the Internet of sontestant Antonella Barba.[16]

On Tuesday, April 17, 2007, the day after the Virginia Tech massacre, while Chris Richardson and Ryan Seacrest were discussing the shooting after Chris's critique, Simon Cowell apparently appeared to be rolling his eyes at the incident, when he was actually speaking to Paula Abdul and did not hear what Chris had said. On the results show the next day, Cowell stated: "I may not be the nicest person in the world, but I would never, ever, ever disrespect those families or those victims, and I felt it was important to set the record straight." To clear Cowell's name, a video was shown on the result show which showed Cowell and Abdul talking with an inset of Chris and Seacrest discussing the shooting. Additionally, Seacrest began the performance show by acknowledging what had happened the day before.

Reception

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Live + same day ratings

American Idol ended the season as the top show of the 2006–2007 TV season. Its Wednesday episodes ranked first with an average of 30.02 million viewers, followed by the Tuesday episodes which averaged 29.54 million. The premiere episode became the series' highest rated debut episode, viewed by 37.44 million viewers and receiving a 15.8/36 Nielsen rating in the Adult 18-49 demographic.[17]

Episode list
Show Episode Air date Week
rank
Rating/Share 18-49
rating/Share
Viewers
(in millions)
1 "Minneapolis Auditions"[18] January 16, 2007 3 20.3 / 29 15.8 / 36 37.44
2 "Seattle Auditions"[18] January 17, 2007 4 20.1 / 30 15.5 / 36 36.94
3 "Memphis Auditions"[19] January 23, 2007 2 18.0 / 26 13.3 / 33 32.60
4 "New York Auditions"[19] January 24, 2007 1 18.9 / 28 14.1 / 35 33.87
5 "Birmingham Auditions"[20] January 30, 2007 4 18.6 /28 13.5 / 33 33.65
6 "Los Angeles Auditions"[20] January 31, 2007 5 18.0 / 27 13.7 / 32 31.85
7 "San Antonio Auditions"[21] February 6, 2007 1 18.4 / 27 13.5 / 33 33.36
8 "Best of the Rest"[21] February 7, 2007 2 15.9 / 23 12.0 / 27 27.91
9 "Hollywood Round, Part 1"[22] February 13, 2007 1 17.4 / 25 13.0 / 31 31.20
10 "Hollywood Round, Part 2"[22] February 14, 2007 2 16.2 / 24 12.2 / 29 28.89
11 "Top 12 Men Perform"[23] February 20, 2007 3 16.5 / 25 11.8 / 30 29.53
12 "Top 12 Women Perform"[23] February 21, 2007 2 17.2 / 26 12.3 / 31 30.46
13 "Top 24 Results"[23] February 22, 2007 6 14.1 / 21 9.1 / 23 24.44
14 "Top 10 Men Perform"[24] February 27, 2007 1 17.1 / 26 12.2 / 30 30.65
15 "Top 10 Women Perform"[24] February 28, 2007 2 17.5 / 27 11.9 / 30 29.78
16 "Top 20 Results"[24] March 1, 2007 3 15.5 / 23 10.5 / 26 27.39
17 "Top 8 Men Perform"[25] March 6, 2007 2 15.9 / 24 10.9 / 29 27.95
18 "Top 8 Women Perform"[25] March 7, 2007 1 16.7 / 26 11.2 / 30 28.55
19 "Top 12 Revealed"[25] March 8, 2007 3 16.0 / 25 10.4 / 28 27.52
20 "Top 12 Perform"[26] March 13, 2007 1 17.1 / 27 11.7 / 31 29.83
21 "Top 12 Results"[26] March 14, 2007 2 16.2 / 26 10.1 / 26 26.18
22 "Top 11 Perform"[27] March 20, 2007 1 17.9 / 27 11.8 / 30 29.96
23 "Top 11 Results"[27] March 21, 2007 2 18.0 / 27 10.4 / 27 27.08
24 "Top 10 Perform"[28] March 27, 2007 1 16.2 / 26 11.0 / 30 28.18
25 "Top 10 Results"[28] March 28, 2007 2 16.2 / 25 10.9 / 28 26.89
26 "Top 9 Perform"[29] April 3, 2007 1 15.7 / 25 10.4 / 29 26.67
27 "Top 9 Results"[29] April 4, 2007 2 15.5 / 24 9.9 / 26 26.10
28 "Top 8 Perform"[30] April 10, 2007 2 15.6 / 24 10.3 / 29 26.78
29 "Top 8 Results"[30] April 11, 2007 1 16.5 / 25 11.1 / 27 28.56
30 "Top 7 Perform"[31] April 17, 2007 2 15.4 / 24 10.2 / 28 26.55
31 Top 7 Results"[31] April 18, 2007 1 17.2 / 26 11.2 / 28 28.93
32 "Top 6 Perform"[32] April 24, 2007 2 15.7 / 25 10.0 / 28 26.55
33 ""Idol Gives Back"[32] April 25, 2007 1 15.6 / 25 10.2 / 27 26.93
34 "Top 6 Performs again"[33] May 1, 2007 2 15.7 / 25 10.2 / 29 26.73
35 "Top 6 Results"[33] May 2, 2007 1 17.0 / 26 11.0 / 28 28.75
36 "Top 4 Perform"[34] May 8, 2007 2 15.1 / 25 9.3 / 28 25.47
37 "Top 4 Results"[34] May 9, 2007 1 16.9 / 26 10.8 / 28 28.20
38 "Top 3 Perform"[35] May 15, 2007 2 14.1 / 23 9.4 / 26 24.23
39 "Top 3 Results"[35] May 16, 2007 1 16.5 / 25 10.8 / 28 28.05
40 "Top 2 Perform"[36] May 22, 2007 2 14.9 / 24 9.7 / 27 25.33
41 Season 6 Finale"[36] May 23, 2007 1 17.8 / 29 11.5 / 29 30.74

Live + 7 day (DVR) ratings

American Idol Extra (season 2)

American Idol Extra, a behind-the-scenes show, also returned for a second season, corresponding with the start of the finals in March. It aired on Thursdays on Fox Reality.

Idol Gives Back 2007

On the March 8 results show, Ryan Seacrest announced an initiative to give back to people in poverty in both Africa and the United States, including those affected by Hurricane Katrina. The event took place over two episodes of the series. For every vote cast immediately following the April 24 broadcast, sponsors donated funds to the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund. The fund would distribute the money raised to many charities in the United States as well as in Africa.[37] News Corporation pledged to donate 10 cents for every vote made to the show for the first 50 million calls, that is, up to $5 million. MySpace created a special profile page for the event in order to spread the word. Donations from viewers were accepted by phone and through the website during the April 25 results show, in a manner similar to a telethon. Near the end of the broadcast, Seacrest announced the show had raised $30 million. As of May 1, 2007, over $70 million has been raised as a result of Idol Gives Back.

Between contestant performances, video vignettes showing Seacrest and the judges and visiting and observing squalid conditions in Africa and the United States were aired. Similar vignettes were aired during the results show. For this special, the voting period was doubled to four hours following the show, rather than the usual two. In response to the anticipated call volume, each contestant was assigned two toll free numbers. Over 70 million votes were cast.

The results show was broadcast from two locations—the regular American Idol stage and Walt Disney Concert Hall, which included many celebrity actors and personalities. Ellen DeGeneres co-hosted the event from the Disney Hall stage.

Due to the charity theme of the show, no contestant was eliminated on the April 25 results show. This was a surprise both to viewers, to whom Seacrest promised the "most shocking elimination ever", and to the contestants. When Seacrest seemed about to eliminate Jordin Sparks, he announced that since it was a charity night, none of the contestants would be voted off, and the votes from that week would be added to the votes from the following week, and that two contestants would be eliminated. Both weeks saw a two-hour extension of the regular two-hour voting window, and in the end, the two-week combined voting totaled 135 million votes.

Idol Chat (season 3)

TV Guide Channel aired its third season of Idol Chat.

Idol Tonight (season 2)

TV Guide Channel brought back a second season of Idol Tonight, the live pre-show to American Idol, which aired on Wednesdays starting in March. The show featured Justin Guarini as a correspondent along with Kimberly Caldwell and Rosanna Tavarez.

International broadcasts

U.K. edition

For back-to-back repeat of the performance and results shows in the U.K. on ITV2, Cat Deeley presented additional sections preceding and following each commercial break, and followed the end of the show with a short interview with that week's eliminated contestant.[38]

Music releases

Unlike previous seasons, the top 12 compilation album did not come out while the show was airing. The top 12 recorded studio versions of each of the songs they sang on the show. The songs were available for purchase on AmericanIdol.com as digital downloads through the night of the finale.[39]

Originally, a collage of the finalists' head shots from the top 24 photo shoot was used as album art on AmericanIdol.com, with the title American Idol 6: Greatest Moments; at present, the covers of Sparks' and Lewis' EPs are used instead. The American Idol: Season 6 – "Greatest Hits" & "The Collector's Edition" were eventually released on June 12, 2007. This was the only season where the season's collection was not distributed by Sony BMG/RCA Records.

Sparks' first non-American Idol single was the top hit "Tattoo", which received platinum certification. Her second single was the Billboard Hot 100 number three hit "No Air" with Chris Brown. The song went to number one in several countries, and also topped Billboard's Pop Airplay chart. "No Air" had been certified platinum in April. It stands as the bestselling single by any American Idol contestant. Sparks released a third single off her album, "One Step at a Time", which peaked at number 17. "One Step at a Time" so far sold over a million copies and is certified platinum. Sparks released her second album Battlefield in July 2009. The album's title track became Jordin's fifth top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 10. This made Jordin Sparks the only American Idol contestant to have their first five singles become Top 20 Hits.

Blake Lewis's first single was "Break Anotha!", which failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. His second single, "How Many Words", also failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Shortly afterward, Lewis confirmed that he had been dropped by Arista records. His album sales were just over 300,000. The drop also cancelled his apparent plans for a third single release.

"This Is My Now," as performed by Jordin Sparks, was released as a radio single. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 15.

Concert tour

References

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