A combined 273 artists have won the television series Idols, a reality singing competition adapted in forty-six regions. The series, originally created by British television executive Simon Fuller as Pop Idol, aims to find the most outstanding independent solo singer. Through mass auditions, a group of semi-finalists is selected by a panel of judges based on their performances. The finalists are then selected amongst a group of semi-finalists by the television audiences and the judges (through wildcard rounds), with the finalist receiving the most votes by the television audiences in their weekly performance being declared the winner.

Countries that have their own versions of Idols. Countries that film their own versions are in blue, while those that take part in a series with other countries are in green.

Each winner is given a recording contract, a monetary prize, and a title as that nation's Idol, SuperStar or Star. The first winner of the format was Will Young of the United Kingdom in 2002. Two winners of the series were also able to win for another regional title: Kurt Nilsen of Norway also won World Idol in 2003, and Hady Mirza of Singapore also won Asian Idol in 2007. In addition, Jason Hartman and Sasha-Lee Davids of South Africa were the only two finalists to be declared as co-winners of the format.

Winning the Idols series provides a unique opportunity for the winning artist(s) to launch or further their music careers, due to the surrounding publicity and the recording contract offerings. However, only a few of them have managed to further their international careers. The most notable winner of the series was Kelly Clarkson of the United States, who has sold over 70 million records worldwide.[1] Other notable winning artists who also have managed to chart internationally include Agnes Carlsson of Sweden, Alexander Klaws of Germany, Kurt Nilsen of Norway, Guy Sebastian of Australia, Carrie Underwood of the United States, and Young of the United Kingdom.

Winners edit

 
Kelly Clarkson, the first American Idol, is the most successful winner worldwide.
 
Will Young, the first UK Pop Idol and the first winner of Idols format
 
Kurt Nilsen, the first Norway's Idol and the 2003 World Idol winner

National versions edit

Region Series title
(alternative title)
Winner
Algeria Algérie Idol
  • Season 1 (2021):Maya Sahnoun
Armenia Hay Superstar
(Հայ Սուպերսթար)
  • Season 1 (2003): Susanna Petrosyan
  • Season 2 (2006–07): Lusine Aghabekyan
  • Season 3 (2008): Lusi Harutunyan
  • Season 4 (2009–10): Raffi Ohanian
  • Season 5 (2011–12): Sona Rubenyan
Australia Australian Idol
Bangladesh Bangladeshi Idol
  • Season 1 (2013): Mong U Ching
Belgium Idool
Brazil Ídolos
Bulgaria1 Music Idol
Cambodia Cambodian Idol
  • Season 1 (2015): Ny Rathana
  • Season 2 (2016): Chhin Machin
  • Season 3 (2017–18): Thai Pov Kri
Canada Canadian Idol
China2 Zhōngguó Mèng Zhī Shēng Chinese Idol
(中國夢之聲 Chinese Idol)
  • Season 1 (2013): XiangXiang "Sean" Li
  • Season 2 (2014): Sinkey "Kiki" Zheng
Colombia Idol Colombia
  • Season 1 (2014): Luis Ángel Racini
Croatia Hrvatski Idol
Hrvatska traži Zvijezdu
Czech Republic Česko hledá SuperStar
Denmark Idols
Estonia Eesti otsib superstaari
Finland Idols
France3 Nouvelle Star
(A la Recherche de la Nouvelle Star, season 1)
Georgia Geostar
(ჯეოსტარი)
Georgian Idol
(საქართველოს ვარსკვლავი)
  • Season 1 (2012): Luka Zakariadze
  • Season 2 (2013): Nina Sublati
Georgian Pop Idol
(ჩვენ ვარსკვლავები ვართ)
Germany4 Deutschland sucht den SuperStar
Greece5 Super Idol
Greek Idol
Iceland Idol stjörnuleit
India Indian Idol
Telugu Indian Idol
Indian Idol Marathi
Indonesia Indonesian Idol
Iraq Iraq Idol
  • Season 1 (2021): Ali Leo
Kazakhstan SuperStar KZ
Kurdistan Kurd Idol
  • Season 1 (2017): Jînda Kenco
Macedonia Macedonian Idol
Malaysia Malaysian Idol
Maldives Maldivian Idol
  • Season 1 (2016): Laisha Junaid
  • Season 2 (2017): Mohamed Thasneem
  • Season 3 (2018): Aishath Azal Ali Zahir
Morocco Maroc Idol
  • Season 1 (2019): Ali Moulay
  • Season 2 (2020): TBD
Myanmar Myanmar Idol
Nepal Nepal Idol
  • Season 1 (2017): Buddha Lama
  • Season 2 (2018): Ravi Oad
Netherlands Idols
New Zealand NZ Idol
Nigeria Nigerian Idol
Norway Idol
Pakistan Pakistan Idol
  • Season 1 (2013): Zamad Baig
Philippines Philippine Idol
Pinoy Idol
Idol Philippines
(Search for the Idol Philippines, season 1)
Poland Idol
Portugal Ídolos
Puerto Rico Idol Puerto Rico
Romania6 SuperStar România
  • Season 1 (2021): Alessandro Mucea
Russia7 Narodniy Artist
(Народный Артист)
Serbia and Montenegro Idol
Singapore Singapore Idol
Slovakia Slovensko hľadá SuperStar
South Africa Idols
Idols (Afrikaans season)
Sweden Idol
Turkey Türkstar
  • Season 1 (2004): Emrah Keskin
United Kingdom Pop Idol
United States8 American Idol
Vietnam Vietnam Idol
(Thần Tượng Âm Nhạc: Vietnam Idol, season 1-4
Thần Tượng Âm Nhạc Việt Nam, season 5–7)

Multinational versions edit

Region Series title
(alternative title)
Winner
Arab states9 SuperStar
(سوبر ستار)
Arab Idol
Czech Republic and Slovakia SuperStar
(Česko Slovenská Superstar, season 1-2)
East Africa10 Idols
Latin America11 Latin American Idol
Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia Idol
West Africa12 Idols

Junior competitions edit

Region Series title Winner
Brazil Ídolos Kids
  • Season 1 (2012): Fernando Franco
  • Season 2 (2013): Julia Tavares
Germany Deutschland sucht den Superstar Kids
India Indian Idol Junior
  • Season 1 (2013): Anjana Padmanabhan
  • Season 2 (2015): Ananya Nanda
Indonesia Indonesian Idol Junior
  • Season 1 (2014–15): Johannes Tinambunan
  • Season 2 (2016–17): Sharon Padidi
  • Season 3 (2018–19): Anneth Delliecia Nasution
Norway Idol Jr
  • Season 1 (2014): Mathilde Spurkeland
Portugal Ídolos Kids
  • Season 1 (2012): Ana Baptista
Puerto Rico Idol Kids Puerto Rico
Spain Idol Kids
  • Season 1 (2020): Índigo Salvador
Vietnam Vietnam Idol Kids
  • Season 1 (2016): Hồ Văn Cường
  • Season 2 (2017): Nguyễn Minh Thiên Khôi

Winner competitions edit

Region Series title Winner
Asia13 Asian Idol
World14 World Idol

Notes edit

  1. ^ Citizens of Macedonia were eligible to participate in the first season.
  2. ^ Citizens of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are eligible to participate throughout the series.
  3. ^ Citizens of Wallonia and Québec were eligible to participate in the first season.
  4. ^ Citizens of Austria and Switzerland are eligible to participate throughout the series.
  5. ^ Citizens of Cyprus were eligible to participate in Super Idol.
  6. ^ Citizens of Moldova were eligible to participate in SuperStar România.
  7. ^ Citizens of Belarus and Ukraine were eligible to participate in the first and second season.
  8. ^ Citizens of Puerto Rico were eligible to participate in the eighth season.
  9. ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include all the member states of the Arab League.
  10. ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include: Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion (a part of France), Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
  11. ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include all of the Latin American countries, with the exception of Brazil.
  12. ^ Countries whose citizens were eligible to participate include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
  13. ^ Winners of Indian Idol, Indonesian Idol, Malaysian Idol, Philippine Idol, Singapore Idol, SuperStar KZ, and Vietnam Idol participated in Asian Idol, in which the winner was determined the greatest percentage of votes.
  14. ^ Winners of inaugural seasons of American Idol, Australian Idol, Canadian Idol, Deutschland sucht den Superstar, Idool, Idols (Dutch version), Idols (South African version), Idol (Polish version), Idol (Norwegian version), Pop Idol, and SuperStar (Arab version) participated in World Idol, in which the winner was determined by the most collective points given by each of the other participating countries (similar to the Eurovision Song Contest).

References edit

  1. ^ Raftery, Liz (April 13, 2018). "The Most Successful American Idol Winners, Ranked". TV Guide. Retrieved April 15, 2018.