On This Day 24 Years Ago, ‘American Idol' Airs for the First Time
On this day in 2002,American Idol officially aired for the first time on Fox.
Based on the British reality series Pop Idol, American Idol quickly became a massive ratings success upon its debut on the network. With hosts Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman overseeing the first season, the series became one of the next major reality competition shows to premiere in the early 2000s.
As fans of the show's earliest seasons are sure to remember, the original judges for the competition included music executive Simon Cowell, record producer Randy Jackson and singer Paula Abdul. Over the subsequent years, a variety of equally well-known guests served as judges for American Idol, including Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey.
With its inaugural season, pop sensation Kelly Clarkson became the first person to win American Idol, propelling her to a lengthy career in the mainstream music industry.
In the years that followed, a number of similarly well-known singers went on to secure American Idol's top prize, including Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Candice Glover, Caleb Johnson and Trent Harmon.
As Billboard said of the series, "Idol has spawned 345 Billboard chart-toppers and a platoon of pop idols, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, Adam Lambert, and Jordin Sparks while remaining a TV ratings juggernaut.
While it initially debuted and ran on Fox from June 11, 2002, the original iteration of the series came to a close on April 7, 2016.
Of course, it wasn't long before the show made an unsurprising comeback a few short years later, with ABC deciding to pick up the series starting on March 11, 2018. Since then, the series has once again delivered seasonal installments of the iconic singing competition, with Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie serving as the show's current judges.
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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 12:05 PM.