American Idol Rewind
A syndicated look back at American Idol's early seasons.
American Idol Rewind was a weekly syndicated hour-long show that aired from late September 2006 to mid-May 2010. It repackaged footage from the first five seasons of American Idol, mixing never-before-seen clips from auditions, Hollywood Week, and finals with new interviews of contestants, semi-finalists, and rejected hopefuls. By August 2006, the series had been picked up by stations covering over 96 percent of the U.S., including the CW Plus group and cable’s Superstation WGN/WGN America. In fall 2008, encores began airing a week later on TV Guide Network. The show was originally distributed by Tribune Entertainment until that company’s late-2007 shutdown, after which Fremantle handed distribution to Trifecta Entertainment & Media.
Quick Facts
- First air date
- September 30, 2006
- Final air date
- May 15, 2010
- Episode length
- One hour
- Broadcast clearance
- Over 96 percent of the United States
- Seasons covered
- First five seasons of American Idol
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The first season aired the first-ever screening of Kelly Clarkson's full audition in Dallas, including her singing a portion of Madonna's 'Express Yourself', which never aired in the original run.
- Brian Dunkleman, who co-hosted season one of American Idol with Ryan Seacrest but left under sour terms, added new commentary for the first season of Rewind.
- Clay Aiken provided narration for the second season of Rewind, which covered the season where he was runner-up to Ruben Studdard.
- Due to failed distribution with the show's music licensing, the series was quietly canceled after the final episodes aired in May 2010.
Season 3 & 4 (2008–2009)
The third edition of "Rewind" highlighted both the Third and Fourth Seasons of the original series. The first half showcased Season 3, where Fantasia Barrino won and Jennifer Hudson and Jasmine Trias were finalists, and the second half showcased Season 4 where Carrie Underwood was the winner. The third season gained much notoriety during its original broadcast owing to alleged racism citing minimal voting results of the well-received African-American female singers. For reasons beyond control, the full-length performances from this season could not be syndicated, resulting its 16 week performances were bundled up in three weeks. The fourth season had minor edits as each episode doubles the weekly top performances due to limitations after cutting out most of the third season for this edition, yet was given a special episode on Carrie Underwood as the third edition's final episode. Jason Kennedy narrates.
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