--- description: As the show begins its final season, a look back on how it changed the culture title: Here Are 7 Ways 'American Idol' Influenced Pop Culture image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd64d3f294d7d651a/698877dca988ca78076b5fae/american-idol-kelly-clarkson.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here Are 7 Ways _American Idol_ Influenced Pop Culture  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 6, 2016 8:10 PM CUT  Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini during the first American Idol finale in Hollywood, California. Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini during the first American Idol finale in Hollywood, California.SGranitz—WireImage  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 6, 2016 8:10 PM CUT A decade and a half after it first premiered, _American Idol_ begins its [fifteenth and final season](http://time.com/3853548/american-idol-canceled/ "undefined") Wednesday night on Fox. Though the show produced a handful of genuine stars like [Kelly Clarkson](http://time.com/3968782/best-kelly-clarkson-covers/ "undefined"), [Carrie Underwood](http://time.com/70814/carrie-underwood-2014-time-100/ "undefined") and [Jennifer Hudson](http://time.com/3717335/oscars-2015-jennifer-hudson/ "undefined"), it also struggled to adapt to seismic shifts in the music industry, the rise of social media and increased competition from the very format it popularized. But the end of _Idol_ doesn’t mean the show didn’t change the culture just as the culture was changing around it—here are seven of the show’s most lasting gifts. **The wealth of TV talent competitions.** Premiering only two years after _Survivor_, _American Idol_ was part of a larger reality show boom in the early 2000s.But it’s no surprise that the popularity of _Idol_ paved the way for other TV talent competitions, such as Dutch import _The Voice_ (which starts its tenth season next month) and Simon Cowell’s _The X Factor_ franchise (whose U.K. and U.S. editions launched the careers of One Direction and Fifth Harmony). **Kelly Clarkson.** The first _American Idol_ winner has had more of a lasting impact on the pop music landscape than casual listeners might realize. Clarkson’s second album, _Breakway_, which spawned the monster hit “Since U Been Gone,” gave Swedish mega-producer Max Martin a second wind in his career (one that’s still felt today with his work for Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato) and boosted the profile of Dr. Luke, the force behind recent hits from Katy Perry and Britney Spears. [Just don’t ask Clarkson about _From Justin to Kelly_](http://time.com/3725769/kelly-clarkson-piece-by-piece-interview/ "undefined"). **The Ryan Seacrest empire.** He’s leveraged his _Idol_ gig to become both a syndicated radio host (who regularly lands coveted interviews and premieres) and a television producer behind programs such as _Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve_ and this one little show about a family you might have heard of: _Keeping Up With The Kardashians_. **Carrie Underwood**. As _American Idol_ is happy to remind you in promos for the final season, Simon Cowell once predicted that Carrie Underwood would go on to sell more records than any other winner—and he was right. The [TIME 100](http://time.com/70814/carrie-underwood-2014-time-100/ "undefined") alumna isn’t just one of the most successful _Idol_ winners ever, she’s a country powerhouse in her own right, the kind of artist whose _Idol_ association is no longer the headline after her 2005 solo debut, _Some Hearts_, set all kinds of records in country music. ### See American Idol's Most Successful Alumni  Carrie Underwood, winner of American Idol season 4, performs at the 2014 American Country Countdown Awards at Music City Center in Nashville on Dec. 15, 2014. Jason Merritt—Getty Images  Kelly Clarkson, season 1 winner, performs "Heartbeat Song" onstage during the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on March 29, 2015. Kevin Mazur—Getty Images  Chris Daughtry, who came in 4th on season 5, performs at Pompano Beach Amphitheatre in Pompano Beach, Fla. on Nov. 12, 2014. Larry Marano—Getty Images  Clay Aiken, Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress in North Carolina's Second District, poses for a selfie with supporters after casting his vote in the midterm elections oat Mills Park Elementary School in Cary, N.C. on Nov. 4, 2014\. Aiken was runner up on the second season of American Idol. Grant Halverson—Getty Images  Fantasia, winner of season 3, performs at the 7th Annual Music Festival at Boardwalk Hall Arena in Atlantic City, N.J. on May 9, 2015. Donald Kravitz—Getty Images  Ruben Studdard, season 2 winner, performs at When Georgia Smiled: The Robin McGraw Revelation Foundation And Verizon Unite For Second Annual Domestic Violence Summit at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, Calif. on Oct. 3, 2014. Mathew Imaging—WireImage/Getty Images  Scotty McCreery performs during "FOX & Friends" holiday special at FOX Studios in New York City on Dec. 4, 2014\. McCreery won season 10 of American Idol. Slaven Vlasic—Getty Images  Kellie Pickler, who came in 6th on season 5, performs at 2014 USO Gala: Honoring Those Who Serve at the Washington Hilton in Washington on Oct. 17, 2014. Paul Morigi—Getty Images  David Cook, season 7 winner, performs at the Soles4Souls charity concert, sponsored by Barefoot Wine & Bubbly at the Bridge Building in Nashville on April 1, 2014. Jason Davis—Getty Images  Jennifer Hudson, who came in 7th place on season 3, performs at We Day at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. on April 30, 2015. Timothy Hiatt—Getty Images  Jordin Sparks, winner of season 6 of American Idol, performs at Jeffrey Sanker's White Party in Palm Springs, Calif. on April 25, 2015. Chelsea Lauren—WireImage/Getty Images  Phillip Phillips, season 11 winner, performs at Hard Rock Live! in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. on Nov. 15, 2014. Larry Marano—Getty Images  David Archuleta, season 7 runner-up, performs at the KIIS FM's 10th Annual "American Idol" Finale Viewing Party at Regal 14 at LA Live Downtown in Los Angeles on May 25, 2011. Jonathan Leibson—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Adam Lambert, season 8 runner-up, is seen onstage at 102.7 KIIS FM's Wango Tango at StubHub Center in Los Angeles on May 9, 2015. Chelsea Lauren—WireImage/Getty Images  Josh Gracin, who came in 4th place in season 2, performs during the 2012 Downtown Hoedown at Comerica Park in Detroit on June 8, 2012. Paul Warner—Getty Images  Taylor Hicks, winner of season 5, performs at Tony La Russa's 3rd annual Leaders & Legends Gala at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas on Nov. 22, 2014. David Becker—Getty Images  Bo Bice, season 4 runner-up, performs in concert following the 2012 Colt Ford & Friends Celebrity Golf Classic at Legends Golf Course Club in Braselton, Ga. on Sept. 24, 2012. Chris McKay—Getty Images  Elliott Yamin, who came in 3rd in season 5, performs at the Malaria No More Reception With American Idols To Celebrate Recent Progress In The Fight Against Malaria in Washington on March 7, 2012. Paul Morigi—Getty Images  Katharine McPhee, season 5 runner-up, walks out on the field to sing the national anthem before the 2015 NFC Championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field in Seattle on Jan. 18, 2015. Ronald Martinez—Getty Images  Diana DeGarmo, season 3 runner-up, arrives at the "American Idol" XIII season premiere event held at Royce Hall, UCLA in Westwood, Calif. on Jan. 14, 2014. Michael Tran—FilmMagic  Kris Allen, winner of season 8, performs at the Soles4Souls charity concert, sponsored by Barefoot Wine & Bubbly at the Bridge Building in Nashville on April 1, 2014. Jason Davis—Getty Images **Modern fan culture.** The premise of _American Idol_ put the star-making power traditionally held by industry executives in the hands of its audience. That’s shaped the way a generation of music fans support their favorite musicians. In the early 2000s, _Idol_ viewers rallied around a contestant (sometimes with nicknames—before there were Little Monsters and Beliebers, there were Claymates) and cast their votes. Now, that process takes place more casually via social media, with likes and tweets taking the place of actual votes as listeners spotlight aspiring performers on YouTube and Vine and seek to give labels and radio stations a piece of their minds. **Adam Lambert.** One of _Idol_‘s edgiest finalists—his sexually charged American Music Awards performance in 2009 [garnered thousands of complaints](http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/24/adam.lambert.gma/index.html?iref=24hours "undefined")—hasn’t matched the sales of Clarkson, Underwood or Daughtry, but he’s toured arenas with Queen and paved the way for the likes of Sam Smith as one of pop’s biggest openly gay stars. (Don’t get too hung up on record sales, either: Lambert was the top-earning Idol contestant of 2015 [according to _Forbes_ estimates](http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2016/01/06/the-top-earning-american-idols-of-2015/ "undefined"), taking in a career high of $10 million). Just like with Jennifer Hudson and her star-making turn in _Dreamgirls_, Lambert proved that _not_ winning _Idol_ was no barrier to success. **The Nicki Minaj-Mariah Carey drama.** Look, nothing will ever top Mariah Carey’s iconic [“I don’t know her”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMWZQrkdtew "undefined") line in the book of celebrity shade, but tension between these one-time judges ([and former collaborators](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i7GEMQC2IY "undefined")) provided a celebrity feud more memorable than whoever won the show’s twelfth season—one that played out even when _Idol_ cameras weren’t rolling. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4169319/american-idol-impact-legacy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4169319/american-idol-impact-legacy/"},"headline":"Here Are 7 Ways American Idol Influenced Pop Culture","datePublished":"2016-01-06T20:10:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:39.889Z","description":"As the show begins its final season, a look back at its most important legacies","url":"https://time.com/4169319/american-idol-impact-legacy/","keywords":["Television","Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd64d3f294d7d651a/698877dca988ca78076b5fae/american-idol-kelly-clarkson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd64d3f294d7d651a/698877dca988ca78076b5fae/american-idol-kelly-clarkson.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"American Idol\" Season 1 Finale - Results Show","caption":"\"American Idol\" Season 1 Finale - Results Show","creditText":"SGranitz—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4169319/american-idol-impact-legacy/","name":"Here Are 7 Ways American Idol Influenced Pop Culture"}}]}] ```