List of Idols winners explained

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.

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

National versions

Region! scope="col" style="width:19em;"
Series title
(alternative title)
Winner
AlgeriaAlgérie Idol
  • Season 1 (2021): Maya Sahnoun
  • Season 2 (2022–23): Amine Moussaoui
  • Season 3 (2024): TBA
ArmeniaHay 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
AustraliaAustralian Idol
BangladeshBangladeshi Idol
  • Season 1 (2013): Mong U Ching
BelgiumIdool
BrazilÍdolos
BulgariaMusic Idol
CambodiaCambodian Idol
  • Season 1 (2015): Ny Rathana
  • Season 2 (2016): Chhin Machin
  • Season 3 (2017–18): Thai Pov Kri
CanadaCanadian Idol
ChinaZhōngguó Mèng Zhī Shēng Chinese Idol
(中國夢之聲 Chinese Idol)
  • Season 1 (2013): XiangXiang "Sean" Li
  • Season 2 (2014): Sinkey "Kiki" Zheng
ColombiaIdol Colombia
  • Season 1 (2014): Luis Ángel Racini
CroatiaHrvatski Idol
Hrvatska traži zvijezdu
Superstar
  • Season 1 (2023): Hana Ivković
  • Season 2 (2024): TBA
Czech RepublicČesko hledá SuperStar
DenmarkIdols
EstoniaEesti otsib superstaari
FinlandIdols
FranceNouvelle Star
(A la Recherche de la Nouvelle Star, season 1)
GeorgiaGeostar
(ჯეოსტარი)
  • Season 3 (2008): Giorgi Sukhitashvili
  • Season 4 (2009): Nodiko Tatishvili
  • Season 5 (2010): Otar Nemsadze
  • Season 6 (2011): Marita Rokhvadze
Georgian Idol
(საქართველოს ვარსკვლავი)
  • Season 1 (2012): Luka Zakariadze
  • Season 2 (2013): Nina Sublati
Georgian Pop Idol
(ჩვენ ვარსკვლავები ვართ)
GermanyDeutschland sucht den SuperStar
GreeceSuper Idol
Greek Idol
IcelandIdol stjörnuleit
IndiaIndian Idol
Telugu Indian Idol
Indian Idol Marathi
IndonesiaIndonesian Idol
IraqIraq Idol
  • Season 1 (2021): Ali Leo
KazakhstanSuperStar KZ
KurdistanKurd Idol
  • Season 1 (2017): Jînda Kenco
MacedoniaMacedonian Idol
MalaysiaMalaysian Idol
MaldivesMaldivian Idol
  • Season 1 (2016): Laisha Junaid
  • Season 2 (2017): Mohamed Thasneem
  • Season 3 (2018): Aishath Azal Ali Zahir
MoroccoMaroc Idol
  • Season 1 (2019): Ali Moulay
  • Season 2 (2020): TBD
MyanmarMyanmar Idol
NepalNepal Idol
  • Season 1 (2017): Buddha Lama
  • Season 2 (2018): Ravi Oad
NetherlandsIdols
New ZealandNZ Idol
NigeriaNigerian Idol
  • Season 1 (2010–11): Yeka Onka
  • Season 2 (2011–12): Chinwo "Mercy" Nnenda
  • Season 3 (2012–13): Moses Obi-Adigwe
  • Season 4 (2014): Zibili Evelyn "Evelle" Ibhade
  • Season 5 (2015): K-Peace
  • Season 6 (2021): Kingdom Kroseide
NorwayIdol
PakistanPakistan Idol
  • Season 1 (2013): Zamad Baig
PhilippinesPhilippine Idol
Pinoy Idol
Idol Philippines
(Search for the Idol Philippines, season 1)
PolandIdol
PortugalÍdolos
Puerto RicoIdol Puerto Rico
RomaniaSuperStar România
  • Season 1 (2021): Alessandro Mucea
RussiaNarodniy Artist
(Народный Артист)
Serbia and MontenegroIdol
SingaporeSingapore Idol
SlovakiaSlovensko hľadá SuperStar
South AfricaIdols
Idols (Afrikaans season)
SwedenIdol
TurkeyTürkstar
  • Season 1 (2004): Emrah Keskin
United KingdomPop Idol
United StatesAmerican Idol
VietnamVietnam Idol
(Thần Tượng Âm Nhạc: Vietnam Idol, season 1-4
Thần Tượng Âm Nhạc Việt Nam, season 5–7)

Multinational versions

Region! scope="col" style="width:19em;"
Series title
(alternative title)
Winner
Arab statesSuperStar
(سوبر ستار)
  • Season 1 (2003): Diana Karazon
  • Season 2 (2004): Ayman El Aatar
  • Season 3 (2005–06): Ibrahim El Hakami
  • Season 6 (2019–20): Abdallah Al-Malki
  • Season 7 (2020–21): Hassan Hamdan
  • Season 8 (2021–22): Hany Radwan
  • Season 9 (2024): TBA
Arab Idol
Czech Republic and SlovakiaSuperStar
(Česko Slovenská Superstar, season 1-2)
East AfricaIdols
Latin AmericaLatin American Idol
Serbia and Montenegro, MacedoniaIdol
West AfricaIdols

Junior competitions

Region! scope="col" style="width:19em;"
Series titleWinner
BrazilÍdolos Kids
  • Season 1 (2012): Fernando Franco
  • Season 2 (2013): Julia Tavares
GermanyDeutschland sucht den Superstar Kids
IndiaIndian Idol Junior
  • Season 1 (2013): Anjana Padmanabhan
  • Season 2 (2015): Ananya Nanda
IndonesiaIndonesian Idol Junior
  • Season 1 (2014–15): Johannes Tinambunan
  • Season 2 (2016–17): Sharon Padidi
  • Season 3 (2018–19): Anneth Delliecia Nasution
NorwayIdol Jr
  • Season 1 (2014): Mathilde Spurkeland
PortugalÍdolos Kids
  • Season 1 (2012): Ana Baptista
Puerto RicoIdol Kids Puerto Rico
SpainIdol Kids
  • Season 1 (2020): Índigo Salvador
VietnamVietnam Idol Kids
  • Season 1 (2016): Hồ Văn Cường
  • Season 2 (2017): Nguyễn Minh Thiên Khôi

Winner competitions

Region! scope="col" style="width:19em;"
Series titleWinner
AsiaAsian Idol
WorldWorld Idol

Notes

  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).

Notes and References

  1. News: The Most Successful American Idol Winners, Ranked. TV Guide. Liz. Raftery. April 13, 2018. April 15, 2018.