American Idol (season 4)

American Idol
Season 4
Broadcast from	January 18 – May 25, 2005
Judges	Paula Abdul Simon Cowell Randy Jackson
Host(s)	Ryan Seacrest
Broadcaster	Fox Broadcasting Company
Finals venue	Kodak Theatre
Winner
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood at the American Idol Experience parade.
Origin	Checotah, Oklahoma, U.S.
Song	"Inside Your Heaven"
Genre(s)	Country pop
Runner-up
Bo Bice

The fourth season of American Idol premiered on January 18, 2005 and continued until May 25, 2005. It was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell also returned to judge. Carrie Underwood won the season with approximately 500 million votes cast in the season and 37 million for the finale. Underwood has since gone on to become a seven-time Grammy-winning country megastar. This is the last season to be aired in standard definition.

Regional auditions

Auditions for Season 4 started in August 2004 in Cleveland, Ohio. An audition was originally planned for Anchorage, Alaska, but that was cancelled about a month before due to possible schedule conflict as a result of hurricanes affecting the Orlando auditions. Auditions were held from August to October 2004, and over 100,000 people attended the auditions for the first time.

Episode Air Date	Audition City	Date	First Audition Venue	Callback Date	Callback Venue	Golden Tickets
January 18, 2005	Washington, D.C.	August 18, 2004	Washington Convention Center	August 20–21, 2004	Renaissance Hotel Ninth St.	42
January 19, 2005	St. Louis, Missouri	August 8, 2004	Edward Jones Dome	August 2004	Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark	32
January 25, 2005	New Orleans, Louisiana	August 31, 2004	Louisiana Superdome	September 4–5, 2004	The Roosevelt (Fairmont)	16
January 26, 2005	Las Vegas, Nevada	September 12, 2004	Orleans Arena	September 15–16, 2004	MGM Grand Conference Center	24
February 1, 2005	Cleveland, Ohio	August 4, 2004	Cleveland Browns Stadium	August 14–15, 2004	Intercontinental Cleveland	32
	Orlando, Florida	August 26, 2004	Orange County Convention Center	September 14, 2004	MGM Grand, Las Vegas	16
February 2, 2005	San Francisco, California	October 5, 2004	Cow Palace	October 7–8, 2004	The Regency Center	32
Total Tickets to Hollywood						194

• ^a The audition venue was originally advertised to be Las Vegas Convention Center, but changed to Orleans Arena at the last minute.
• ^b The contestants from the Orlando audition were moved to Las Vegas for the final round of the audition due to the impending Hurricane Ivan. It was originally scheduled for September 6–7, 2004, but rescheduled to September 14, 2004 to coincide with the Las Vegas audition.

While in the past seasons celebrity guest judges have been invited to participate during the competition, this was the first season where guest judges were invited to participate in the auditions. The music celebrities featured were:

• January 18 (Washington auditions), Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray
• January 25 (New Orleans auditions), Gene Simmons of KISS
• January 26 (Las Vegas auditions), Kenny Loggins
• February 1 (Cleveland auditions), LL Cool J
• February 2 (San Francisco audition), Brandy

Where there were four judges present, three yeses were required for the auditioner to proceed on to Hollywood.

It is also the first season in which the age limit was raised to 28, in order to increase variety. Among those who benefited from this new rule were Constantine Maroulis and Bo Bice, considered to be the eldest (and most experienced) of Idol contestants. They were also constantly mentioned by Ryan Seacrest and in the media as "the two rockers", since their long hair and choice of songs made them stand out from conventional Idol standards. Scott Savol and Nadia Turner also benefited from the change.

The audition episodes featured the Molfetta twins multiple times. They first auditioned in New Orleans but both failed, Rich Molfetta tried again in Las Vegas and got through to the Hollywood, but J.P. Molfetta failed in his audition in San Francisco.

Hollywood Week

There were 193 contestants in the Hollywood rounds. They were split into two groups to perform on separate day at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The contestants first chose from a list of 12 songs selected by the producers. They were separated into groups of boys and girls but they performed solo with piano accompaniment and back-up singers. Those who failed were eliminated after all in the group performed. 95 contestants were eliminated after this round but one, Marlea Stroman, left on her own free will and became the first ever contestants to choose to leave the American Idol competition. The remaining 97 contestants competed in the second round which featured group performances. The songs for the groups were Four Tops's "I Can't Help Myself", The Temptations' Get Ready, Barry Manilow's "Jump Shout Boogie", The Marvelettes's "Please Mr. Postman" and The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go". 75 remained after this round.

In the last round they performed a capella. After their performance, the contestants were divided into 4 groups in separate rooms. Two groups eliminated and the number of contestant cut to 44. After further deliberation by the judges, 24 semi-finalists, 12 women and 12 men, were then selected. At Pasadena Civic Center, each contestant took the elevator from their holding room to the floor above, and in a walk that would later be dubbed the "green mile", to see the judges who would then reveal their fate to them.

Semi-finals

Because of the highly unbalanced finals in Season 3 where female contestants formed the clear majority (8 to 4) of the Final 12, rules for the semifinals were changed so as to give an equal number of male and female finalists. From this season to season seven, and again for season nine, 12 men and 12 women competed separately on consecutive nights, with 2 of each gender being voted off each week in the result shows until 12 finalists were left, 6 men and 6 women.

Top 24

Men

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Nikko Smith	"Part-Time Lover" (Stevie Wonder)	Safe
2	Scott Savol	"You Are My Lady" (Freddie Jackson)	Safe
3	Anthony Fedorov	"Hold on to the Nights" (Richard Marx)	Safe
4	Bo Bice	"Drift Away" (John Henry Kurtz)	Safe
5	Travis Tucker	"My Cherie Amour" (Stevie Wonder)	Safe
6	Constantine Maroulis	"Kiss from a Rose" (Seal)	Safe
7	David Brown	"Never Can Say Goodbye" (The Jackson 5)	Safe
8	Jared Yates	"How Could I" (Marc Anthony)	Eliminated
9	Anwar Robinson	"Moon River" (Andy Williams)	Safe
10	Judd Harris	"Travelin' Band" (Creedence Clearwater Revival)	Eliminated
11	Joseph Murena	"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (Laura Branigan)	Safe
12	Mario Vazquez	"Do I Do" (Stevie Wonder)	Safe

Women

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Vonzell Solomon	"(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" (Martha and the Vandellas)	Safe
2	Amanda Avila	"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (Laura Branigan)	Safe
3	Janay Castine	"I Wanna Love You Forever" (Jessica Simpson)	Safe
4	Carrie Underwood	"Could've Been" (Tiffany)	Safe
5	Sarah Mather	"Get Ready" (The Temptations)	Eliminated
6	Melinda Lira	"The Power of Love" (Jennifer Rush)	Eliminated
7	Nadia Turner	"The Power of Love" (Ashley Cleveland)	Safe
8	Celena Rae	"I Will Love Again" (Lara Fabian)	Safe
9	Mikalah Gordon	"Young Hearts Run Free" (Candi Staton)	Safe
10	Lindsey Cardinale	"Standing Right Next to Me" (Karla Bonoff)	Safe
11	Jessica Sierra	"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (Phil Collins)	Safe
12	Aloha Mischeaux	"Work It Out" (Beyoncé)	Safe

Top 20

Men

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Mario Vazquez	"I Love Music" (The O'Jays)	Safe
2	Anwar Robinson	"What's Going On" (Marvin Gaye)	Safe
3	Joseph Murena	"Let's Stay Together" (Al Green)	Eliminated
4	David Brown	"All in Love Is Fair" (Stevie Wonder)	Eliminated
5	Constantine Maroulis	"Hard to Handle" (Otis Redding)	Safe
6	Scott Savol	"Never Too Much" (Luther Vandross)	Safe
7	Travis Tucker	"All Night Long (All Night)" (Lionel Richie)	Safe
8	Nikko Smith	"Let's Get It On" (Marvin Gaye)	Safe
9	Anthony Fedorov	"I Want to Know What Love Is" (Foreigner)	Safe
10	Bo Bice	"Whipping Post" (The Allman Brothers Band)	Safe

Women

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Aloha Mischeaux	"You Don't Know My Name" (Alicia Keys)	Eliminated
2	Lindsey Cardinale	"I Try to Think About Elvis" (Patty Loveless)	Safe
3	Jessica Sierra	"A Broken Wing" (Martina McBride)	Safe
4	Mikalah Gordon	"God Bless the Child" (Billie Holiday)	Safe
5	Celena Rae	"When the Lights Go Down" (Faith Hill)	Eliminated
6	Nadia Turner	"My Love" (Paul McCartney)	Safe
7	Amanda Avila	"Turn the Beat Around" (Vicki Sue Robinson)	Safe
8	Janay Castine	"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" (Blu Cantrell)	Safe
9	Carrie Underwood	"Piece of My Heart" (Erma Franklin)	Safe
10	Vonzell Solomon	"If I Ain't Got You" (Alicia Keys)	Safe

Top 16

Men

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Scott Savol	"I Can't Help Myself" (The Four Tops)	Safe
2	Bo Bice	"I'll Be" (Edwin McCain)	Safe
3	Anthony Fedorov	"I've Got You" (Marc Anthony)	Safe
4	Nikko Smith	"Georgia on My Mind" (Hoagy Carmichael)	Eliminated
5	Travis Tucker	"Every Little Step" (Bobby Brown)	Eliminated
6	Mario Vazquez	"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (The Bee Gees)	Safe
7	Constantine Maroulis	"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (The Police)	Safe
8	Anwar Robinson	"What a Wonderful World" (Louis Armstrong)	Safe

• ^Note 1 Smith was originally eliminated during the results show. However, Vazquez withdrew the competition and Smith was called back to replace him for the final 12.

Women

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Amanda Avila	"River Deep - Mountain High" (Ike & Tina Turner)	Eliminated
2	Janay Castine	"Dreaming of You" (Selena)	Eliminated
3	Carrie Underwood	"Because You Love Me" (Jo Dee Messina)	Safe
4	Vonzell Solomon	"Respect" (Otis Redding)	Safe
5	Nadia Turner	"Try a Little Tenderness" (Ray Noble)	Safe
6	Lindsey Cardinale	"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith)	Safe
7	Mikalah Gordon	"Somewhere" (Reri Grist)	Safe
8	Jessica Sierra	"Boys Are Back in Town" (The BusBoys)	Safe

Finalists

Standing - Anthony Fedorov, Vonzelll Solomon, Bo Bice, Nikko Smith, Mikalah Gordon, Anwar Robinson, Nadia Turner, Lindsey Cardinale, Jessica Sierra
Front - Scott Savol, Constantine Maroulis, Carrie Underwood

• Carrie Underwood (born March 10, 1983 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, 21 years old at the start of the season) is a farm girl from Checotah, Oklahoma and she auditioned in St. Louis, Missouri with Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me". She performed Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free" in Hollywood week but forgot part of the lyrics.
• Bo Bice (born November 1, 1975 in Huntsville, Alabama, 29 years old during the season) is from Helena, Alabama, and auditioned in Orlando, Florida with The Allman Brothers Band's "Whipping Post". He performed The Box Tops's "The Letter", The Temptations' "Get Ready" for the group round in the Hollywood week. He wanted to introduce rock to American Idol. Prior to Idol he performed professionally and released an album with his band Purge.
• Vonzell Solomon (born March 18, 1984 in Baxley, Georgia, aged 20 at the start of the season) is from Fort Myers, Florida and auditioned in Orlando, Florida with Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools". She is proficient in the martial arts. She performed Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" in the Hollywood round.
• Anthony Fedorov (born May 4, 1985 in Yalta, Ukraine, 19 years old at the show) is from Trevose, Pennsylvania and auditioned in Cleveland, Ohio with Jon Secada's "Angel" . He had difficulty breathing when he was little and had a tracheotomy about which his doctor expressed concern that he might not be able to speak again. He performed Diana Ross' "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" and reprised Jon Secada's "Angel" during Hollywood week.
• Scott Savol (born April 30, 1976 in Cleveland, Ohio, aged 28 at the start of the season) is from Shaker Heights, Ohio and auditioned in Cleveland with The Carpenters' "Superstar". He performed Four Tops's "I Can't Help Myself" in the group round in Hollywood week.
• Constantine Maroulis (born September 17, 1975 in Brooklyn, New York, 29 in the show) is from New York and auditioned in Washington DC with Aerosmith's "Cryin'". He wanted to bring an edgy New York City's rock and roll to American Idol. Prior to Idol he was in a band Pray for the Soul of Betty and worked in musical theatre. In the Hollywood week, he performed The Box Tops's "The Letter" and Four Tops's "I Can't Help Myself" for the group round.
• Anwar Robinson (born April 21, 1979 in Newark, New Jersey, aged 25 at the start of the season) is from East Orange, New Jersey and auditioned in Washington, DC. He was a music teacher before Idol. He performed Four Tops's "I Can't Help Myself" for the group round in the Hollywood.
• Nadia Turner (born January 11, 1977 in Miami, Florida, 27 during the show) auditioned in San Francisco with Aretha Franklin's "Until You Come Back to Me".
• Nikko Smith (born April 28, 1982 in San Diego, California, aged 22 at the start of the season) is from St. Louis, Missouri and auditioned there with his birth name Osborne Smith. He performed Stevie Wonder's "All I Do". In Hollywood, he performed The Temptations' Get Ready in Bo Bice's group.
• Jessica Sierra (born November 11, 1985 in Tampa, Florida, aged 19 at the start of the season) auditioned in Orlando with Etta James' "At Last". She worked as a nanny before Idol. In the Hollywood week, she performed Diana Ross' "When You Tell Me That You Love Me"
• Mikalah Gordon (born January 14, 1988 in Las Vegas, Nevada, 17 years old at the show) auditioned in Las Vegas with Ella Fitzgerald's "Lullaby of Broadway" and Lauryn Hill's "Killing Me Softly with His Song". She performed Dusty Springfield's "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" in the Hollywood rounds.
• Lindsey Cardinale (born February 5, 1985 in Hammond, Louisiana, 20 years old at the show) is from Ponchatoula, Louisiana and auditioned in New Orleans with Karla Bonoff's "Standing Right Next to Me". She performed The Supremes' "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" during Hollywood week.

Finals

Top 12 – 1960s

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Jessica Sierra	"Shop Around" (The Miracles)	Bottom 3
2	Anwar Robinson	"A House is Not a Home" (Dionne Warwick)	Safe
3	Mikalah Gordon	"Son of a Preacher Man" (Dusty Springfield)	Bottom 2
4	Constantine Maroulis	"You've Made Me So Very Happy" (Brenda Holloway)	Safe
5	Lindsey Cardinale	"Knock on Wood" (Eddie Floyd)	Eliminated
6	Anthony Fedorov	"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (Neil Sedaka)	Safe
7	Nadia Turner	"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (Dusty Springfield)	Safe
8	Bo Bice	"Spinning Wheel" (Blood, Sweat & Tears)	Safe
9	Vonzell Solomon	"Anyone Who Had Heart" (Dionne Warwick)	Safe
10	Scott Savol	"Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (The Temptations)	Safe
11	Carrie Underwood	"When Will I Be Loved" (The Everly Brothers)	Safe
12	Nikko Smith	"I Want You Back" (The Jackson 5)	Safe

Result Show: When You Tell Me That You Love Me by Diana Ross.

Top 11 – Billboard Number Ones

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Anthony Fedorov	"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (Aretha Franklin/ George Michael)	Bottom 3
2	Carrie Underwood	"Alone" (i-TEN)	Safe
3	Scott Savol	"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" (Phil Collins)	Safe
4	Bo Bice	"Time in a Bottle" (Jim Croce)	Safe
5	Nikko Smith	"Incomplete" (Sisqó)	Safe
6	Vonzell Solomon	"Best of My Love" (The Emotions)	Safe
7	Constantine Maroulis	"I Think I Love You" (The Partridge Family)	Safe
8	Nadia Turner	"Time After Time" (Cyndi Lauper)	Bottom 2
9	Mikalah Gordon	"Love Will Lead You Back" (Taylor Dayne)	Eliminated
10	Anwar Robinson	"Ain't Nobody"1 (Chaka Khan)	Safe
11	Jessica Sierra	"Total Eclipse of the Heart" (Bonnie Tyler)	Safe

Result Show: He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by Kelly Gordon.

• Note 1: This song hit number one on the R&B chart.

Top 10 – 1990s

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Bo Bice	"Remedy" (The Black Crowes)	Safe
2	Jessica Sierra	"On the Side of Angels" (LeAnn Rimes)	Eliminated
3	Anwar Robinson	"I Believe I Can Fly" (R. Kelly)	Bottom 2
4	Nadia Turner	"I'm the Only One" (Melissa Etheridge)	Bottom 3
5	Constantine Maroulis	"I Can't Make You Love Me" (Bonnie Raitt)	Safe
6	Nikko Smith	"Can We Talk" (Tevin Campbell)	Safe
7	Anthony Fedorov	"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" (Elton John)	Safe
8	Carrie Underwood	"Independence Day" (Martina McBride)	Safe
9	Scott Savol	"One Last Cry" (Brian McKnight)	Safe
10	Vonzell Solomon	"I Have Nothing" (Whitney Houston)	Safe

Result Show: Everything Is Beautiful by Ray Stevens

Top 9 – Classic Broadway

Order	Contestant	Song (musical)	Result
1	Scott Savol	"The Impossible Dream (The Quest)" ("Man of La Mancha")	Bottom 2
2	Constantine Maroulis	"My Funny Valentine" ("Babes in Arms")	Safe
3	Carrie Underwood	"Hello, Young Lovers" ("The King and I")	Safe
4	Vonzell Solomon	"People" ("Funny Girl")	Bottom 3
5	Anthony Fedorov	"Climb Every Mountain" ("The Sound of Music")	Safe
6	Nikko Smith	"One Hand, One Heart" ("West Side Story")	Eliminated
7	Anwar Robinson	"If Ever I Would Leave You" ("Camelot")	Safe
8	Bo Bice	"Corner of the Sky" ("Pippin")	Safe
9	Nadia Turner	"As Long As He Needs Me" ("Oliver!")	Safe

Top 8 – Songs from Birth Year

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Year	Result
1	Nadia Turner	"When I Dream" (Crystal Gayle)	1977	Eliminated
2	Bo Bice	"Free Bird" (Lynyrd Skynyrd)	1975	Bottom 2
3	Anwar Robinson	"I'll Never Love This Way Again" (Dionne Warwick)	1979	Safe
4	Anthony Fedorov	"Everytime You Go Away" (Hall & Oates)	1985	Safe
5	Vonzell Solomon	"Let's Hear It for the Boy" (Deniece Williams)	1984	Safe
6	Scott Savol	"She's Gone" (Hall & Oates)	1976	Bottom 3
7	Carrie Underwood	"Love Is a Battlefield" (Pat Benatar)	1983	Safe
8	Constantine Maroulis	"Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen)	1975	Safe

Result Show: When You Tell Me That You Love Me by Diana Ross (1991).

Top 7 – 1970s Dance Music

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Constantine Maroulis	"Nights on Broadway" (Bee Gees)	Safe
2	Carrie Underwood	"MacArthur Park" (Richard Harris)	Safe
3	Scott Savol	"Everlasting Love" (Robert Knight)	Bottom 31
4	Anthony Fedorov	"Don't Take Away the Music" (Tavares)	Bottom 31
5	Vonzell Solomon	"I'm Every Woman" (Chaka Khan)	Safe
6	Anwar Robinson	"September" (Earth, Wind & Fire)	Eliminated
7	Bo Bice	"Vehicle" (The Ides of March)	Safe

Result Show: You Can Shine by Earth, Wind & Fire

• Note 1: Both Savol and Fedorov were in the Bottom 3 with Robinson, however it was never revealed whether they were in the Bottom 2 or not.

Top 6 – 21st Century

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Carrie Underwood	"When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues" (Martina McBride)	Safe
2	Bo Bice	"I Don't Want to Be" (Gavin DeGraw)	Safe
3	Vonzell Solomon	"I Turn to You" (All-4-One)	Bottom 3
4	Anthony Fedorov	"I Surrender" (Celine Dion)	Bottom 2
5	Constantine Maroulis	"How You Remind Me" (Nickelback)	Eliminated
6	Scott Savol	"Dance With My Father" (Luther Vandross)	Safe

Result Show: Emotion by Samantha Sang.

Top 5 – Leiber & Stoller/Current week Billboard chart

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Anthony Fedorov	"Poison Ivy" (The Coasters)	Bottom 2
2	Scott Savol	"On Broadway" (The Crystals)	Eliminated
3	Vonzell Solomon	"Treat Me Nice" (Elvis Presley)	Safe
4	Bo Bice	"Stand By Me" (Ben E. King)	Safe
5	Carrie Underwood	"Trouble" (Elvis Presley)	Safe
6	Anthony Fedorov	"Incomplete" (Backstreet Boys)	Bottom 2
7	Scott Savol	"Everytime You Go Away" (Brian McKnight)	Eliminated
8	Vonzell Solomon	"When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (Diana Ross)	Safe
9	Bo Bice	"Heaven" (Los Lonely Boys)	Safe
10	Carrie Underwood	"Bless the Broken Road" (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)	Safe

Result Show: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel.

Top 4 – Country/Gamble & Huff

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Carrie Underwood	"Sin Wagon" (Dixie Chicks)	Safe
2	Bo Bice	"It's a Great Day to Be Alive" (Jon Randall)	Safe
3	Vonzell Solomon	"How Do I Live" (LeAnn Rimes)	Bottom 2
4	Anthony Fedorov	"I'm Already There" (Lonestar)	Eliminated
5	Carrie Underwood	"If You Don't Know Me by Now" (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)	Safe
6	Bo Bice	"For the Love of Money" (The O'Jays)	Safe
7	Vonzell Solomon	"Don't Leave Me This Way" (Thelma Houston)	Bottom 2
8	Anthony Fedorov	"If You Don't Know Me by Now" (Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes)	Eliminated

Result Show: Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers/
Dolly Parton

Top 3 – Clive's Choice, Idols' Choice, Judges' Choice

Each contestant sang three songs.

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist) — Judge	Result
1	Vonzell Solomon	"I'll Never Love This Way Again" (Dionne Warwick)	Eliminated
2	Bo Bice	"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (Elton John)	Safe
3	Carrie Underwood	"Crying" (Roy Orbison)	Safe
4	Vonzell Solomon	"Chain of Fools" (Aretha Franklin)	Eliminated
5	Bo Bice	"In a Dream" (Badlands)	Safe
6	Carrie Underwood	"Making Love Out of Nothing at All" (Air Supply)	Safe
7	Vonzell Solomon	"On the Radio" (Donna Summer) — Simon Cowell	Eliminated
8	Bo Bice	"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (The Rolling Stones) — Paula Abdul	Safe
9	Carrie Underwood	"Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" (Shania Twain) — Randy Jackson	Safe

Finale – Simon Fuller’s choice, Contestant’s choice & Winner’s single

Each contestant sang three songs.

Order	Contestant	Song (original artist)	Result
1	Bo Bice	"Long, Long Road" (Appleton)	Runner-Up
2	Carrie Underwood	"Inside Your Heaven" (Desmond Child)	Winner
3	Bo Bice	"Vehicle" (The Ides of March)	Runner-Up
4	Carrie Underwood	"Independence Day"(Martina McBride)	Winner
5	Bo Bice	"Inside Your Heaven" (Desmond Child)	Runner-Up
6	Carrie Underwood	"Angels Brought Me Here" (Guy Sebastian)	Winner

Finale Result Show
Performers	Song	Artist
Top 12 finalists (without the Top 2)	"Fun, Fun, Fun" "Barbara Ann" "In My Room" "Surfer Girl" "I Get Around" "Good Vibrations"	Beach Boys
Bo Bice	"Vehicle"	The Ides Of March
Carrie Underwood	"Angels Brought Me Here"	Guy Sebastian
Top 2 finalists	"Up Where We Belong"	Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
Rascal Flatts with Carrie Underwood	"Bless the Broken Road"	Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Kenny G with Anthony Fedorov, Anwar Robinson	"I Believe I Can Fly"	R. Kelly
Kenny Wayne Shepherd with Constantine Maroulis, Jessica Sierra, Nadia Turner	"Walk This Way"	Aerosmith
George Benson with Scott Savol, Nikko Smith	"On Broadway"	The Drifters
Billy Preston with Vonzell Solomon	With You I'm Born Again	Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright
Babyface with Lindsey Cardinale, Mikalah Gordon	"Every Time I Close My Eyes"	Babyface
Lynyrd Skynyrd with Bo Bice	"Sweet Home Alabama"	Lynyrd Skynyrd
Carrie Underwood	"Inside Your Heaven"	Carrie Underwood

The fourth season finale featuring Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood aired May 24 May 25. It featured appearances by former auditioners, and celebrity cameos by Kenny G, Rascal Flatts, David Hasselhoff, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, George Benson, Billy Preston, Babyface and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The winner of the competition was Carrie Underwood, who would eventually become the second "Idol" winner to sweep all three major music awards (American Music, Billboard, and Grammy Award) in a single season (for 2006-07).

In a nod to the "Diana knew she'd been eliminated by the performance order" controversy of Idol 3, neither contestant sang the winner's single, "Inside Your Heaven", before the results were announced.

Underwood's first single, "Inside Your Heaven", debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 14, 2005 and had first-week sales of 170,000 copies. One week later, runner-up Bo Bice released his version of the song, which debuted at number two.

Elimination chart

Note: Bottom 2 indicates that the contestant was 'saved' last. This may or may not indicate his or her actual vote rank.

Legend

Female

Male

Top 24

Top 12

Winner

Safe

Safe First

Safe Last

Eliminated

Stage:		Semi-Finals			Finals
Week:		2/23	3/2	3/9	3/16	3/24	3/30	4/6	4/13	4/20	4/27	5/4	5/11	5/18	5/25
Place	Contestant	Result
1	Carrie Underwood														Winner
2	Bo Bice								Bottom 2						Runner-Up
3	Vonzell Solomon							Bottom 3			Bottom 3		Bottom 2	Elim
4	Anthony Fedorov					Bottom 3				Bottom 3	Bottom 2	Bottom 2	Elim
5	Scott Savol							Bottom 2	Bottom 3	Bottom 3		Elim
6	Constantine Maroulis										Elim
7	Anwar Robinson						Bottom 2			Elim
8	Nadia Turner					Bottom 2	Bottom 3		Elim
9	Nikko Smith			Elim				Elim
10	Jessica Sierra				Bottom 3		Elim
11	Mikalah Gordon				Bottom 2	Elim
12	Lindsey Cardinale				Elim
13	Mario Vasquez			WD
14-16	Amanda Avila			Elim
	Janay Castine
	Travis Tucker
17-20	Joseph Murena		Elim
	David Brown
	Aloha Mischeaux
	Celena Rae
21-24	Judd Harris	Elim
	Sarah Mather
	Jared Yates
	Melinda Lira

• ^Note 1 Nikko Smith was originally eliminated in a semi-finals, but was called back after Mario Vasquez withdrew from the competition for personal reasons.
• ^Note 2 Owing to a mix-up in which incorrect phone numbers were displayed on-screen for three contestants during the March 22 performance show, American Idol eliminated nobody on its Wednesday, March 23 results show and instead conducted a full re-vote. Mikalah Gordon was sent home on Thursday, March 24.

DialIdol

The computer program DialIdol, which allows voters to autodial their votes and uses the dialing results to make predictions about the eliminations, was in development during season 4. It was finished by Top 6 week and was used to predict the voting results from the Top 6 to Top 2. However, the dialing program was not made available to the general public until season 5.

Controversy

During the season, Corey Clark, a season two contestant who was disqualified for having an undisclosed arrest record, alleged in an interview on ABC's Primetime Live that he had an affair with Paula Abdul while on the show. The finale show included a parody segment spoofing the alleged scandal.

Votefortheworst.com, of Survivor Sucks, made headlines when Scott Savol outlasted Constantine Maroulis, Anwar Robinson, Nadia Turner, and Nikko Smith and made it into the final five.

On the Top 11, the show had a voting error in which three of the contestants had their numbers mixed up. The Wednesday show which was supposed to be the elimination night made fans revote again as the numbers were fixed and Thursday was the elimination.

Bo Bice was revealed to have been arrested on a felony cocaine possession charge in June 2001 at a strip club in Madison County, Ala., and was also arrested two years later for marijuana possession, public intoxication, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Scott Savol was also revealed to have been convicted of a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct for domestic violence. However, no action was taken against either of them by the show producers because they had revealed their misdemeanor in advance.

Contestants who appeared on other shows

• Melissa Lawson, a member of this season's top 75, was announced as the winner of the sixth season of Nashville Star on August 4, 2008.
• JR Aquino, who made it to Hollywood week, appeared on the third season of The Voice in 2012 and was eliminated during the battle rounds.
• Curtis Finch, Jr., a contestant of the twelfth season, who was originally auditioned for this season, did not make it past into the audition round.

US Nielsen ratings

Season 4 of American Idol had an overall average viewership of 26.8 million and was the top show for the 2004-2005 TV season. Its Tuesday episodes averaged 27.32 million (ranked first) while the Wednesday episodes averaged 26.07 million (ranked third). It also drove Fox, for the first time ever, to become the top network in the 18-to-49 demographic for the season.

Episode list

Show Episode Air date Week rank 18-49 rating Viewers (in millions) 1 "Washington D.C. Auditions" January 18, 2005 2 14.0 33.6 2 "St. Louis Auditions" January 19, 2005 3 11.2 26.7 3 "New Orleans Auditions" January 25, 2005 1 12.1 28.1 4 "Las Vegas Auditions" January 26, 2005 2 11.2 26.6 5 "Cleveland & Orlando Auditions" February 1, 2005 3 11.9 28.5 6 "San Francisco Auditions" February 2, 2005 4 10.9 26.2 7 "Hollywood Week: Part 1" February 8, 2005 1 12.0 28.8 8 "Hollywood Week: Part 2" February 9, 2005 3 11.4 26.1 9 "Hollywood Week: Part 3" February 15, 2005 2 11.5 27.1 10 "Hollywood Week: Part 4" February 16, 2005 3 11.5 26.3 11 "Top 12 Men Perform" February 21, 2005 6 9.9 23.5 12 "Top 12 Women Perform" February 22, 2005 2 11.5 28.3 13 "Top 24 Results" February 23, 2005 5 11.3 26.7 14 "Top 10 Men Perform" February 28, 2005 5 10.1 23.6 15 "Top 10 Women Perform" March 1, 2005 1 11.0 26.9 16 "Top 20 Results" March 2, 2005 4 10.3 24.3 17 "Top 8 Men Perform" March 7, 2005 4 10.1 23.9 18 "Top 8 Women Perform" March 8, 2005 2 11.7 27.7 19 "Top 16 Results" March 9, 2005 3 11.7 26.9 20 "Top 12 Perform" March 15, 2005 1 11.5 28.4 21 "Top 12 Results" March 16, 2005 2 10.8 24.7 22 "Top 11 Perform" March 22, 2005 1 11.6 27.6 23 "Top 11 Finalists Repeat Special"(1) March 23, 2005 3 9.0 20.9 24 "Top 11 Results" March 24, 2005 4 8.6 20.2 25 "Top 10 Perform" March 29, 2005 2 11.0 26.4 26 "Top 10 Results" March 30, 2005 3 10.6 24.9 27 "Top 9 Perform" April 5, 2005 2 10.0 24.5 28 "Top 9 Results" April 6, 2005 3 10.2 24.1 29 "Top 8 Perform" April 12, 2005 2 10.7 25.6 30 "Top 8 Results" April 13, 2005 4 10.8 25.0 31 "Top 7 Perform" April 19, 2005 2 9.8 24.1 32 "Top 7 Results" April 20, 2005 4 9.8 22.7 33 "Top 6 Perform" April 26, 2005 2 10.8 25.5 34 "Top 6 Results" April 27, 2005 4 10.5 24.4 35 "Top 5 Perform" May 3, 2005 4 9.9 24.4 36 "Top 5 Results" May 4, 2005 3 10.8 25.4 37 "Top 4 Perform" May 10, 2005 4 10.2 24.7 38 "Top 4 Results" May 11, 2005 1 11.5 26.6 39 "Top 3 Perform" May 17, 2005 5 10.4 25.0 40 "Top 3 Results" May 18, 2005 4 11.8 27.9 41 "Special: The World's Worst Auditions" May 19, 2005 4.0 42 "Top 2 Perform" May 24, 2005 2 11.6 28.1 43 "American Idol Season 4 Finale" May 25, 2005 1 12.5 30.3

Note 1: The Top 11 Wednesday night was a repeat performance night due to a mix-up in the phone numbers for the contestants. The result show was moved to Thursday.

Music releases

Compilations

The compilation album for this season was performed by the top twelve finalists.

Information
The Showstoppers Released: May 17, 2005 Label: RCA Records Chart positions: 6 (Billboard 200) RIAA Certification: Gold U.S. sales: 332,000

Albums

Artist	Information
Carrie Underwood	Some Hearts Released: November 15, 2005 Label: Arista Records Chart Positions: 2 (Billboard 200) RIAA Certification: 7x Platinum U.S. sales: 7,351,000
	Carnival Ride Released: October 23, 2007 Label: Arista Nashville Chart Positions: 1 (Billboard 200) RIAA Certification: 3x Platinum U.S. sales: 3,336,000
	Play On Released: November 3, 2009 Label: Arista Nashville Chart Positions: 1 (Billboard 200) RIAA Certification: 2x Platinum U.S. sales: 2,224,000
	Blown Away Released: May 1, 2012 Label: Arista Nashville Chart Positions: 1 (Billboard 200) U.S. sales: 1,648,000 RIAA Certification: Platinum
Bo Bice	The Real Thing Released: December 13, 2005 Label: RCA Records Chart Positions: 4 (Billboard 200) RIAA Certification: Gold U.S. sales: 672,000
Mario Vazquez	Mario Vazquez Released: September 26, 2006 Label: J Records Chart Positions: 80 (Billboard 200) RIAA Certification: Uncertified U.S. sales: 56,000

Minor or independent releases

(This list does not include pre-Idol releases)

Artist	Information
Bo Bice	See the Light Released: October 23, 2007 Label: SugarMoney/StratArt Records Chart Positions: 150 (Billboard 200) RIAA Certification: – U.S. sales: 62,000
Constantine Maroulis	Constantine Released: August 7, 2007 Label: Sixth Place Records with Sony RED Distribution Chart Positions: 79 (Billboard 200) RIAA Certification: U.S. sales: 25,000
Celena Rae	Invisible Woman Released: 2007 Label: YMC Records
Elizabeth Pha (aka Chandara)	The Moon & the Stars Released: January 23, 2006 Label: Independent
Jamie Paul Koehler	It's Christmas Time Released: 2005 Label: Independent
Jared Yates	All That I Am Released: 2007 Label: Independent
Jeff Johnson	Enter In Released: July 19, 2005 Label: Jeff Johnson Ministries
Jeff Johnson	Glorious Day Released: August 14, 2007 Label: Jeff Johnson Ministries
Jessica Sierra	Deepest Secret- EP Released: 2008 Label: Verge
Judd Harris	Fly (with Visible from Space) Released: April 11, 2006 Label: Independent
Kurtis Parks	Something for Everyone Released: 2005 Label: Independent
Melinda Lira	Melinda Released: 2005 Label: Independent
Travis Tucker	Live Released: 2008 Label: Independent
Nadia Turner	Standing On Love (Single) Released: 2008 Label: Independent
Nikko Smith	Revolution Released: 2008 Label: Independent
Sarah Mather	Another Day Released: April 1, 2007 Label: ???

Source: Idolsmusic.com

See also

• American Idols LIVE! Tour 2005

External links

• Official American Idol Contestants Website
• American Idol (Season 4) at IMDb
• American Idol (Season 4) at TV.com