Pop Idol

Pop Idol was a British television music competition created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast—one in 2001–2002 and a second in 2003. Pop Idol was subsequently put on an indefinite hiatus after series judge Simon Cowell announced the launch of The X Factor in the UK in April 2004.

The show has become an international TV franchise since, spawning multiple Idol series worldwide. In the mean time a legal dispute arose with the makers of Popstars, which eventually led to the word "pop" being excluded from the titles of all the spin-offs, such as American Idol, Australian Idol, Indonesian Idol, Indian Idol, New Zealand Idol, Latin American Idol, Idol (Poland) and Idols (South Africa).

Format

One of the UK's top-earning TV format exports, Pop Idol made extensive use of premium-priced viewer interactivity, with viewers voting by telephone, mobile telephone texting (not used on series one), through the "red button" on digital television sets, or via the official website. The final of the first series of Pop Idol in February 2002 received the highest-ever one-night vote for a UK TV show, making the show one of ITV's most profitable. The sister show on ITV2, Pop Idol Extra, hosted by Kate Thornton also made extensive use of mobile phone text messages to raise additional revenue. The first Pop Idol received very high voting figures despite allowing only telephone and Internet voting and not making use of texting or the "red button".

Christina Grimmie

Christina Victoria Grimmie, (born March 12, 1994), known on YouTube as zeldaxlove64, is an American singer-songwriter known for participating in The Voice and for her covers of hit songs by contemporary pop musicians. In June 2011, she released her debut EP, Find Me. In June 2012, she told a reporter that she wanted to stop doing covers and start writing only original music.

In 2014, Grimmie participated in Season 6 of NBC's singing competition, The Voice and finished in third place. Adam Levine, her coach on the show, announced in the finale that regardless of the results, he was signing Grimmie to his label, 222 Records. Justin Bieber and Lil Wayne also supported Grimmie on the show and Lil Wayne offered to sign Grimmie on his label, Young Money Entertainment. She signed to Island Records for a short time before being dropped by them.

Early life

Grimmie grew up in Marlton, New Jersey. She is of Italian and Romanian descent. Her father noticed her talent for singing when she was six years old and she started playing the piano at age ten Despite having received piano lessons, she says she plays by ear. In a number of her videos and interviews, Grimmie identifies herself as a Christian. Grimmie was homeschooled for her junior year in 2010.

Colton Dixon

Michael Colton Dixon (born October 19, 1991) is an American singer from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He placed seventh on the eleventh season of American Idol.

Early life

Colton Dixon was born Michael Colton Dixon on October 19, 1991, to parents Michael and Teresa Dixon. He was born and raised in a middle-class family in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, along with younger sister, Schyler. His father runs a face painting/air brush company, and his family has a Jack Russell dog named Ozzy, and a cat named Chloe. Besides being a choir member throughout high school, In 2008, he was an extra during the filming of "Hannah Montana: The Movie". He graduated from Middle Tennessee Christian School in 2010. He is a devout Christian, and has sung at several worship services including at Saddleback Church. He and Schyler are part of a Christian rock band called Messenger. He released his debut album A Messenger with EMI-CMG/Sparrow Records on January 29, 2013. His musical influences include Paramore, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Lifehouse, Evanescence, Switchfoot, Skillet, and The Fray.