who won the first season of the television show american idol
American Idol (season 1) The first season of American Idol premiered on June 11, 2002 (under the full title American Idol: The Search for a Superstar) and continued until September 4, 2002. It was won by Kelly Clarkson. That first season was co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman, the latter of whom left the show after the season ended.
American Idol (season 4) 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 500Â 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.