American Idol
Season 5
Hosted by	Ryan Seacrest
Judges	Paula Abdul Simon Cowell Randy Jackson
Winner	Taylor Hicks
Runner-up	Katharine McPhee
Finals venue	Kodak Theatre
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	January 17 (2006-01-17) – May 24, 2006 (2006-05-24)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 4 Next → Season 6
List of episodes

The fifth season ofAmerican Idol began on January 17, 2006, and concluded on May 24, 2006.Paula Abdul,Simon Cowell, andRandy Jackson returned as judges, whileRyan Seacrest returned as host.Taylor Hicks was named the winner, whileKatharine McPhee was the runner-up. 18 contestants (including all of the top 10 and a few semifinalists) got record deals – nine of them with major labels.

Auditions were held in seven cities in the summer and fall of 2005.^[1] An audition was originally planned forMemphis, Tennessee, but that was canceled due to theHurricane Katrina relief effort that was taking place there,^[2] and replaced byLas Vegas, Nevada, andGreensboro, North Carolina.^[3]

One notable audition this season wasPaula Goodspeed, a fervent fan of Paula Abdul, who auditioned in Austin.^[9] In 2008, Goodspeed made headlines when she committed suicide outside Abdul's home.^[10] Abdul later claimed that she had objected beforehand to Goodspeed being at the audition because she knew Goodspeed and had been frightened by her past behavior, but the producers overrode her objection.^[11] Producers Ken Warwick and Nigel Lythgoe denied being aware of her fears or that they would put her in danger.^[12][13]

TheHollywood semifinal rounds were held at theOrpheum Theatre inLos Angeles and consisted of 175 contestants. The first round of semifinals consisted of a soloa cappella performance with each contestant choosing one song from a list of twelve that were given to each contestant two weeks in advance. Those who did not impress the judges were sent home the following day. After this round, the contestants were separated into four groups, with three groups going through (with 44 contestants chosen). In thePasadena Civic Center, each were individually taken to the judges' station where they learned whether they would proceed or not. Twenty were cut and the final twenty-four (twelve men and twelve women) were selected.

The semifinals began on February 21, 2006, with the names announced on February 15, 2006. Starting with twelve women and twelve men, the women and the men performed weekly on separate shows, and on the results show, the bottom two women and bottom two men were eliminated each week. The semifinals took place over three weeks, resulting in six women and six men making up the top 12.

Color key:

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

From left to right:Taylor Hicks,Katharine McPhee,Elliott Yamin,Chris Daughtry,Paris Bennett, andKellie Pickler

From left to right:Ace Young,Bucky Covington,Mandisa,Lisa Tucker,Kevin Covais, and Melissa McGhee

• Taylor Hicks was fromBirmingham, Alabama. He performed "A Change Is Gonna Come" bySam Cooke at his original audition in Las Vegas. He performedBill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" in Hollywood.
• Katharine McPhee was fromLos Angeles, California. She auditioned in San Francisco withBillie Holiday's "God Bless the Child," andRandy Jackson said her audition was the best he'd heard yet that season. In Hollywood, she performedDionne Warwick's "I'll Never Love This Way Again," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)," and "My Funny Valentine."
• Elliott Yamin was born inLos Angeles, California, but grew up inRichmond, Virginia. He auditioned in Boston. In Hollywood, he performedRascal Flatts' "Bless the Broken Road" and "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)."
• Chris Daughtry was fromMcLeansville, North Carolina. He auditioned in Denver withJoe Cocker's "The Letter." In Hollywood, he performedSamantha Sang's "Emotion."
• Paris Bennett was fromFayetteville, Georgia, and was the granddaughter of Grammy Award winnerAnn Nesby. She sang "Cowboy Take Me Away" by theDixie Chicks at her original audition in Greensboro. In Hollywood, she performedLeAnn Rimes's "Can't Fight the Moonlight" and Samantha Sang's "Emotion."
• Kellie Pickler was fromAlbemarle, North Carolina. She originally auditioned in Greensboro.
• Ace Young was fromDenver, Colorado, where he auditioned. In Hollywood, he performedShai's "If I Ever Fall in Love" and Samantha Sang's "Emotion."
• Bucky Covington was fromRockingham, North Carolina. He auditioned inGreensboro.
• Mandisa was fromAntioch, Tennessee. She had a successful original audition in Chicago, where she performedAlicia Keys's "Fallin'." In Hollywood, she performedFreda Payne's "Band of Gold."
• Lisa Tucker was fromAnaheim, California, and auditioned in Denver withWhitney Houston's "One Moment in Time."
• Kevin Covais was fromLevittown, New York. For his audition in Boston, he sang "You Raise Me Up". In Hollywood, he performed Shai's "If I Ever Fall in Love."
• Melissa McGhee was fromTampa, Florida, but she auditioned in Denver with "Can't Fight the Moonlight" byLeAnn Rimes.

Color key:

Stevie Wonder served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed one song fromhis discography and are listed in the order they performed.

Barry Manilow served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Kenny Rogers served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Queen band membersBrian May andRoger Taylor served as guest mentors for this week. Contestants performed one song from theQueen discography and are listed in the order they performed.

Rod Stewart served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed one song from theGreat American Songbook and are listed in the order they performed.

Andrea Bocelli andDavid Foster served as guest mentors this week. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Contestants each performed two songs: one from the year they were born, and one from the currentBillboard top 10 list. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Tommy Mottola served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants each performed two songs from theElvis Presley discography and are listed in the order they performed.

Each contestant performed three songs: one chosen byClive Davis, one chosen by one of the judges, and one chosen by themselves. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Each contestant performed three songs, and contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Color key:

In January 2006, twins Derrell and Terrell Brittenum were charged with forgery and theft after allegedly using a false identity to purchase a car. This occurred after the Hollywood portion of the show was filmed, and the twins were subsequently disqualified.^[14]

On the April 25 show, the theme of which was Greatest Love Songs and featured guest mentorsAndrea Bocelli andDavid Foster, executive producer Nigel Lythgoe forced contestant Taylor Hicks to change his song a day before airtime. Hicks' chosen song was "Try a Little Tenderness," but Lythgoe, in a radio interview, claimed the song was more appropriate for a Blues Brothers week and was not a song that Andrea Bocelli would sing. Hicks changed his song at the last minute to "Just Once" and appeared very uncomfortable on stage. Hicks' fans were distressed, feeling that Hicks' original choice of song was very appropriate to the theme and the producers changed the song at the last minute even though they must have known Hicks' choice the previous week. They also felt that Lythgoe's statement that it was not a song Andrea Bocelli would sing was dubious, as other song choices that were approved were songs sung by Bryan Adams ("Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman") and Donny Hathaway ("A Song for You").^[15]

American Idol was the top-rated show for the 2005–06 TV season and occupied the top two positions. The number of viewers for its Tuesday episodes averaged 31.17 million and for the Wednesday episodes 30.16 million.^[16] It is still the most-watched of all seasons with an overall average number of viewers of 30.6 million per episode. Its 17.6 household share for the season average still ranks as thehighest household share rating for any season-topping series on 21st-century U.S. television.

This was the first season where a majority of finalists had major label recording contracts afterAmerican Idol. Of them,Taylor Hicks,Katharine McPhee,Elliott Yamin,Chris Daughtry, andKellie Pickler were distributed bySony BMG Music Entertainment;Bucky Covington byUniversal Music Group; andAce Young andMandisa byEMI.

Taylor Hicks' first post-Idol single, "Do I Make You Proud," debuted at number one and was certified gold.^[36] Hicks' album,Taylor Hicks, sold 703,000 copies. He later parted withArista Records. His follow-up album, "The Distance," was released March 10, 2009, on his own label, Modern Whomp Records.

The contestant with the most commercial success was Chris Daughtry, now lead singer of the bandDaughtry. Their eponymous debut album sold over 5 million copies, surpassing the two-album totals of former winnersRuben Studdard andFantasia, and produced two top-ten singles. The album, which spent two weeks at number one in the U.S., was also the fastest-selling debut rock album inSoundscan history.^[37]

Katharine McPhee's debut album sold 374,000 copies and she had two Top 40Billboard hits.Kellie Pickler'sSmall Town Girl reached number one on theBillboard Top Country Albums chart and was certified gold, selling over 815,000 copies.Elliott Yamin's eponymous debut album was certified gold and produced a platinum-selling single.Bucky Covington's self-titled debut album sold over 400,000 copies and generated a top 20 and two top 10 hits on theBillboard Hot Country Singles chart.Mandisa became the most recent finalist fromAmerican Idol as of 2025 to win aGrammy Award, after earning a nomination forTrue Beauty forBest Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album in 2007 and winning forOvercomer forBest Contemporary Christian Music Album in 2014.

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

In 2006,American Idol received several nominations in the 2006 Emmy Awards for season five:^[38]

• Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
• Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety, Music Program or Special – Episode #519
• Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program – Bruce Gowers
• Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Large team entries – Primarily Multi-Camera Productions) – "Audition City: Greensboro"
• Outstanding Lighting Direction – "American Classics Songbook with Rod Stewart"
• Outstanding Lighting Direction – "Finale"
• Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or Special or Animation – "American Classics Songbook with Rod Stewart"
• Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series – Episode #530

• American Idols Live! Tour 2006

• Official American Idol Contestants Website
• American Idol atIMDb

• American Idol seasons
• 2006 American television seasons
• Television shows directed by Bruce Gowers

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