AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 4

A total of 193 contestants made it to Hollywood. 96 were cut in round one of the hollywood round. 97 contestants remained for round two, the contestants were put into groups, 22 were cut. 75 contestants remained for the third round (including Marlea Stroman who left the competition, due to the illness of her child). 30 of these constestants were then cut. New for this season, the final cuts were taken several weeks after the Hollywood rounds, cutting 44 down to 24 without benefit of any new performances from the competitors.

Because of the highly unbalanced finals in Season 3 where female contestants took a clear supermajority (8 to 4) of the Final 12, rules were changed to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

This season also implemented new rules for the final portion of the contest. Instead of competing in semifinal heats in which the top vote-getters are promoted to the final round, 24 semifinalists were named -- 12 men and 12 women, who competed separately, with 2 of each gender being voted off each week until 12 finalists were left.

Top 24 -(12 Guys)

Nikko Smith - Part-Time Lover (by Stevie Wonder)

Scott Savol - You Are My Lady (by Freddie Jackson)

Anthony Fedorov - Hold On to the Nights (by Richard Marx)

Bo Bice - Drift Away (by Dobie Gray)

Travis Tucker - My Cherie Amour (by Stevie Wonder)

Constantine Maroulis - Kiss From a Rose (by Seal)

David Brown - Never Can Say Goodbye (by The Jackson 5)

Jared Yates - How Could I (by Marc Anthony)

Anwar Robinson - Moon River (by Andy Williams)

Judd Harris - Travelin' Band (by Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Joseph Murena - How Am I Supposed to Live Without You (by Michael Bolton)

Mario Vazquez - Do I Do (by Stevie Wonder)

Top 24 -(12 Girls)

Vonzell Solomon - Heatwave (by Martha & the Vandellas)

Amanda Avila - How Am I Supposed to Live Without You (by Laura Branigan)

Janay Castine - I Wanna Love You Forever (by Jessica Simpson)

Carrie Underwood - Could've Been (by Tiffany)

Sarah Mather - Get Ready (by The Temptations)

Melinda Lira - The Power of Love (by Celine Dion)

Nadia Turner - The Power of Love (by Ashley Cleveland)

Celena Rae - I Will Love Again (by Lara Fabian)

Mikalah Gordon - Young Hearts Run Free (by Candi Staton)

Lindsey Cardinale - Standing Right Next to Me (by Karla Bonoff)

Jessica Sierra - Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) (by Phil Collins)

Aloha Mischeaux - Work It Out (by Beyonce)

The fourth season finale featuring Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood aired May 24-May 25, and 37 million votes were cast. 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 first "Idol" winner to sweep all three major music awards (American Music, Billboard, and Grammy Award) in a single season (for 2006-07).