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'Idols' is a Finnish reality-television singing competition that airs on MTV3 and Sub. It debuted in the summer of 2003, and went on to become one of the most popular shows on Finnish television. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the reality program Pop Idol created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller, which was first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom. The program seeks to discover the best unsigned singer in Finland through a series of nationwide auditions, and the outcomes of the later stages of the competition are determined by public phone voting. The format features three (previously four) judges who give critiques of the contestants' performances: EMI music executive Jone Nikula; Finnish singer-songwriter Nina Tapio; and Sami Pitkämö. The show is hosted by television presenters Heikki Paasonen and Niina Herala. Former hosts include Ellen Jokikunnas and Jani Toivola. In the four seasons to date, its winners have been Hanna Pakarinen, Ilkka Jääskeläinen, Ari Koivunen and Koop Arponen. Jääskeläinen was the oldest winner at 26 whilst Pakarinen was the youngest at 22. To date, Idols contestants have collectively sold over a million records throughout Finland. Idols is also unique throughout the Idol franchise due to the fact that so far, the first or second runner-up of each season has in fact gone on to become more commercially successful than the winner. Following the completion of its fourth season, Idols was placed on hiatus and replaced in 2010 by the X Factor, a new reality singing competition originating from the United Kingdom's version, created by music executive Simon Cowell. In May, 2010, it was announced that Idols would return for a fifth season after a two year hiatus, running concurrently with the second season of the X Factor. |
