Click here to Watch American Idol Season 11 Episode 7 | American Idol "Auditions #7" Online Stream

Previously on American Idol Season 11 Episode 6 "Auditions #6", Preliminary auditions continue in Portland, Ore.

On this week's Episode title "Auditions #7", Auditions continue.

This hit FOX musical reality series follows three judges, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson (II), and Paula Abdul, along with host Ryan Seacrest around the United States in search of the next American Idol, a pop star that truly shines above all the rest. With help from the viewers, they will decide from thousands of participants who will walk away with a record deal and the fame and fortune that is sure to come along with it.

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment. It began airing on Fox on June 11, 2002 as an addition to the Idol franchise based on the UK show Pop Idol, and became one of the most popular shows in the history of American television. As of 2011, it is the most watched TV series in the Nielsen ratings and the only program to have been number one for seven consecutive seasons, surpassing All in the Family and The Cosby Show, which were both number one for five consecutive seasons.

The concept of the series is to find new solo recording artists where the winner is determined by the viewers. Through telephone, Internet, and SMS text voting, viewers have chosen as winners Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze and Scotty McCreery.

The series employs a panel of judges who critique the contestants' performances. The original three judges were Grammy Award-winning record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, Grammy Award-winning pop singer and Emmy Award-winning choreographer Paula Abdul and award-winning music executive and music manager Simon Cowell. The judging panel currently consists of Jackson, Grammy and Golden Globe nominated singer/actress and record producer Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith frontman and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Steven Tyler. Other judges who have been a part of the show are Grammy Award-winning songwriter Kara DioGuardi and talk show personality and comedian Ellen DeGeneres. From the start, the show has been hosted by radio DJ Ryan Seacrest.

The show was described by rival TV executives as "the most impactful show in the history of television." It has also become a recognized springboard for launching the career of many artists as bona fide stars. As Entertainment Weekly puts it, "It's given us Kelly, Carrie, Daughtry, and J. Hud. Idol rules the reality roost because the winners of Fox's ratings juggernaut actually do go on to greatness. And Taylor Hicks? He's the exception that proves the rule."

American Idol was created based on the British show Pop Idol, which was in turn inspired by Popstars, a show TV producer Nigel Lythgoe saw in Australia and brought over to Britain. Using the idea from Popstars of employing a panel of judges to select singers in audition, then adding other elements such as telephone voting by the viewing public (which at the time was already in use in shows such as the Eurovision Song Contest) and the drama of backstories and real-life soap opera unfolding in real time, Simon Fuller then created Pop Idol. The show debuted in 2001 in Britain with Lythgoe as the producer and Simon Cowell as one of the judges, and was a big success with the viewing public.

Fuller and Cowell attempted to sell the Pop Idol format to the U.S. in 2001, but the idea was met with poor response from U.S. TV networks. However, Rupert Murdoch, head of Fox's parent company, was persuaded to buy the show by his daughter Elisabeth, who was a fan of the British show. The show was renamed American Idol: The Search for a Superstar and debuted in the summer of 2002, and became one of the summer hit shows that year. The show, with the personal engagement of the viewers with the contestants through voting, and the presence of the caustic-tongue judge Simon Cowell, grew into a phenomenon. By 2005 it had become the biggest show on U.S. TV, a position it then held on for seven straight years. The show is scheduled to remain on air until 2015.