by Shirley Halperin
Abrams Image, $22.95, 224 pages
Since its debut in 2002, the television show American Idol has been a cultural phenomenon. Over three billion votes have been cast to date. Winners and contestants have gone on to make platinum albums, star in Broadway musicals, and win Grammy Awards. Now fans can own the ultimate collector’s item, American Idol: Celebrating 10 Years, created by author and music journalist Shirley Halperin. She covered the show for popular magazines and blogs since its beginning. With over 700 photographs, nearly every memorable moment is captured on film and preserved for posterity. Fans will find behind-the-scene photos from favorite seasons, pictures of on-stage performances, Greatest Hits, Where are they Now?, Life After Idol, one-on-one interviews with winners and key contestants, and information about each judge. Laugh over a collection of Simon’s one-liners (“That was the equivalent of musical wallpaper… In other words, you notice the wallpaper, but you don’t remember it.”) The format is one of a yearbook and there are chapters on the greatest makeovers and style, trivia, and gossip. This is a must-have coffee-table book for any American Idol fan. It is a tribute to an iconic television program that shows no sign of slowing down.
Reviewed by Kathryn Franklin