All episodes Season 4 S04E06 2005-02-02 120 min 2000s Fox

American Idol

San Francisco, California Auditions

TV Flash files “San Francisco, California Auditions” as hour 114 of 730 in the TV Flash guide — American Idol (2002–2016) on Fox, season 4, episode 6, aired 2005-02-02, 120 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S04E06: listed hour 114 of 730 in the American Idol guide, hour 6 of 42 in season 4. It aired 2005-02-02 (120 min). The listed hour before it is “Cleveland, Ohio & Orlando, Florida Auditions” (S04E05). Next is “American Idol Takes the Auditions to the Next Level...Hollywood!” (S04E07). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

American Idol still

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

AMERICAN IDOL hopefuls go to Hollywood for the next round of auditions in front of the judges. Here they must prove they have what it takes to perform for America.

Viewer FAQ

Where does San Francisco, California Auditions sit in the American Idol guide?

S04E06 is listed hour 114 of 730 — hour 6 of 42 in season 4, season 4 episode 6.

When did American Idol S04E06 air?

San Francisco, California Auditions aired 2005-02-02 and is listed at 120 minutes.

Which Idol years capture the phenomenon?

Early Fox seasons, when Cowell, Abdul, and Jackson were the ritual and finales felt like elections. That is pre-streaming mass monoculture.

In the series

Why this series still plays

Simon Cowell's sneer, Paula's softness, Randy's dawg: Simon Fuller's Fox hit made karaoke national infrastructure and a star factory. Mid-2000s finales felt like elections; Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood fed a pop pipeline. Pure event-TV archaeology from the last mass monoculture.

The first useful structure is a cattle call, not a coronation. Amateur singers face judges and a voting public for a recording career: karaoke as national infrastructure. Simon Fuller's Fox series, based on *Pop Idol*, premiered June 11, 2002, with Ryan Seacrest hosting and the original trio of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson as ritual characters. Mid-2000s finales felt like elections; phone voting was participatory spectacle. Winners and also-rans both fed a pop pipeline — Kelly Clarkson and Carrie…

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Filed against

Also in season 4

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