All episodes Season 9 S09E12 2010-02-17 120 min 2000s Fox

American Idol

Hollywood Round: Part 4 - Top 24 Semifinalists Announced

TV Flash files “Hollywood Round: Part 4 - Top 24 Semifinalists Announced” as hour 326 of 730 in the TV Flash guide — American Idol (2002–2016) on Fox, season 9, episode 12, aired 2010-02-17, 120 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S09E12: listed hour 326 of 730 in the American Idol guide, hour 12 of 43 in season 9. It aired 2010-02-17 (120 min). The listed hour before it is “Hollywood Round: Part 3” (S09E11). Next is “Top 12 Girls Perform” (S09E13). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

American Idol still

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

The judges make their final cuts tonight, and this season's semifinalists - 12 boys and 12 girls - are revealed.

Viewer FAQ

Where does Hollywood Round: Part 4 - Top 24 Semifinalists Announced sit in the American Idol guide?

S09E12 is listed hour 326 of 730 — hour 12 of 43 in season 9, season 9 episode 12.

When did American Idol S09E12 air?

Hollywood Round: Part 4 - Top 24 Semifinalists Announced aired 2010-02-17 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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Also in season 9

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